Orthopaedics and the Athlete: the Pro, the Doc and the Media
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ — It’s 2005 and time for Super Bowl XXXIX. Terrell Owens has sustained a significant injury to his ankle in week 15 of the NFL regular season. He has injured the syndesmotic ligaments of the ankle, requiring surgery. Those ligaments are strong and need appropriate time to heal. Without that time, Owens could be inviting yet another injury. With the Super Bowl just around the corner, Owens wants to play.
His agent wants him to play as do the fans and the media. One of the few dissenters is his orthopaedic surgeon, Mark Myerson, MD, the Medical Director for The Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center and President of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society. He is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Dr. Myerson will not clear Owens to play. He is concerned that returning to play too early will only cause re-injury that may result in more surgery or further injury to the ankle joint.
Since Mark Myerson, MD, has many professional athletes as patients, he faces this type of pressure on a routine basis. “So much pressure is put on the physician. You may have a player who has a bad injury that requires surgery. Anyone else with the same injury and surgery would need 10 to 12 weeks to recover. With a professional athlete, the expectation is that the player will recover in half that time. Certainly they are often in better physical condition and are dedicated to their rehabilitation following surgery, but they still need time to recover properly.”
Myerson not only gets pressure from the player. He has to contend with demands from the coaches, the agents and the media. Professional sports is big business and orthopaedic surgeons have to try and meet the high expectations from players, coaches and fans.
Mark Myerson, MD, along with two of his colleagues, who also have professional athletes as patients, offered a media briefing on “Orthopaedics and the Athlete” at the AAOS Annual Meeting. The 74th Annual Meeting is being held at the in the San Diego Convention Center. The media briefing was held on February 14, 2007 at 10:15 a.m. in Room 23C in the convention center.
The panelists for this briefing see many of the players from the NFL, NBA and MLB. Robert Anderson, MD, has found a way to combine his love of medicine with his love of football. From graduating from Medical College of Wisconsin, he served as a consultant to his childhood team, the NFL’s Green Bay Packers — treating some of the players’ most challenging cases. Since that time, he has worked with nearly every team in the NFL, as well as to teams in the NBA and MLB. David A. Porter, MD, Ph.D. is an orthopaedic consultant to the Indianapolis Colts, Purdue University and Indiana University as well as team physician for Mt. Vernon High School. He also holds a doctorate degree in Human Bioenergetics (Exercise and Muscle Performance Physiology) from Ball State University.
About AAOS
http://www.aaos.org/about/about.asp
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
CONTACT: Annie Hayashi, +1-847-384-4034, +1-847-682-9619,hayashi@aaos.org, or Lauren Pearson, +1-847-384-4031, +1-708-227-1773,lpearson@aaos.org, both of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Web site: http://www.aaos.org/