Knee injuries can be very devastating to someone, especially if they happen to lead very active lives.  I'm not saying that lazy people who injure their knees aren't as affected by it as, let's say, an athlete.  But let's face it, if your income isn't dependent upon your knees (and presumably other body parts) functioning at its best, then an ACL tear is not as big of a deal for you. 

For most people tearing the anterior cruciate ligament on their knee would cause some serious physical and emotional pain - emotional because let's be honest, surgery is very expensive and NO ONE likes to spend money.  Sure, it sucks not being able to go to work for a while or not to be able to take long walks on the beach as the sun sets, but it doesn't really change or affect our lives too much.  For athletes (and possibly some blue-collar workers whose jobs entail physical labor) however, tearing the ACL can quickly escalate to the end of a career.  Ok, that may be somewhat of an exaggeration, but the consequences of such a serious knee injury could be seriously detrimental to the career of an athlete, as opposed to, say, a lawyer. 

Case in point? The recent injury of Houston Texans' tight end (TE) Owen Daniels.  Daniels was injured during Sunday's victory against Buffalo, when he caught his foot in the turf during Houston's second possession.  Scheduled to undergo ACL Reconstruction surgery once the swelling goes down in about two weeks, Daniels is reported to be "lost" for the season.  He is reported to be lost for the rest of the season because recovering from such a serious injury will take time.  Time however, is not a luxury most athletes have today, in light of the sheer number of other, talented athletes just waiting for their shot at being a professional athlete. 

To keep with the thread of using the Houston Texans as my case study, in the same breath that the Houston's coach, Gary Kubiak, proclaims the loss of Daniels this season is a "big blow to our football team", he also discusses possible replacements for Daniels.  With third-string TE James Casey also out for arthroscopic surgery to repair a problem with the meniscus in one of his knees, the Texans are left with Joel Dreessen  and rookie Anthony Hill as the only tight ends on the roster.  Hill, who had missed some time earlier in the season because of Swine Flu and so has not yet played this season.  Kubiak goes to explain that with Hill, he has been "impressed with his work", saying "He's a physical player. Is he ready to go? I don't know. We'll see but it's time for him to go." 

Hill is a good example of the depths/lengths to which the world of professional athletes will go to stay ‘relevant'.  Despite not having played all season due to illness, Hill will most likely play his heart out during the next game.  The issue with this situation lies in the fact that he is probably coming back into the game much sooner than he really should.  Not that his abilities or skills have disappeared in the past few weeks because of Swine Flu or anything, but because he is out of practice.  Because transitioning between not playing and playing requires more than just a note from the doctor saying that you're over the (Swine) Flu.  In order to avoid serious injuries to the knee (and other ligaments/joints/body parts), you need to ease into the intensity of physical activity/strain it takes to play one game of professional football. 

Though I have no doubt that Hill has remained physically fit and such over the course of his bout of Swine Flu, it does not change the fact that he could not possibly be physically ready to be playing a game of football at the professional level right now.  Not to mention the possibility that he may be spreading the H1N1 virus to the rest of the team/opposing team? 

Talk about dedication to your profession.