Wisconsin helped a Green Bay Packers star WR fix his lingering injury issue
Specialists at UW-Madison may have saved the Green Bay Packers season.
That is a bit of hyperbole. But they have seemingly helped Packers star WR Christian Watson figure out his lingering hamstring problem.
Related: Where every member of Wisconsin’s record-breaking recruiting class of 2021 is now
Watson has played in only 23 of 34 possible games since the Packers selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. Eight of those absences were in 2023 due to a pulled right hamstring.
In January, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Watson underwent eight hours of testing at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health to determine the reason for his injury struggles. That testing revealed asymmetry between the muscles in his two legs — a difference in muscle mass of as much as 20% between his right and left leg.
Watson described what he learned from UW-Madison specialists when meeting with the media in Green Bay last week.
“It was the asymmetry between the legs,” Watson said. “It comes from a lot of things, obviously the issues I’ve had in the past with hamstrings, not fully recovering from those strength-wise. I’ve just been attacking the strength side of it, trying to get that symmetry back. It’s been huge for me, I feel really good.”
The wide receiver went on to explain that perfect symmetry may be impossible to achieve. But his goal is to get his legs’ muscle mass within 6% of each other.
#Packers WR Christian Watson spent the offseason working with specialists at @UWMadison to help solve his lingering hamstring issues.
Watson learned there was asymmetry in the level of strength in each of his legs, which can translate to injury.
He said he feels back to 100%. pic.twitter.com/39ku2Iq0g4
— Ashley Washburn (@ashleyjwashburn) May 22, 2024
Wisconsin Badgers football is not necessarily to thank for this breakthrough, but rather UW-Madison’s School of Public Health — which in 2021 was given a sizable grant by the NFL to study the prevention and treatment of hamstring injuries.
Watson’s breakthrough is a perfect example of the application of the school’s research.
Christian Watson went down to UW-Madison this Offseason with Eric Stokes to find the cause of their hamstring issues, with Watson finding out there's a difference in his muscle mass in his legs, with his right leg being 20% less than his left. Since he found out, He's dropped the… pic.twitter.com/SyTHWOugGl
— Easton Butler (@Easton__Butler) May 24, 2024
The Packers wide receiver is a dynamic deep threat when on the field and healthy. The team will need that threat if it is to improve upon 2023’s surprising run to the NFC Divisional Round.
If all works out, Packers fans have Wisconsin to thank.
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