Getting Back in the Game of Life: The Rehab Story of Charles Davis
“A key play for Tennessee – defensive back Charles Davis intercepts the ball!” was something Charles Davis was used to hearing in his younger days as an All-SEC defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers. Today, Davis serves lead analyst for FOX Sports College Football and is a volunteer coach; but, that doesn’t mean he is any less active now than he was during his football career.
While working at the Manning Passing Academy as a volunteer coach in 2014, Davis went up to catch a pass and heard a pop – his patella in his right leg had ruptured. He immediately scheduled surgery and began his rehabilitation as quickly as possible.
Following surgery, Davis was referred to Ability Rehabilitation following the surgery he had on his right knee. There, Davis worked diligently with Tom Langer, licensed physical therapist and clinic manager.
“Thank goodness I was [referred to Ability Rehabilitation],” Davis says. “They brought me back a lot faster than I ever expected. I was told six to nine months total rehab. So far, I believe I am ahead of pace due to Tom and his staff.”
At first, Davis was terrified of the rehabilitation process, nervous that he would further injure his knee rather than improve it.
“I had hurt my knee and I didn’t want to hurt it anymore, I was very protective of it,” Davis says. “The first drill they had me do was to put me on an exercise bike and just try and work my leg out a little. It couldn’t go all the way around, it couldn’t bend that much yet.”
As Davis began to know and trust the team at Ability Rehabilitation, his confidence and his progress began to skyrocket.
“Tom told me ‘you’ve got to let your fear go. We know what we’re doing, we will not let you hurt yourself. Go on and do what we tell you to do and you will see the results.’ And boy was he right,” says Davis. “He did not lie to me one bit.”
Ability Rehabilitation has helped Davis rehab quickly and he confesses he is impressed with the results. Davis says he now walks with confidence, can do everything at home and moves around freely. He can broadcast games where he sometimes stands in the same place for four hours, he can even get back on the field to coach again. He says that he’s not running yet, but he thinks he’ll be doing that soon.
“When I first heard it and had the surgery, I’ll be frank, I thought I will never be the same again,” Davis says. “I now know that’s not true, I think I’ll feel a little bit better when my rehabilitation is complete.”
