Archive for Joanne Barker
Uncertainty surrounds ACL treatment decisions in young athletes. It shouldn’t.
It’s an injury once seen mainly in adults, yet it’s become increasingly common in younger patients. From 2000 to 2020, the number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in children and adolescents increased between three- and five-fold. For young athletes, an ACL tear spells six to nine months of downtime, heightened risk for secondary ACL ... Read More about Uncertainty surrounds ACL treatment decisions in young athletes. It shouldn’t.
The key to preventing shin splints may be underfoot
Medial tibial stress syndrome, also known as shin splints, is a common and often recurring injury among adolescent runners. Recovery can involve weeks of downtime and sports modifications. Even then, many athletes experience chronic pain. Despite the prevalence and impact of the condition, sports medicine experts have yet to reach consensus about the cause. Theories ... Read More about The key to preventing shin splints may be underfoot
How Josie’s bad day turned into a campaign to help kids with scoliosis
Josephine DeFilippi (Josie) describes the day of her scoliosis diagnosis as the hardest day of her life. Right when she was looking forward to middle school, ten-year-old Josie was shocked to learn she had a condition she’d never even heard of before. On that same day, however, an unexpected gift from someone she’d never met ... Read More about How Josie’s bad day turned into a campaign to help kids with scoliosis
From medical first to marathon finisher: Corey’s ACL story
Corey Peak’s role as a “medical first” began on a ski slope in 2015 when he tore his anterior collateral ligament (ACL). He remembers falling and hearing two pops. “One side was my binding releasing. The other side, I later realized, was my ACL tearing.” Thirty days after his accident, Corey would become the first ... Read More about From medical first to marathon finisher: Corey’s ACL story
Female athletes and sports injuries: Psychology matters
If the goal of sports medicine is to promote sports participation, the state of an injured athlete’s musculoskeletal system is part of a larger puzzle. In fact, a growing body of research suggests that psychological factors also play a significant part in how athletes recover and if they return to sports. Consider anterior cruciate ligament ... Read More about Female athletes and sports injuries: Psychology matters
Lacrosse, cerebral palsy, and leadership: Luke’s story
When he returned to lacrosse after surgery on his left leg, Luke Kilfoyle wasn’t nervous. In the five and a half months since his surgery, he’d worn a cast, gone to school in a wheelchair, used a walker, then a cane and ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). He’d spent hours in physical therapy and the gym. By ... Read More about Lacrosse, cerebral palsy, and leadership: Luke’s story
A cerebral palsy journey lands in Boston: Ashlyn’s hip surgery
Eleven-year-old Ashlyn’s parents describe her as spicy, strong willed, and determined. Those qualities have served her well through a medical journey that started soon after she was born with cerebral palsy (CP). Ashlyn has had multiple operations to manage the symptoms of CP, but when it came to the question of hip surgery, her parents ... Read More about A cerebral palsy journey lands in Boston: Ashlyn’s hip surgery
One athlete, two hip surgeries, three Ironmans
Trevor Spence grew up playing just about every sport he could. When he was 3, he laced up his first pair of hockey skates. When he was 10, he medaled in the Junior Olympics 1500-meter Track and Field event. Throughout middle and high school, he travelled to tournaments for hockey, lacrosse, and soccer. “I did ... Read More about One athlete, two hip surgeries, three Ironmans
Robotics, spinal fusion, and the quest for 100 percent accuracy
In any spinal fusion surgery, accurate screw placement is a top priority, and for good reason. Incorrectly positioned screws are the number one cause of surgical complications and revision surgeries according to the Scoliosis Research Society. While the vast majority of malpositioned screws — between four and 15 percent of all screws placed — do not ... Read More about Robotics, spinal fusion, and the quest for 100 percent accuracy
Girls and women in sports win the medal of lifelong health
Title IX, the law that prohibits sports discrimination on the basis of sex, has transformed sports for girls and women. Before its passage in 1972, only 295,000 female athletes participated in U.S. high school sports. Today that number is 3.2 million. In that same period, the number of female college athletes swelled from 30,000 to ... Read More about Girls and women in sports win the medal of lifelong health