Achilles Tendinopathy in the NBA: A bottom-up approach

Achilles Tendinopathy in the NBA: A Bottom-Up Approach with NBA Physical Therapist Jarred Boyd Achilles tendinopathy is one of the most performance-limiting conditions in basketball — and one of the hardest to manage well across an 82-game NBA season. In this episode of the How I Rehab Podcast, host Nick Kane sits down with NBA Physical Therapist Jarred Boyd (Memphis Grizzlies) to unpack how elite NBA medical staff actually assess, load and progress Achilles and patellar tendon pain, from the first signs of irritability through to full return to play. Jarred holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy and has spent seven seasons working in the NBA, most recently as Director of Rehabilitation for the Memphis Grizzlies. His approach blends first-principles thinking, systems-based reasoning and tissue-specific loading science — aligning every intervention with an athlete's tissue ecology, impulse capacity and neuromechanical readiness. In this episode, Jarred and Nick discuss: How prevalent tendon pain really is in NBA basketball, and why the demands of the modern game are driving it To what extent tendon pain limits participation and performance, even before it stops an athlete playing The "bottom-up" approach to tissue health — building tendon stiffness through morphology and material adaptation, not chasing it directly Three key management principles built around strain: strain magnitude, strain tolerance and strain rate Practical prescription of loading — sets, reps, %1RM and %MVIC for isometric and isotonic tendon work Ideal positioning for tendon loading and adaptation, and why range matters as much as load What the seated calf raise and inner-range calf exercise actually do — and don't do — for Achilles tendinopathy What mechanical fatigue is, and how it shapes in-season load management decisions Addressing the real risk of Achilles tendon rupture, and the role of vertical integration in reducing it Addressing the fear of Achilles rupture in athletes who are managing tendon pain   Want to take this from theory into your own clinical practice? Jarred's bottom-up framework blends with Colin Griffin’s Sports Map Masterclass, Athlete Profiling & Rehab for the Calf & Achilles Complex. Colin is a Lower-Limb Rehabilitation Specialist at UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin, holds a PhD in Achilles tendon injury rehabilitation and lower limb biomechanics, and spent over 15 years in high performance sport. Colin walks you through objective calf assessment, isokinetic and horizontal jump testing, rehabilitation progressions for the calf and Achilles complex, and the coaching cues you…