OTRF Fall newsletter features new injury-prevention research, ways to keep you and your family active year-round
In the new, fall issue of the Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Teaching and Research Foundation’s (OTRF) e-newsletter, Active Bones, Dr. Steven Chudik and his health performance team introduce a new functional capacity test they developed to determine when it is safe to return to sports or physical activities after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. This test not only measures knee function and athlete performance quantitatively, but also qualitatively. According to Dr. Chudik, it is a test that will allow physicians to answer their patient’s question confidently, “When can I play again?”
The OTRF team also looks at dislocated shoulder injuries in this issue. They can be serious and should not be disregarded because they can result in injury to the cartilage, bone, ligaments and rotator cuff. If treated properly by an expert medical team of athletic trainers, physical therapists, and primary care and orthopaedic sports medicine physicians, athletes with shoulder dislocations will not necessarily be on the bench for the entire season.
For those considering a new way to get exercise year-round, you might consider paddle or platform tennis. Before you do, read the Active Bones article in this issue that provides recommended warm-up exercises that will help prevent injuries and keep you from “pulling something.”
Think your children are getting enough exercise through the organized sports you enrolled them in for that purpose? You might want to read the article in this issue because new research contradicts that notion.
Dr. Steven Chudik, orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist with the Shoulder, Knee and Sports Medicine Injury Clinic in Westmont, Ill., founded OTRF in 2007 as a nonprofit organization to fund research and education to keep people active and healthy. To receive Active Bones and sport-specific training and conditioning programs developed by Dr. Chudik and OTRF automatically, email your address to contactus@chudikmd.com. Free downloads of past Active Bones issues and sport-specific training and conditioning programs are available on the OTRF website.
