Dr. Bergin Earns 'Reining' Bragging Rights

Texas Orthopedics’ very own Dr. Barbara Bergin received Top Ten honors in three events at this year’s National Reining Horse Association’s 2013 Futurity and North American Affiliate Championship in Oklahoma City.  Riding Starbucks for Chex (barn name Sampson for his long mane), Dr. Bergin won two 3^rd places and one 7^th place.

This is the first time Dr. Bergin has advanced to this level.  She qualified three times in the past, but her horse, Señor, went ‘lame’ every year. (For those not familiar with the term ‘lame’ it means there is either an injury or medical condition that causes a horse to be unsound).  Dr. Bergin retired Señor last year. T

his was her first year competing with Sampson. They start their 2014 season at the end of January.

Congrats, Dr. Bergin!

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You Kick Like A Girl

Post provided by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Significant differences in knee alignment and muscle activation exist between men and women while kicking a soccer ball, according to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Data reveals that males activate certain hip and leg muscles more than females during the motion of the instep and side-foot kicks - the most common soccer kicks - which may help explain why female players are more than twice as likely as males to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Prior research shows that females are more prone to non-contact ACL injuries than males and though many theories exist, a direct cause for the disparity is unknown. "By analyzing the detailed motion of a soccer kick in progress, our goal was to home in on some of the differences between in the sexes and how they may relate to injury risk, " said orthopedic surgeon Robert H. Brophy, MD, study author and assistant professor of orthopedics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This study offers more information to help us better understand the differences between male and female athletes, particularly soccer players."

The study found that male players activate the hip flexors (inside of the hip) in their kicking leg and the hip abductors (outside of the hip) in their supporting leg more than females. "Since females have less activation of the hip abductors, their hips tend to collapse into adduction during the kick, which can increase the load on the knee joint in the supporting leg, and potentially put it at greater risk for injury, " Dr. Brophy said.

In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study that found a new training program called the Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) program, was effective in reducing ACL injuries in female soccer players. Developed by the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation and supported by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons among other medical and athletic associations, PEP is an alternative warm up regimen that focuses on stretching, strengthening and improving balance and movements and can be conducted during regular practice time and without special equipment. "Programs focusing on strengthening and recruiting muscles around the hip may be an important part of programs designed to reduce a female athletes' risk of ACL injury, " said Dr. Brophy.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

Post provided by Scott Smith, MD

I saw my first surgical reconstruction of a ruptured ACL in 1981. I began studying ACL's in 1991. I performed my first ACL reconstruction in 1992. Since starting my practice in Austin in 1996 I have performed over 400 primary recontructions. The essential techniques remain basically unchanged. A graft of some sort is strung through the knee to "reconstruct" the anterior cruciate ligament. This process takes roughly six months to form a "new" ligament.

Wouldn't it be easier to just not have an ACL tear? YES! Prevention is worth a pound of cure. Until recently no one really considered that prevention was possible. It may not be. This point is argued in multiple disciplines: orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, sports medicine. No one knows. What is state of the art in 2010 is core training, jump training, hamstring fitness, proprioception improvement and flexibility.

Every orthopedic surgeon knows that anterior cruciate ligaments fail more frequently in female competitors. Why remains a mystery that is discussed wherever knees are contemplated. Do women jump differently? Do they land funny or have too straight a knee at contact? Do hormones play a role? All valid questions without certain answers.

There are many theories and lots of reseach being done. No conclusive findings regarding the difference between men and women have been found yet. There are many prevention strategies also with unproven results. I feel that there probably is some protection provided by these programs. I am also sure that athletic performance is enhanced by improved muscle strength and flexibility. I have been using these techniques with the teams that I coach for the last six years. I can't say that I've prevented any tears but we haven't had any. I continue to look for more effective proven regimens and solutions.