Posts Categorized: Knee Injuries and Knee Surgery

Factors Influencing Return to Play Following ACL Surgery in Division 1 Football Players

Researchers led by Dr. Jimmy Daruwalla and colleagues published in the April 2014 in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine looked at factors that influenced return to play for Division 1 college football players after undergoing ACL surgery. “Return to Play” was defined as a player being able to engage fully in football practice and/… Read more »

MCL Injury in College Athletes

The medial collateral ligament (MCL) is a very important ligament in the knee. Situated on the inner side of the knee joint, the MCL is one of four knee ligaments. Many people suffer from an MCL injury at some point in time. The MCL injury is a common sports injury for athletes engaged in sports… Read more »

How Does Knee Surgery Impact Student Athletes?

Researchers including Caitlin Rugg MS, Dean Wang MD, and colleagues (2014) at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UCLA looked at how knee surgery impacts the sports career for intercollegiate athletes. Athletes who participated in college sports between 2003 and 2008 with a history of knee surgery were identified for analysis. Data on approximately 456… Read more »

The Societal and Economic Impact of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear

What is the cost in both societal and economic impact of the anterior cruciate ligament tear?  Is there a difference in cost when comparing patients who have undergone an ACL reconstruction versus more conservative treatment? An outstanding study published in the October 2013 issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery compared a cost analysis… Read more »

Is Exercise a Good Intervention for Some People with Osteoarthritis of the Knee?

A recent medical article published in the International SportMed Journal examined whether exercise was a favorable treatment for knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis of the knee is a common joint condition that happens when the cartilage in a person’s knee wears down. This progressive degenerative condition tends to happen gradually over time and is more common in people… Read more »

Knee Function and Quality of Life after Bilateral ACL Injuries

The ACL injury is very common in certain sports such as soccer, football, and basketball. The data has revealed that 14 percent of patients with a unilateral ACL injury will go on to develop an ACL injury to the other leg. There is an incidence of 32 to 70 ACL injuries per 100,000 people per… Read more »

Torn Meniscus and Meniscal Injury – Comparing Children and Adolescents

More and more children are competing in sports, and with increased participation there is an increase in the number of knee injuries. A knee injury like a torn meniscus can affect a young athletes knee for the rest of their life. Studies have confirmed early onset osteoarthritis in patients with ACL injuries and meniscal tears…. Read more »

ACL Injuries More Common Among Girls

Sports injury prevention programs are an important way to keep kids physically active and injury free. According to University of Connecticut researcher Dr. Lindsay DiStefano, middle school is an ideal time to implement a sports injury prevention program. Research suggests that improving neuromuscular coordination and control is at the heart of reducing ACL injuries by… Read more »

Common Pediatric Sports Injuries – An Overview of the Latest Sports Medicine Research

An excellent article comparing pediatric sports injuries to adolescence sports injuries was published in American Journal of Sports Medicine August 2013. Authors Dr. Andrea Stracciolini and Dr. Lyle Micheli et al. from Boston’s Children’s Hospital looked at two groups of athletes based on age: 5-12 years olds and 13-17 year olds. Over 2,100 children were… Read more »

Does a Sports Injury like an ACL Tear Mean the End of Competitive Play for Pro Athletes?

ACL Tear and Other Sports Injuries Play Key Role in Ending Sports Career for Some Athletes Researchers in Finland published interesting findings in the European Journal of Sports Science (2012) led by Ristolainen and colleagues that sports injuries like an ACL tear may radically alter the direction of an athlete’s career. In a study specifically… Read more »