University of Louisville Quarterback Brian Brohm's Road to Recovery

By Kim Brohm

Along highway I-65 south across from old Cardinal Stadium there stands a billboard with a black and white photo of a familiar local athlete's face. In bright red letters there states a simple question: Brian Brohm wants to know, are you ready? For most University of Louisville football fans, there is no question that the anticipation and expectations for the 2006 football season is at an all-time high. Coming off a 9-3 record and Gator Bowl appearance last season, Cardinal fans can only hope for more success. But after a season ending knee injury put Louisville sophomore quarterback Brian Brohm on the sidelines and forced him to endure instead an off-season of intense rehabilitation, the real question only points right back at Brohm.

Is Brian Brohm ready?

“That's something everyone wants to know,” said Brohm. “How the knee is and if I'll be ready for Kentucky (the Cards season opener). I tell them I'm back, healthy, and ready to go.”

That may be hard to imagine after watching Brohm go down in pain back on November 26th at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Looking for an eighth season victory against Syracuse in a Big East battle, Brohm suffered a season ending knee injury on third quarter scramble. With the Cards leading 24-17, Brohm started to feel pressure in the pocket on a third down and eight yard situation. Forced to run for the first down, Brohm was pulled from behind by a Syracuse defender and left clinging to his right knee in excruciating pain.

“That was the most pain I had ever been through,” said Brohm of his first major injury. “I heard a pop and knew something had torn and ripped, but I didn't know what. I was just rolling around screaming.”

After walking gingerly over to the sideline, Brohm only had returning back to the game on his mind. That was until team doctor, Dr. Raymond Shea, told Brohm to get on the training table and that he wasn't going back in the game.

“After the initial tear it wasn't an intolerable pain. It just felt like my knee was hanging there,” said Brohm. “I started to try and walk it off. But after pulling on my leg and doing some tests, they (the trainers) could tell that I tore my ACL.”

Louisville went on the win the game 41-17, but they would loose Brohm for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Looking back, it is a moment that Brohm will never forget.

“I was one yard away from the first down,” said Brohm of his scramble. “I didn't get it.”

Since that third quarter, Brohm has undergone surgery and been continuously rehabilitating his knee for his junior year. For an athlete, tearing the ACL is considered a major injury. The ligament allows the knee to make sharp cuts and move quickly, all important skills for a quarterback. Tearing the anterior cruciate ligament would mean a six to nine months recovery period.

Brohm had surgery on December 5th, a little over a week after the injury. The surgery lasted one and half hours and was performed by a Louisville doctor, Dr. David Caborn. Caborn, who successfully operated on former University of Kentucky basketball player Derek Anderson's knee, is known for what is called a “double bundle” technique. The technique uses a ligament from a cadaver. That ligament is then bundled into two strands instead of one strand like the original ACL. Although half the thickness of the original, it is similar to having two ligaments. The result is a stronger ligament that simulates the ACL for more twisting, turning, and lateral movement.

Brohm also suffered a meniscus tear, deep bone bruise, and injured his lateral patella femoral — a ligament that holds the kneecap in place.

“That was probably what hurt and slowed me down the most,” said Brohm of the patella femoral.

Though Brohm may speak confidently of his knee now, don't think for a moment his recovery happened over night. It's taken hard work, sweat, and even tears to get this star quarterback back and ready to return under center.

“In the beginning it was a lot of just tedious workouts,” said Brohm. “I couldn't even bend my knee.”

For the first two weeks Brohm worked two to three hours a day with Louisville trainers. Not able to do much, Brohm started out just trying to do leg raises. He couldn't even flex his quadricep muscle on his own. Trainers would use electrical stimulation just to move the quad muscle for him.

They would also work on increasing Brohm's flexion — ability to bend the knee, and extension — ability to straighten the knee.

“That was probably the hardest part,” said Brohm. “It took a month to two months to get back to 90 degrees (flexion).”

To achieve that goal, trainers would have to push on Brohm's leg to break the scar tissue. The scar tissue has to tear in order for the knee to bend. While Brohm lay on his stomach, trainers would bend his knee by pushing the heel of his foot towards his back. As for the extension, trainers would push down on Brohm's knee while his leg was extended and foot propped on a block.

“That was painful,” said Brohm. “It would hurt just as bad as when I tore it every time. I'd have to bite on a towel”

From there, Brohm started getting on the stationary bike. Just trying to make a full revolution with the pedal was something that took work. But despite the pain, Brohm kept grinding. While the rest of the team reported to practice and to prepare for the Gator Bowl, Brohm would enter the training room to begin getting ready for next season.

“That was the hardest part,” said Brohm. “I was inside doing really tedious stuff and they'd (the team) go out and practice. But I knew I had to just try and get back for next year.”

The tedious work paid off as Brohm was dropping back and throwing by the middle of February. And if the start of rehabilitation wasn't hard enough, it would only begin to grow even more intense. Brohm's rehab increased to five to six hours a day as he began to get back in football shape. His conditioning consisted of the stair master, stationary bike, walking on the treadmill, and running against a current while in the pool. He began weight training and even doing squats.

He eventually progressed to running full speed straight ahead and would even run while pulling a harness for strength training. At spring practice, Brohm was running straight drop back passing routes and participating in seven on seven drills, all without any linemen to avoid accidental contact.

But with less than a month before the Cardinals season opener against Kentucky, how is Brohm doing now?

“I'm pretty much full go. I'm cutting and doing everything with the team,” said Brohm. “I have no pain at all. I'm right on schedule, maybe even a little ahead.”

Even after months of rehabilitation and working to strengthen his knee, Brohm still endures questions everyday about how his knee is doing and whether he will be physically ready for the beginning of the season. So far he has past all the physical tests, but maybe more important is the question of whether Brohm can get past the fear of injuring the knee again.

“I don't think it will even be on my mind,” said Brohm of the knee injury. “Once I get hit the first time, I'll forget it ever happened and be back to normal.”

Now that the knee has healed and the team is busy preparing for the season, Brohm's instinct as a quarterback and a competitor are in full gear. With powerhouses such as Miami and West Virginia on the schedule there are more important things to worry about according to Brohm.

“The focus right now is to beat Kentucky,” said Brohm. “Our goals are to win the Big East and make it to a BCS (Bowl Championship Series) bowl game, but we're just looking at the first game right now.”

As the season nears closer and the excitement begins to escalate, the predictions will continue to mount about how the Cardinals' season will play out. Whether they will win the Big East, whether they will beat Miami, whether they will earn a BCS bowl bid, and whether the Cards will live up to the pre-season expectations. But make no question about it, when it comes to Brohm's health, toughness, and determination, the answer's crystal clear.

Brian Brohm is ready.

Kim Brohm is a graduate of Spalding University with a B.A. in English where she was a three-sport athlete. Kim has an MBA from the University of Louisville. E-mail address is kimbrohm@hotmail.com.