The Sports Docs Podcast
Sports medicine is a constantly evolving field, with hundreds of new articles published each month on the topic. This ever-growing wealth of information can make it challenging to stay updated on the newest approaches and techniques, and to know which data should actually change your practice. Join orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Catherine Logan and Dr. Ashley Bassett, as they chat about the most recent developments in sports medicine and dissect through all the noise.
On each episode of The Sports Docs podcast, the hosts will tackle a specific injury – from ACL tears to shoulder instability – and review the top research from various high-impact journals that month, including The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery, Sports Health, Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and more. The Sports Docs will also be joined by experts in the field of sports medicine – orthopedic surgeons, nonoperative sports medicine specialists, athletes, physical therapists, athletic trainers and others – to provide a fresh and well-rounded perspective based on their unique experiences.
The Sports Docs – Dr. Logan & Dr. Bassett – are friends & former co-residents from the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program, who went onto esteemed sports medicine fellowships at The Steadman Clinic and The Rothman Institute, respectively. Dr. Logan practices in Denver, CO, and serves as Team Physician for Men's USA Lacrosse & as a Team Physician for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Dr. Bassett is the director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Orthopedic Institute of New Jersey and practices across northern NJ, primarily in Morris and Sussex Counties.
Together, they will bring monthly conversations on how to care for athletes of all ages and levels of play, with a healthy mix of cutting-edge science and real-world application.
The Sports Docs Podcast
35. Candace Townley Cox, DPT: ACL Recovery Tips and Tricks - Part II
In this episode, we’re going to continue our discussion with Candace Townley Cox and focus on rehabilitation of quad function and lower extremity mobility after surgery.
We start with a systematic review from the August 2022 issue of AJMS titled The Effects of Blood Flow Restriction in Patients Undergoing Knee Surgery.
Now, we did a whole episode on blood flow restriction therapy or “BFR” with Dr. Eddie Chang back in October of 2021. If you haven’t already listened, go check it out! In brief, BFR involves the use of a cuff or tourniquet system positioned at the upper part of the limb to restrict venous blood return while maintaining arterial inflow. Restriction of venous outflow leads to an anaerobic – or oxygen depleted – environment similar to that of higher-intensity training. This anaerobic environment is hypothesized to promote muscle hypertrophy through a combination of cell signaling and hormonal changes, effectively leading to muscle mass and strength gains at lower intensity training – ideal for our post-op patients.
Lawrence Wengle and colleagues at the University of Toronto performed this review of 11 papers and concluded that the use of BFR led to significant improvements in quad muscle mass, quantified by cross-sectional area of the muscle, and quad strength after knee surgery. Patient reported outcomes were not significantly different between those who used BFR and those who did not. Lastly, in the two studies that used BFR pre-op, no significant benefit was found.