Danny Orozco was just two and a half years old when he kicked his first soccer ball. He never stopped. Danny fell in love with soccer immediately and he began to dream of playing soccer professionally. He’s on his way. Last year, Danny was recruited to Charlotte FC Academy, which strives to develop athletes from the Carolinas into the world’s best soccer players. The academy invites high-performing high school athletes to compete on a semi-professional level to prepare them for professional or Division 1 college programs. Eventually, the Academy hopes to move two players to their Major League Soccer team each year.
Last year during training, Danny went for a slide tackle against another player and his knee popped. He didn’t just feel the pop; he heard it. Danny hit the ground.
The team’s head athletic trainer, Scott Morrison, connected Danny to Dr. Paul Henson, the head team physician for Charlotte FC Academy and a primary care sports physician at Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute. As a physician and former soccer player, Henson understands the importance of working with professional and aspiring professional athletes. It’s not just about helping them recover but helping them recover so that they can return to playing safely at a high level as soon as possible.
The Official Healthcare Provider of Charlotte FC
Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute is a founding partner and the Official Healthcare Provider of Charlotte FC and the Charlotte FC Academy. Orthopedic specialists – including surgeons, physical therapists, emergency medicine providers, athletic trainers, dieticians, cardiologists, neuropsychiatrists and more – offer coordinated care to Charlotte’s professional soccer team and those who hope to join it.
“Atrium Health and our medical team work hard to ensure the players get the expert care they need throughout the season,” says Dr. Brent Messick, the chief medical officer for Charlotte FC and an Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute sports medicine physician.
When Danny first met with Henson, he underwent X-rays and an examination. Then, Henson had to share a tough diagnosis: a grade two MCL sprain. The sprain was severe enough to sideline Danny for six weeks.
“It's never fun for a player to hear that they’re going to be out for six weeks. So, he was a little bit let down at that point,” Henson says. “But to Danny’s credit, he was very understanding of the situation and was really proactive about his recovery. He came through with flying colors.”
Initially, Danny had to stay away from soccer to allow the pain to subside. It was a necessary – if unfortunate – part of the healing process.
“After Danny was diagnosed, I contacted his athletic trainers and we came up with a good treatment plan,” Henson says. “In the kind of acute phase right after the injury, our job was to slow it down and protect him. Then we got him into a special brace and really just let the dust settle.”
During the first stages of Danny’s rehabilitation with Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, the goal was to return his range of motion to a healthy state. After that, therapists helped him strengthen muscles around his knee before moving onto biometric movements and soccer-specific drills.
“I worried at first about being able to play again,” Danny says. “But when I got into rehab, I felt like I was going to come back stronger.”
And he did. After Henson gave him the green light to return to the pitch, Danny’s playing again after a full recovery. He expects to do even better this season.
Helping Danny return to the pitch isn’t just a professional goal of Henson’s, but a personal one. Henson understands all too well the pressures of the sport and the love of the game. He grew up playing soccer in Charlotte, too.
“For me to go off into the world, do all my training and then come back home and be affiliated with a Charlotte-based MLS team is a dream come true for me,” Henson says. “I get up every morning, thinking it's going to be a great day. How fun is it to be affiliated with something that I was very passionate about growing up and to make a difference in these players’ lives?”
