Program leads: John Elias, Lutul Farrow, Xiaojuan Li
The Patellofemoral Disorders Research Group investigates injuries that hinder function of the patellofemoral joint, such as patellar dislocations and patellofemoral pain. The patient-focused research approach combines quantitative MRI, anatomical analysis, biomechanical modeling, and outcomes analysis to evaluate mechanisms of injury, treatment strategies and long term influence on function. Evaluating mechanisms of injury improves understanding of the functional characteristics that cause patellofemoral disorders. Treatment strategies are studied to evaluate how surgical and conservative treatment options influence joint mechanics. Evaluation of long term function primarily focuses on progressive cartilage degradation to osteoarthritis triggered by a patellofemoral disorder. The overall goals of the program are to reduce the risk of injury and optimize patient-specific treatment strategies to return patients to an active lifestyle while also preserving patellofemoral cartilage.
Collaborators: Carl Winalski, Aaron Lear, Mei Li, Mingrui Yang, Richard Lartey, James Peters, Bong-Jae Jun, Nancy Obuchowski
Program lead: Jason A. Genin
The mission of the Interventional Sports Medicine Group is to provide integrated, team-based care for individuals with various musculoskeletal complaints and conditions, emphasizing diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and education. We are actively developing enterprise-wide guidelines and treatment protocols for various nonoperative sports medicine conditions, such as patellar tendinopathy and adhesive capsulitis. We seek to measure clinical outcomes for all interventional sports medicine procedures through a collaborative effort between physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and researchers on the national and international levels.
Collaborators: Vikas Patel, Leonardo Olivieria, Matthew Mitchkash, Caitlin Lewis, Lauren Wichman, Molly McDermott, Dominic King, Michael Scarcella, Michael Dakkak, Evan Peck
Program lead: Xiaojuan Li, Kurt Spindler
The Post-traumatic Osteoarthritis research program focuses on identifying novel 'biomarkers' (risk factors) that provide reliable early diagnosis and prognosis of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development after joint injuries. Our multidisciplinary team investigates cohorts of human subjects as well as laboratory models of PTOA, using clinical and patient-reported outcomes, clinical and advanced quantitative imaging, and biomechanical modeling. Conventional multivariate analysis as well as machine learning techniques are used to build models that predict long-term outcomes after injury and non-surgical or surgical interventions. By identifying modifiable predictors of PTOA development after joint injuries or surgery, our goals are to provide guidance for future development of novel interventions to reduce and prevent PTOA, help clinicians stratify subjects with regard to their individual risk of developing PTOA and improve clinical care in a directed and evidence-based way for this young and active population.
Collaborators: Faysal Altahawi, Suneel Apte, Gerald Beck, Jianguo Cheng, Robb Colbrunn, Brendan Eck, John Elias, Ahmet Erdemir, Lutul Farrow, Jason Genin, Peter Imrey, Bong Jae Jun, Atul Kamath, George Muschler, Nancy Obuchowski, Richard Parker, Dominic Pelle, Joshua Polster, Naveen Subhas, Carl Winalski, Mingrui Yang, Stefan Zbyn