Evidence has been available for decades to suggest that players have fewer knee problems if they play on clay courts rather than hard surfaces over their careers.
Physical therapy helps people recover from sports injuries, but it also can help prevent them, an expert says.
For hockey great Bobby Orr, a torn knee ligament ended his career at age 30. Orr had more than 17 knee operations, at one point having his meniscus removed—the cartilaginous tissue that helps stabilize and lubricate the knee joint. Now scientists can see in real time just how important the meniscus is.
Zhaoli Dai, Ph.D., from the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues used data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) and the Framingham Offspring Osteoarthritis Study to assess how BMI and inflammation might impact the observed association between greater fiber intake and the lower risk for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.
In an analysis of 112 records from 30 physical therapy (PT) sites regarding care for patients who had undergone total knee replacement (TKR) surgery, investigators found that the content and amount of specific exercises varied widely. The Arthritis Care & Research study also revealed that the specific details of PT interventions—including kinds of exercise, intensity, and dosage—may be important determinants of the functional outcomes of patients.
