Known as one of the top athletic trainers in the National Football League, Rick Burkholder is in his ninth season in Philadelphia.

"I think Rick is well rounded," said head coach Andy Reid. "He gives you the feeling that it wouldn't matter what position he had in the organization, that he could come in and do a good job with it. It just happens to be that he's the head athletic trainer. Plus, he has youth on his side. There is no question he's one of the best trainers in the NFL. He has the respect of the players, the medical staff and the coaches and that's a hard triangle to grab and develop a trustworthy relationship with."

The director of one of the finest athletic training staffs in professional sports, the 43-year-old Burkholder (born 3/14/64) is well known for his expertise in his rehabilitation programs.

Burkholder's aggressive rehabilitation program with Terrell Owens in 2004 allowed the star receiver to return from a surgically-repaired ankle in seven weeks to play in Super Bowl 39.

He also spearheaded Duce Staley's complicated rehab program in 2001 that allowed him to return to the field after suffering a severe Lis Franc sprain in his foot, an injury that has ended the careers of several NFL players. The process went so well, Burkholder has since been published and has spoken nationally on the Lis Franc injury and its rehab process.

In addition, Burkholder also designed a remarkable rehab program for Steelers CB Rod Woodson in 1995. Woodson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on opening day, but returned in just 4 and a half months after surgery to play in Super Bowl 30 (The normal recovery process for that injury is 9-12 months).

Also, Burkholder has been very proactive in sports medicine, emphasizing programs that prevent and combat dehydration, asthma, and lower back injuries. Rick has been instrumental in injury prevention as well by modifying the team's stretching program and instituting a torso-strengthening program known as "back school."

Burkholder was named to his current post on February 9, 1999. He joined the Eagles after spending six seasons as an assistant athletic trainer with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Prior to joining the Steelers staff in 1993, the Carlisle, PA, native spent two seasons as an assistant football trainer at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh. A 1987 Pitt grad, Burkholder went on to earn his master's degree in athletic training from the University of Arizona where he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant and another as an assistant athletic trainer.

Burkholder is a certified athletic trainer and a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society, and the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society where he is the committee chair for internal education for the society's foundation. He also serves on the NFL's mild traumatic brain injury committee.

Burkholder first gained NFL experience serving as a summer intern with the New England Patriots training staff in 1986. He was influenced by his father, Richard, a long-time athletic trainer at Carlisle HS, and his mother, Nancy, a registered nurse.

In 2003, Burkholder and his father were named distinguished alumni of Carlisle High School.

Rick and his wife, Kristine, reside in Sicklerville, NJ, with their daughters, Quinn Taylor (6) and Carly Ann (4).