Today’s episode is going to focus on rotator cuff repair – specifically the various repair constructs to address different tear patterns, when and how to best augment rotator cuff repairs and how our present clinical data can help us counsel our patients and optimize outcomes. 

We are joined today by Dr. Peter Millett, an orthopedic surgeon and partner at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado, researcher and board member at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and Medical Director for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail. He is also an ambassador for the US Ski and Snowboard team and a consultant to the NHL Players Association and MLB Players Association.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the Field House!

Today’s episode is going to focus on osteochondral allograft transplantation, and specifically how basic science research can and should impact your clinical practice.

We are joined today by Dr. Brian Cole, a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Rush University Medical Center, Chair of Surgery at Rush Oak Park Hospital and Section Head of the Rush Cartilage Restoration Center.  He is also a past president of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and a team physician for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox.

 So, without further ado, let’s get to the Field House!

Today’s episode is going to focus on patellofemoral cartilage restoration and discuss osteochondral allograft transplantation for both patellar and trochlear lesions, as well as off-the-shelf options including Arthrex Cartiform. We will also chat about the addition of osteotomies to offload that cartilage restoration and optimize outcomes.

We are joined today by Dr. Tom DeBerardino, a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Texas health San Antonio, team physician for UT San Antonio athletics and a retired US Army veteran.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the Field House!

Today’s episode is going to focus on revision ACL reconstruction – starting with the diagnostic workup of a patient with a suspected ACL retear as well as the surgical approach that follows, including graft choice, staging and the addition of other procedures such as LET and osteotomies. We are joined today by two outstanding guests! 

Dr. Mary Mulcahey is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine, Chief of Sports Medicine at Loyola University Medical Center and Deputy Editor for Sports Medicine at the Journal of bone and joint surgery.  She is also a team physician for Loyola University athletics and recently launched the new Women’s Sports Medicine program at Loyola Medicine.

Dr. Clayton Nuelle is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri and Associate Editor for the Arthroscopy Journal.  He is a team physician from Mizzou athletics and the head team physician for Mizzou football, soccer, swimming, tennis and softball.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the Field House!

Today’s episode is going to focus on the level I clinical trials evaluating the Bridge-Enhanced ACL Repair or “BEAR”, including an update from the ongoing multicenter RCT – the BEAR-MOON trial! We are joined today by two outstanding guests! 

Dr. Brett Owens is a professor of orthopedic surgery at the Brown University Alpert Medical School, Chief of Sports Medicine at Miriam Hospital and the Director of the Rhode Island Cartilage Repair Center.  He is also a team physician for the Providence Bruins and Brown University athletics.

Dr. Kurt Spindler is a professor of orthopedic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Director of Clinical Research and Outcomes at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida and a past president of AOSSM. He has also served on numerous NFL committees including the Safety Council and the Research and Innovation Committee.

So, without further ado, let’s get to the Exhibit Hall!

On today’s episode we’re rebooting our most popular episode of all time which focuses on rehabilitation of ACL surgery with Candace Townley Cox, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and body movement expert at Evolution Physical Therapy. 

We’re going to continue our discussion with Candace Townley Cox and focus on rehabilitation of quad function and lower extremity mobility after surgery.
We start with a systematic review from the August 2022 issue of AJMS titled The Effects of Blood Flow Restriction in Patients Undergoing Knee Surgery. 

Now, we did a whole episode on blood flow restriction therapy or “BFR” with Dr. Eddie Chang back in October of 2021. If you haven’t already listened, go check it out! In brief, BFR involves the use of a cuff or tourniquet system positioned at the upper part of the limb to restrict venous blood return while maintaining arterial inflow. Restriction of venous outflow leads to an anaerobic – or oxygen depleted – environment similar to that of higher-intensity training. This anaerobic environment is hypothesized to promote muscle hypertrophy through a combination of cell signaling and hormonal changes, effectively leading to muscle mass and strength gains at lower intensity training – ideal for our post-op patients.

Lawrence Wengle and colleagues at the University of Toronto performed this review of 11 papers and concluded that the use of BFR led to significant improvements in quad muscle mass, quantified by cross-sectional area of the muscle, and quad strength after knee surgery. Patient reported outcomes were not significantly different between those who used BFR and those who did not. Lastly, in the two studies that used BFR pre-op, no significant benefit was found.

On today’s episode we’re rebooting our most popular episode of all time which focuses on rehabilitation of ACL surgery with Candace Townley Cox, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and body movement expert at Evolution Physical Therapy. Today’s discussion will center around tips and tricks to optimize outcomes and some common pitfalls that may hold patients back from a full recovery.

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We have some great articles for you that contribute well to our conversation on the surgical treatment of knee cartilage disease. As always, links to all of the papers that we discuss on this show can be found on our podcast website.

The first article is a level 3 case-control study published in the October 2020 issue of OJSM, titled Anterior Knee Pain After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. Gustavo Constantino de Campos and his team in Sao Paulo, Brazil retrospectively reviewed the records of 438 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction. Anterior knee pain was reported in 6.2% of cases. Patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with a patellar tendon autograft were 3.4 times more likely to experience anterior knee pain. Also, patients who experienced an extension deficit in the post-op period were also more likely to experience anterior knee pain, with an odds-ratio of 5.3. The authors fund that anterior knee pain was not correlated with patient sex, age or surgical technique.

We are joined today by Dr. Candace Townley Cox. Candace is a Colorado native who received her Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training at Nebraska Wesleyan University. Following undergrad Candace returned to Colorado as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Regis University in Denver. There, she earned her Master’s degree in Sports Performance while working specifically with the Women’s Volleyball and Softball teams. Candace continued her education at Regis University earning her Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Since graduating Candace has spent countless hours in Sport Science Labs assessing movement quality, efficiency, as well as bone and muscle performance. As a movement expert, she is able to address the body’s impairments both from a table assessment and from functional movement assessments.

We’ve been doing this podcast now for over 3 years and today we are giving you a refresh on one of our all-time, most popular episodes.

This episode answers the question we get asked all the time: What graft should I choose to reconstruct my ACL?

Please note that this episode is going to focus strictly on ACL reconstruction. For more information on ACL rehab check out our recent two-part episode with Candace Townley Cox back in April of 2023. We also have a few episodes on the BEAR ACL procedure - be sure to check those out as well!

Welcome to another episode of Ask The Sports Docs. We get a lot questions from our listeners each week and they’re great questions, so rather than responding individually we thought we’d do these mini episodes where highlight some of the best questions and our responses. So, let’s get started! Today’s Ask The Sports Docs focuses on everything you ever wanted to know about bracing.

We’re coming to you live from the Arthroscopy Association of North America's Annual Meeting in Boston, MA!  This year, orthopedic professionals gathered from all over the world at the AANA meeting to take part in an exciting educational line up. The educational program was comprised of instructional course lectures, podium presentations and panels, as well as topic debates.

Today, we’re going to be reviewing a few hot topics that arose from the meeting - live from the exhibit hall!