What Dalton Kincaid's Comeback Can Teach Us About Getting Stronger After Injury
If you’re a Bills fan (like us), you’ve probably noticed Dalton Kincaid finally starting to have a breakthrough this early football season and begin to show the potential we all banked on a few years ago.
The Bills drafted the highly anticipated tight end in 2023, and unfortunately he wasn’t living up to the hype since he was plagued by injuries and struggled to gain any sort of momentum…until now.
During the 2024 season, Kincaid tore his PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) and continued to play with the injury early on. He consequently struggled with lingering knee issues stemming from the injury and resulting weaknesses.
Kincaid considered surgery but ultimately was advised by doctors to continue rehab instead of undergoing invasive reconstruction.
According to this Buffalo Bills preseason article, Kincaid finally made a change at the beginning of this year’s off season and committed to attacking his strength work by working with a specialized strength coach to help him strengthen his knees, lift heavier and build significant muscle.
And so far we can see this strength work translate into phenomenal performances these first couple games– he’s finally coming into form as the player we all envisioned after he was drafted as a rookie.
So what can we learn from Kincaid’s comeback as non- professional football players?
Often people approach an injury by avoiding usage and/or pulling back on exercise.
In certain situations and depending on the injury, taking a step back can absolutely help initial healing (and we never want to push through pain– that’s our body’s signal telling us to cool our jets).
But what ends up happening to muscles that don’t get used?
They get weak, stiff, and the healing process ultimately slows down.
So instead, we want to approach rehab by figuring out what’s needed to safely strengthen and mobilize instead of avoiding movement altogether— the body thrives on movement!
Just like our approach at AWAKEN, our aim is to determine the root cause of pain, prevent recurrence of that pain through developing an individualized rehab plan, and finally AWAKEN YOUR POTENTIAL by helping you come back to your sport or activity stronger than you were before– just like Kincaid.
Our mission at AWAKEN is to help athletes and active adults get out of pain, recover from injury, and AWAKEN their full potential!
So if you’ve been struggling with recurring pain or injuries and searching for an expert-level, INDIVIDUALIZED approach, LOOK NO FURTHER– click the link below to reach out and schedule a FREE no-obligation phone consultation to see if AWAKEN is the right fit for you.
And as always, GO BILLS!!
Written by: Mackenzie Lowe and Dr. Gregory Lowe PT, DPT, OSC, FAAOMPT, CSOMT, cert. MDT, CSCS, RRSC
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