Active lifestyles are great for heart health, stress management, and weight loss. But they can also be a contributing factor to joint injuries. Later in life, these injuries can lead to osteoarthritisOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"... (OA)Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"....
For example, about half of those who sustain an anterior cruciate ligamentAn ACL injury is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate (KROO-she-ate) ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help... (ACL)An ACL injury is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate (KROO-she-ate) ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help... tear, one of the more common serious joint injuries, develop early knee OAOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"... within 10 years. ChronicChronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or... knee pain from knee OAOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"... makes routine tasks like climbing stairs or shopping for groceries more difficult. The high rate of early OAOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"... in younger, active adults has led to an increase in knee replacement surgeries among Americans aged 20-49 years.
Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) are aiming to identify changes occurring after a knee injury that could be early warning signs of OAOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear".... Led by Elizabeth Wellsandt, PhD, DPT, associate professor in the UNMC Physical Therapy Program, the study’s ultimate goal is to develop and offer clinical tools that clinicians can use to identify OAOsteoarthritis (OA) is a common joint disease that most often affects middle age to elderly people. It is commonly referred to as "wear and tear"... risk very early after a knee injury, then intervene as appropriate to prevent irreversible joint damage and/or the need for surgery.
“Years after ACL injuryAn ACL injury is a tear or sprain of the anterior cruciate (KROO-she-ate) ligament (ACL) — one of the strong bands of tissue that help..., it’s not uncommon for patients to have lingering or increasing knee symptoms such as pain, swelling, or decreased knee function,” Dr. Wellsandt said. “We believe this is a critical time to understand how we can improve our care to focus not only on the short-term goals of getting people safely and successfully back to the lifestyles they prefer, but also on the longer-term goal of keeping their knees healthy as they age.”
The Foundation provided critical support for this ambitious study, allowing Dr. Wellsandt to establish a team of collaborators at UNMC including physical therapyPhysical therapy, also known as physiotherapy, may include certain exercises, massages and treatments based on physical stimuli (e.g. heat, cold, electrical currents or ultrasound). The..., orthopedic surgeryOrthopedics, or orthopedic services, aim at the treatment of the musculoskeletal system. This includes your bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles., radiology, engineering, athletic training, rheumatology, and epidemiology. The team’s initial findings enabled them to successfully obtain government funding from the NIH.
“This large, longitudinal project is benefiting from the generous support of the Foundation, and our team appreciates the Foundation’s awareness that arthritis is a critical and unmet need in sports medicine,” Dr. Wellsandt said. “Our results could create new opportunities to prevent a debilitating disease with no current cure, and help patients live active and healthy lifestyles despite suffering a knee injury when they are young.”
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