Darren McConaghy

ATC | CAT(C) | DOMP | CSCS
Injury • Rehab • Return to performance
Looking for the connections others may have missed.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

20+ years in pro sport, rehab & performance.
I look at injuries differently.
Here I’ll break down:
• Athlete injury histories
• Complex & recurring injuries
• Return to performance

Not just WHAT happened, but WHY, and what might be getting missed.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

NHL Injury Update | Sept. 23

Dan Vladar (PHI): upper body, left Tuesday’s game and did not return.

Olen Zellweger (BUF): entered concussion protocol after a hard hit.

Mattias Samuelsson (BUF): left after blocking a shot, being evaluated.

Alex Ovechkin (WSH): lower body injury could keep him out for the remainder of preseason.

Tyler Tucker (STL): knee injury now considered more than day to day, availability for the opener uncertain.

Semyon Varlamov (NYI): returned to game action after 22 months of rehab following partial knee replacements.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@Harjas_Grewal Worth remembering Vladar injured that same right arm during the playoffs last season and played through it.
Is this a new injury, or aggravate something that was already there?https://t.co/4UITJc1yZh

[Sportsnet @Sportsnet]

Dan Vladar is in some discomfort following this play on the Penguins power play

He stayed in between the pipes for the Flyers afterwards

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Blake Snell's latest left groin issue caught my attention because of his previous groin/adductor injuries.

When something keeps recurring, I want to know more than the diagnosis.

What's the athlete's history?

What has changed in movement, capacity and workload?

And what happens when full competitive demands return?

Sometimes the same injury is part of a much longer story.

[PredictEX @PredictEX]

BLAKE SNELL LEFT WEDNESDAY'S START AFTER JUST ONE INNING.

Left groin tightness, a recurring issue for him. Dodgers already dealing with bullpen depth concerns heading into October, now a rotation question too.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@FlyersNation I actually wonder if this goes back to the playoffs last season. Vladař injured that same right arm on the Bryan Rust play and played through it.

Could yesterday’s contact have aggravated something that was already there?

https://t.co/D4D0wedzVi

[Sportsnet @Sportsnet]

Dan Vladar is in some discomfort following this play on the Penguins power play

He stayed in between the pipes for the Flyers afterwards

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Nice. Make it a habit to self check your dorsiflexion. Simple knee to wall test will suffice. Do your best to ensure your left and right are as close as possible. Weighted Carrys are great. Try doing them backwards, it will challenge your dorsiflexion even more. In the gym safest bet is to stay to SL loading.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Unfortunately, returning to performance without restoring fundamental ankle dorsiflexion is a recipe for reinjury.

This was my concern watching Alec Pierce progress toward RTP.

He was already running, cutting and working routes, yet when I slowed down the training camp footage, something much more basic stood out: his left ankle still appeared to lack dorsiflexion during normal walking.

Now he’s reportedly back in a boot and non-weight bearing.

We don’t know exactly what happened, and we can’t establish cause from video. But it raises an important question:

Why are we progressing high-level performance before fundamental movement has been restored?

My breakdown 👇

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@nkinsocal Thanks! Really appreciate it. All the best with your ankle. One thing I’d encourage is making your “rehab” an ongoing part of your routine, even when the ankle feels good.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

https://t.co/1KQo1AliNu

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Two weeks off the ice. But what happens when he starts loading the knee again?

Barzal's situation is a good reminder that a timeline isn't a reconditioning plan.

The diagnosis matters. The healing matters. But so does how THIS athlete responds as demands increase.

The protocol shouldn't replace our thinking.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@ProFootballDoc Here are my thoughts. Curious to hear yours.

Have they ever actually made public what the original heel injury was or what the surgery was intended to fix?

https://t.co/copUlVfzEE

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Unfortunately, returning to performance without restoring fundamental ankle dorsiflexion is a recipe for reinjury.

This was my concern watching Alec Pierce progress toward RTP.

He was already running, cutting and working routes, yet when I slowed down the training camp footage, something much more basic stood out: his left ankle still appeared to lack dorsiflexion during normal walking.

Now he’s reportedly back in a boot and non-weight bearing.

We don’t know exactly what happened, and we can’t establish cause from video. But it raises an important question:

Why are we progressing high-level performance before fundamental movement has been restored?

My breakdown 👇

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

https://t.co/Z1n6YxXyXI

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s back is bothering him again.

But I’m not convinced the most interesting place to start looking is his back.

Go back to August 2025.

Vlad reaches for a throw at first base, drops into this extreme split position, and injures his left hamstring.

Now fast-forward to 2026.

He starts dealing with recurring lower-back symptoms. Then he develops right hamstring tightness. And most recently, his left lower back flares again after another stretch at first base.

That doesn’t mean the original hamstring injury caused his back problem.

But it should make us curious.

Because the hamstrings attach directly to the pelvis at the ischial tuberosity.

And I think of the pelvis as the bridge between the legs and the spine.

So my question would be: after that hamstring injury, did he regain the same ability to accept and transfer force through that entire system?

Did anything change at the hip, pelvis, and sacrum?

Because Vlad’s back may be where he feels the problem today.

It may not be where the story started.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

If you want more details on my thoughts click the link

https://t.co/Z1n6YxXyXI

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Looks like quite a turnaround from yesterday’s optimism.

Have to wonder now whether we’re dealing with an ACL tear, potentially with additional structural damage.

[ESPN @espn]

Breaking: QB Jaxson Dart suffered a knee injury last night that was worse than anticipated, sources told @RapSheet, @AdamSchefter and @MikeGarafolo after the MRI.

He’s out for an extended period of time, possibly the season.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

Yeah, golf is a different animal because the movement is much more predictable.

Ideally, if we can remove the restriction rather than continually work around it, that’s the better outcome. But there are a lot of factors involved.

If we truly can’t change it, I’d probably stop calling it a restriction and start thinking of it more as a disability we need to adapt around.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@JeffreyPengMD Cortisone can become the default when we rely too heavily on imaging and not enough on reconditioning.

If all we do is repeatedly quiet the symptoms without addressing function and capacity, are we actually changing the trajectory?

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

There were warning signs before Dylan Cease’s shoulder finally became the problem. Perhaps we need to look beyond the shoulder.

May 24: Mild left hamstring strain. His lead leg, important for braking and transferring energy up the kinetic chain. Returns June 9.

Then the workload ramps very quickly.

July 8: 118 pitches
July 25: Career high 120 pitches
Then: Shoulder feels “heavy and achy.”

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@MIDTOWNGRONK @RapSheet That’s a fair question

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@WillieBeakman If the 4–6 week timeline is accurate, likely a Grade 2 MCL. Could have been much worse.

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@RapSheet Were they so focused on his knee for 11 months that they forgot about the shoulder he was already dealing with before he tore his ACL?

[Darren McConaghy @ReconHub]

@katiefil23 @RapSheet @AdamSchefter Just throwing it out there! 😁