Doctor: Cutler Injury Could Take Weeks, Months To Heal

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will be out of the game for at least four weeks as he recovers from what doctors diagnosed as a groin tear.

That’s something Chicago's Dr. Michael Terry says can take a long time to heal.

The orthopedic surgeon at Northwestern Medicine is the team doctor for the Blackhawks and Northwestern Athletics, and he’s seen his share of such injuries. He said a groin injury could take anywhere from days to months to heal. Most times it's somewhere in between.

Cutler's work off the field in the next month won't be easy. Terry warned the area is a particularly tough part of the body to rehab.

“It’s very difficult not to use the groin muscle, whether you’re standing, sitting or lying down," Terry said, "so you’re constantly irritating it and it’s hard to isolate it and take it out of function.”

Terry says it’s not just athletes who can find themselves with this type of injury. People of any age can pull a groin muscle doing something as simple as stepping off the curb.

"Football players are tough, so it's unusual to see them incapacitated, but it's a painful area. Injuries there can shut you down quickly."

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