We return today with Dr. Brett Owens to shift our discussion of MCL tears on to the treatment of isolated and combined MCL injuries, then wrap up with a discussion on safe return to play.

On today’s episode we’re focusing on medial collateral ligament injuries with Dr. Brett Owens. Dr. Owens is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at University Orthopaedics in Providence Rhode Island, who specializes in complex shoulder, knee and sports medicine. He is the Chief of Sports Medicine at the Miriam Hospital in Providence, RI and the Director of the Rhode Island Cartilage Repair Center.

In this episode, we’re going to continue our discussion with Dr. William Bugbee and focus on OCA surgical technique and then discuss clinical outcomes including return to sports.

On today’s episode we’re focusing on osteochondral allograft transplantation or “OCA” with Dr. William Bugbee. We have some great articles for you that contribute well to our conversation on OCA, including allograft preparation and storage, graft choice, surgical technique, clinical outcomes of OCA and return to sport.

Our latest segment addition - “Ask The Sports Docs” - Drs. Logan & Bassett answer listeners' most pressing orthopaedic & sports medicine questions, giving insight to their opinions and expertise on these topics. On this episode, The Sports Docs will touch on Anterior Knee Pain after knee surgery and the use of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) in their practice.

Today, we’re focusing on acromioclavicular or “AC” separations in the NFL, also known as “AC sprains."

Derek Carr, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, sustained an AC sprain in the loss to the Green Bay Packers. As always, our plan today is to start with an overview of the relevant anatomy, discuss the mechanism of injury followed by treatment options for these players, and then wrap up with what you all want to know – when do players typically return to play after this injury and how do they do once they return?

Today, we’re focusing on high ankle sprains in the NFL – most recently plaguing Khalil Herbert of the Chicago Bears and Saquon Barkley earlier this season of the NY Giants.

We’ll discuss the mechanism of injury, treatment options for these players and importantly, when do they typically return to play and how do they do?

In this episode, we’re going to continue our discussion with Dr. Matt Provencher and focus on ACL tears in the military, then wrap up with a discussion on returning tactical athletes to full duty.

On today’s episode we’re focusing on musculoskeletal injuries or “MSKIs” in warrior athletes with Dr. Matt Provencher. We have some great articles for you that contribute well to our conversation on musculoskeletal injuries in the military population.

Grit is the disposition to strive for long-term goals despite setbacks and challenges. Given the lengthy, arduous process of rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), an athlete's grit may predict postoperative outcomes across time.In this Over Time episode, The Sports Docs discuss Dr. Jay Albright's recent AJSM publication titled "Association of Grit With Postoperative Knee Outcomes and Physical Function After ACL Reconstruction in Adolescent Athletes." 

Today, we’re focusing on hamstring injuries in the NFL – specifically, risk factors for hamstring injury, treatment options for these players and importantly, when do they typically return to play and how do they do?

Today we have a special episode for you. We’re going to be talking about some of the newest orthopedic technology presented at the AOSSM meeting this past July. As judges for the ACE award – which recognizes cutting-edge innovation in the field of orthopaedic sports medicine by exhibitors at the AOSSM Annual Meeting.

Welcome to another episode of Game Plan! These Game Plan episodes are specifically designed for patients – to hopefully answer some of the questions you have about the most common sports medicine conditions and surgical treatments. But today’s episode is a little different and we’re excited about it! Today, we’re focusing on common injuries in the NFL and how these injuries impact time missed and player performance once athletes ultimately return to play.

Our conversation picks back up with a discussion of surgical treatment options for more significant glenoid bone loss.

There is a 2021 yellow journal article titled Diagnosis and Management of Traumatic Anterior Shoulder Instability that nicely outlines a treatment algorithm based on percentage of glenoid bone loss as well as the presence and severity of a Hill Sachs lesion. Matt Provencher and colleagues explain that good results can be expected after Bankart repair in on-track Hill-Sachs lesions with glenoid bone loss less than 13.5%.

On today’s episode we’re focusing on anterior shoulder instability with Dr. Brian Lau, orthopedic sports medicine surgeon, team physician for Duke Athletics and Director of the FIFA Medical Center at Duke.

We are joined by Dr. Dean Taylor and Dr. Carolyn Hettrich! Dr. Taylor is the Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Duke University and is a team physician for Duke Athletics. He is the current President of AOSSM and is also the chair of the Feagin Leadership Program. Dr. Hettrich is a principle investigator for the MOON Shoudler Group, former Chief of the Shoulder Service at Brigham & Womens and recently finished her tenure as Chair of the Emerging Leaders Committee, which oversees the Emerging Leaders Program.

Today's episode focuses on two different surgical techniques for management of complex rotator cuff injuries: (1) The biceps SMASH technique for augmentation of a repairable rotator cuff tear. (2) The subacromial balloon spacer – InSpace by Stryker – to manage irreparable rotator cuff tears.

Welcome to another episode of Game Plan!

As you might remember from our episode on ACL graft choices, these Game Plan episodes are specifically designed for patients – to hopefully answer some of the questions you have about the most common sports medicine conditions and surgical treatments.

We’re continuing with our favorite topic today – ACL tears – but today’s episode is going to focus on risk factors for ACL tears. Specifically, which of these risk factors can we modify to lessen the chance of sustaining ACL tear and how do we decrease that risk.

We are so excited to host these amazing guest for “Challenging Cartilage Injuries," Live at AOSSM 2023.

Dr. Sabrina Strickland is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and an attending surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery . She is active member of many societies and research groups, including the International Cartilage Repair Society and the International Patellofemoral Study Group.

Dr. Seth Sherman is the Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University Orthopaedics and is a Stanford University Football team physician. He is Chairman of the AAOS Sports Medicine/Arthroscopy committee and is also a member of the International Patellofemoral Study Group.

Both Dr. Strickland and Dr. Sherman publish and lecture extensively on the topic of knee joint preservation, cartilage restoration and specifically patellofemoral cartilage disease - so we’re excited to hear them speak more this topic!

Dr. Scott Rodeo is a professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Weill Cornell Medical School and an attending surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

He is the head team physician for the NY Giants, Co-Chief Emeritus of the Sports Medicine & Shoulder Service and Vice Chair of Orthopaedic Research. Dr. Rodeo is also the Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and is a renowned expert in the field of orthobiologics - so we’re excited to hear more from him about this rapidly growing field.