In the world of sports, when a player is injured and unable to play, championships may be lost.  One treatment currently being used to get players back to their sport is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injections. Athletes including Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chris Canty of the New York Giants have been treated with PRP to accelerate healing and return to play faster.

Jeffery Heftler, MD; Gloria Cohen, MD; Halina Snowball, MD and the ONS Foundation are currently studying the use of PRP injections to enhance tissue  recovery for various soft tissue problems such as tennis elbow, hamstring strains, MCL strains and patellar tendonitis.

The procedure is fairly straightforward and quick. A syringe of the patient’s own blood is spun in a centrifuge separating out the platelets, which are rich in the body’s own growth factors. When injected back into the patient, these growth factors may help to accelerate healing and can be useful in repairing soft tissue injuries that would otherwise take longer to heal. While it is a new treatment and considered experimental and not FDA approved, it is a very low risk procedure. PRP Treatment has been used for a few years with good anecdotal success and very few downsides.

By closely monitoring each patient who receives PRP, physicians are able to identify which conditions will benefit most from the treatment. Since the material comes from the patient’s own body, there are no side effects from the injections. The treatment carries none of the risks of weakening surrounding tissue or increasing blood sugars that steroid injections have.

“… after my knee injury, the coach and I thought I was out for the wholeseason. After PRP treatment, I was back playing an entire game in 2½ weeks. Go docs!”

Eric Joyner, Varsity football player at King & Low-Heywood Thomas School

More ONS doctors in the news!
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Steven Hindman was interviewed by Anne Semmes of Greenwich Citizen for an article about common injuries that occur around the holidays. If you didn’t see the story, check out Avoiding those costly falls over Thanksgiving.

Joint replacement specialists from ONS and Greenwich Hospital participated in a joint replacement symposium on November 5th at the Greenwich Library Cole Auditorium.  Knee and hip specialists Frank Ennis, MD and Brian Kavanagh, MD; and shoulder specialist Seth Miller, MD spoke about the latest advances in joint replacement, including computer-assisted and minimal incision, muscle sparing techniques.  Information about preparing for joint replacement and what to expect from the recovery process was presented by hospital nursing and PT staff.  To see a video of the entire presentation click here.

Primary-care sports medicine physician Gloria Cohen, M.D. and orthopedic sports medicine specialist Katherine Vadasdi, MD want parents, their daughters and coaches to know about the unique risks girls have for potentially serious injuries. At the lecture last night at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, titled “The Female Athlete and Preventing Sports Injuries in Girls”, the two doctors spoke in depth about the “epidemic of sports injuries in girls” and what can be done to prevent them.  The event was presented by the Old Greenwich-Riverside Community Center (OGRCC) and the ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education.

According to Dr. Cohen, who is also primary care team physician for Columbia University and a member of the 2010 Winter Olympic Host Physician Team, stress fractures are a major concern and are often overlooked or minimized by the athlete. She likened a stress fracture to breaking a plastic credit card  by bending it back and forth until it weakens so much that it finally breaks. “If you see warning signs of a stress fracture, take heed and stop playing,” said Dr. Cohen,  “Stress fractures can lead to very serious injuries that can even require surgery to repair. ” Dr. Cohen also spoke about injuries to growth plates and the importance of proper nutrition in adolescents to insure that the young skeleton develops properly.  “The best way to get enough calcium and iron is through a proper diet,” she explained.

Dr. Vadasdi turned the focus of the evening to the alarming rate of ACL injuries.  “Studies indicate that young women experience up to eight times more ACL injuries than men, and 70% of ACL injuries occur as a result of a sports injury,” she said.  “The ACL is the ligament in the center of the knee that helps to stabilize the joint.  It can come under particular stress from landing, planting and turning movements.”  She explained that the generally wider pelvis in the female body tends to increase the angle of the hip to the knee.  Without proper training, girls often bring their knees together in a knock-kneed position as they land and plant. This causes particular stress on the ACL, increasing the risk for it to rupture. There are other anatomical and hormonal factors that play a role as well.

The doctors directed the audience to get detailed guides to conditioning and strengthening exercises from the ONS Foundation website, www.ons-foundation.org. The talk was then opened up for questions from the audience.

The Old Greenwich-Riverside Community Center (OGRCC) and the Greenwich-based ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education will present a FREE seminar: “The Female Athlete and Preventing Sports Injuries in Girls” on Thursday, November 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.  Primary-care sports medicine physician Gloria Cohen, M.D. and orthopedic sports medicine specialist Katherine Vadasdi, MD want parents and their daughters to know about the unique risks girls have for potentially serious injuries and what can be done to avoid them. The program, which is open to girls, ages 11 to 19 and their parents, will take place at the OGRCC headquarters, 90 Harding Road in Old Greenwich. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. Registration is required. Call (203) 637 3659 or email ogrcc.execasst@yahoo.com. (more…)