Aaron Rodgers’ time with the New York Jets likely won’t be remembered as one of the standout chapters of his career. However, one of the most remarkable things we’ve seen from him over the past two seasons is the incredible resilience of the human body.
Last season, Rodgers tore his left Achilles on Sept. 11, 2023, during the Jets’ first game of the season on just the fourth snap of the game. Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed a SpeedBridge procedure on him two days later. In Week 4, Rodgers was seen walking around the team’s locker room without crutches or signs of discomfort.
Aaron Alexander is a manual therapist and movement coach, as well as the founder of the Align Method, a comprehensive approach to functional movement and self-care. Alexander played a key role in guiding Rodgers’ remarkable recovery from one of the most dreaded injuries in sports. Reflecting on the intense, around-the-clock effort involved, Alexander noted that the only thing that surprised him was how astonished everyone else seemed to be.
Alexander spoke with M&F on the various methods used to help aide Rodgers during his recovery, and how we all can take better care of our own bodies.
The Meeting of the Aarons
Alexander was introduced to Rodgers through Onnit founder Aubrey Marcus. The two quickly formed a bond and began traveling with one another. In just a few sessions, Alexander was able to resolve some lingering shoulder issues the quarterback had been dealing with for years. Through hosting his podcast and being connected with various great minds in the health and wellness space, Alexander’s methods had become more holistic and this fascinated Rodgers.
The Align Method’s approach is straightforward: It aims to help people integrate fitness into their daily lives as a natural part of who they are, rather than just an isolated activity. As with any of his clients, Alexander observed Rodgers closely, both at work and in his daily life. During this time, he noted habits that supported Rodgers’ physical well-being as well as any behaviors that could potentially lead to issues with body movement over time.
At age 39 at the time of the injury, Rodgers’ choice to undergo the SpeedBridge procedure for his Achilles tear was a practical one. This minimally invasive operation requires only small incisions, which helps reduce post-operative pain and scarring. During the procedure, several anchors are placed in the heel bone and connected by high-strength sutures arranged in a “bridge” pattern over the Achilles tendon. This configuration holds the tendon firmly against the heel bone, providing a stable repair that lowers the risk of re-rupture. Alexander said the procedure permitted movement quicker than the typical Achilles reconstruction procedure. This also helped expedite healing.
The SpeedBridge procedure has been around for just a little over a decade. The reason more athletes haven’t opted for the procedure is likely to do with the lack of long-term data on its effectiveness and any complications.
Rehab Was Detailed and Intentional
Immediately after surgery, Alexander and Rodgers began the rehabilitation process. Since Rodgers had limited mobility, they started with red-light therapy on the injured area to help restore function to the cell membranes around it. They also used pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy and electrical stimulation with the Neubie device, which utilizes direct current rather than the alternating current of standard devices. This helps stimulate muscles that are lacking nerve function.
“It’s kind of soothing for the nervous system,” Alexander said. “I would plug him up throughout his leg, his entire posterior chain to keep muscular contraction—almost like mimicking as though he’s walking even though he was on crutches and not walking very much at that point. So, the entire time he’s laid up, we’re stimulating a man walking through creating artificial muscular contraction and replicating sunlight and exposure to all the different frequencies of light you get through these devices.”
Dr. ElAttrache visited Rodgers multiple times throughout the rehabilitation process. Additional treatments included cold laser therapy, hyperbaric chamber sessions, hot tubs, anti-gravity treadmill, compression boots, and lymphatic drainage massages. They deliberately avoided using ice. “You’ve heard of Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s RICE protocol—rest, ice, compression, and elevation,” Alexander explained. “But in Rodgers’ case, we avoided ice because it keeps the injury in a static state. It’s actually far more beneficial to compress, elevate, and even add heat—anything that promotes greater circulation.”
“Circulation and decongestion is going to be, maybe the most important thing to expedite recovery of any type of injury,” he continued. “That was something that permitted us to be able to get right into accelerated tissue circulation, and decongestion.”
In terms of nutrition, Rodgers follows a clean diet, avoiding artificial sugars, fried foods, red meat, and anything that could trigger inflammation. Bone broth and mineral water also became staples in his routine. When sights of Rodgers walking without the aid of crutches began circulating just weeks after surgery, most, if not all were shocked. No official game or week was set, but the quarterback attacked the first two months of rehab to gauge how he felt in December to make a late season return.
Had the Jets been in a better situation in terms of wins and losses, No. 8 would have been back for a playoff push nowhere near a full recovery, but able to drop back and fire. Jets fans can only wonder what if.
Visualization was a Factor in the Healing Process
Injuries are tough. They take away activities that someone has enjoyed and excelled at since childhood, which can lead to feelings of depression and other negative consequences. The excitement surrounding Aaron Rodgers’ departure from the Green Bay Packers and his arrival with the Jets was palpable. So, when he suffered a season-ending—and potentially career-ending—injury on the very first drive of the season, it was a huge letdown for both fans and Rodgers himself. Maintaining his spirits and a sense of humor became essential as he focused on various treatments to regain strength in his Achilles.
“There’s pretty significant research around the way that visualization can actually create neuromuscular connections,” Alexander said. They’ve done it with wrist and thumb strength. They’ve done it with shooting free throws. You’re actually creating those neuromuscular relationships. You’re strengthening those pathways. So, if a person is in a place of belief of what they can create or what they can be—you can get a person over that edge.Then, you can start to train the brain to train the body to heal faster.”
One of the biggest obstacles after a serious injury is the atrophy of the muscles surrounding the injured area. Alexander says the neuromuscular relationship also starts to atrophy. Going from leading an NFL offense with the goal of winning a Super Bowl to laying on your couch and learning to walk again is shock to the system. This is likely the reason Rodgers remained around the team as much as he did when he was able to walk comfortably again. Alexander the return to regularity was important for the body to produce the hormones and neurochemicals to aid in healing.
How To Make Fitness a Lifestyle
If you’re not a professional athlete and simply enjoy exercising, it makes sense that you might not have access to the same resources for quick injury recovery. Alexander suggests that society can improve in ways that help people move better and prevent serious injuries during physical activities. He pointed to research conducted by the University of Southern California on the health, lifestyle, and longevity of a hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania.
The Hadza people of Tanzania regularly exceed 10,000 steps a day through activities like farming, hunting, and gathering. This daily routine of running, lifting, walking, and climbing is not only central to their survival, but it also enables them to maintain functional strength and fitness as they age, helping them avoid many chronic diseases common in the modern world.
Gesturing to his cross-legged seated position, Alexander remarked that one of the unfortunate reasons elderly people often require assisted living is due to their increased risk of falling.
Alexander also encourages improvising our relationship with ground. The Hadza people eat, rest and sit on the ground and getting up from those positions are commonplace as opposed to the sedentary lifestyles we currently enjoy. If you grunt or make any noise while getting up or down from the floor, you might consider incorporating more floor-sitting into your daily lives.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and it’s made my body more comfortable in these positions,” Alexander said. “But, the only reason I’m more comfortable in these positions is because I do them all the time. Now, if I’m not in these positions, it feels uncomfortable because I can feel stiffness and rigidity start to build up. I can feel the subtle beginnings of ‘cankles’ and that endemic fluid buildup in my lower compartments. If you were living more like a “human” — it’s not a weird thing. What’s really incredibly weird is the adult diaper industry exceeding that of the baby diaper industry.”
Alexander also referenced research by Dr. Joan Vernikos, NASA’s Director of Life Sciences. She observed that astronauts who exercised regularly were better able to maintain muscle mass, bone density, cardiovascular function, and circulation. As a result, they had an easier time readjusting to gravity upon their return, experiencing less reconditioning compared to those who did not exercise consistently.
“The body is a pump, and it runs on these regular bouts of regular movement throughout the day,” said Alexander. “It’s the thing that kills humanity—that we’re domesticated. We’re inside too much and we’re breathing in air-conditioned air, which isn’t nearly as healthy as if you were walking by the beach, in the rainforest or the woods.
“That’s why I think we’re like domesticated dogs now. We started off as the gray wolf and now we’re like pugs.”
Other Helpful Tidbits
With our cellphones constantly with us and our reliance on Wi-Fi routers, our bodies are exposed to various electromagnetic frequencies that can irritate the nervous system. Alexander emphasizes that spending more time outdoors can help relax the nervous system and improve eye function. “Your eyes are an extension of your brain,” he explains. “When you’re glued to screens and phones, you’re actually weakening your visual muscles.”
In addition to movement, sunlight, and nutrition, sleep is essential for our health, as it is during this time that the body repairs and replenishes itself. A major obstacle to quality sleep is light exposure. Many of us wind down by scrolling through social media or checking emails, which can be counterproductive. The blue light emitted by devices flickers rapidly, signaling to our nervous system that it’s not time to sleep yet. Recently, the negative impact of artificial blue light on our circadian rhythms has come to light. Alexander recommends using nighttime candles, salt lamps, and Mito red-light devices to create a more conducive sleep environment.
Breathing is another important factor in achieving restful sleep. While the nose has several functions in processing air before it reaches the lungs, many people breathe through their mouths while sleeping. This can lead to snoring, which disrupts the release of vasopressin, causing sleep disturbances and the urge to urinate. Alexander suggests trying mouth taping to encourage nasal breathing. He has encouraged Rodgers to use this method, and he recently learned how significant the benefits can be.
Implementing these changes into our daily routines is achievable with minor adjustments. Alexander points out that we have been conditioned to accept certain norms regarding our bodies and aging, rather than challenging the factors that contribute to these norms. While most of us may never earn anywhere near the estimated $350 million Rodgers has made throughout his career, we owe it to ourselves to enhance our quality of life as we age.
“We’ve all really domesticated ourselves,” Alexander said. “The idea of someone being able to heal at an expedited rate seems outrageous now because of that. I think that is because what’s normal for healing for the modern person is acutely degenerative. What’s outrageous is that we believe that our systems can’t heal more efficiently.”
Follow Aaron on Instagram @aaronalexander. For a free week trial of The Align Method online program, visit the Align Podcast.
