VIDEO: The Impact of Knee Injuries on NFL Players
In This Article
- Orthopaedic Surgeon Mark Price, MD, PhD, and his colleague describe how the systematic grading of meniscus and cartilage damage in NFL players following a knee injury can be an effective way to predict future athletic performance
- Current models of evaluating the meniscus tend to rely on doctors’ instincts, and may not provide reliable estimates of future functional capabilities of the knee
At the 2018 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting, Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopedic Surgeon Mark Price, MD, PhD, of the Department of Orthopaedics Sports Medicine Center, and his colleague Matthew Provencher, MD, discussed an improved method of predicting how NFL players’ careers may be affected following a knee injury.
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In this video interview with Healio, Drs. Price and Provencher discuss how their recent research sprang from a need to develop a more rigorous and accurate way to quantify cartilage and meniscus damage. The team looked at MRI imaging to assess and quantify bone, meniscus and cartilage changes in the knee, and tracked that information forward to see how those changes impacted NFL players’ careers.
Dr. Price, who also serves as the head team physician and medical director for the New England Patriots, hopes their research will lead to better predictions of recovery and functionality after cartilage and meniscus injuries, for both professional and non-professional athletes.
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