Latest news with #sportsmedicine
ABC News
4 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Port Adelaide star Ollie Wines considering second surgery to address heart irregularity
Port Adelaide's Brownlow medallist Ollie Wines is considering more heart surgery at the end of the AFL season. Wines suffers from a heart irregularity which sometimes causes palpitations, leading him to be substituted out of three games in the past four seasons. The 30-year-old admits frustration at the condition arising most recently — and forcing his substitution — from Port's away win against Sydney on April 20. That episode followed heart surgery last December in a bid to correct the issue. "I had a procedure back in December and there was 1 per cent likeliness that it wouldn't work," Wines told reporters on Monday. "And unfortunately, I'm in the 1 per cent that it hasn't worked. "So we've gone back to a bit of an intervention plan that we had the previous two years to manage it up to that operation and that is working well so far. "We will reassess at the end of the season to see if we do it again and try a surgical operation." But Wines remained pragmatic about his heart issue. "It was frustrating (to be subbed out against Sydney)," he said. "But, look, at the end of the day, luckily for me it's not life threatening. "And it's something that cost me a game of footy, enough to get subbed out of a game of footy. "So I'm in a really fortunate position. I've got the best cardiologists and doctors around me at the footy club and they've talked me through everything. "So at the moment, it's just this plan that has previously worked. "I've never had an episode when we're using this intervention and once the season ends, we'll assess if I need a procedure again." Wines and his teammates have returned to training after a mid-season bye which came with the Power languishing in 15th spot with four wins and seven losses ahead of meeting GWS in Canberra on Saturday night. Some pundits have blamed Port's fall on the coaching succession plan — head coach Ken Hinkley will step down at season's end and be replaced by long-time assistant Josh Carr. But Wines said from the February announcement of the handover "nothing has changed". "Ken's our coach, he will be for the rest of the year," he said. "And I know he's got a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the job and we'll be there for him.. "Despite not winning a premiership, I think we've always been up there and we've played a lot of finals. "Ken's done a lot for me personally as a footballer and off the field so I'm always going to play for him." AAP
Entrepreneur
6 days ago
- Health
- Entrepreneur
How Betterguards is Changing the Injury Prevention Game With Swagger
Despite billions spent on sports medicine, ankle injuries remain stubbornly common. With roots in the NBA Launchpad, Betterguards is redefining injury prevention under CEO Tony Verutti by putting science — and athletes — first. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Whether you like basketball, football or anything else, every sports fan and athlete has one common enemy: injuries. They ruin promising careers, shatter fans' hopes and cost teams millions. There's a massive sports medicine industry built around keeping athletes healthy. Yet some issues, like ankle injuries, just won't go away. Tony Verutti, CEO of sports tech company Betterguards, has an explanation. "People are creating products to fit the code rather than thinking about what the athlete needs," he tells Entrepreneur. Betterguards started because the founder broke his ankle and realized the current solutions weren't helping athletes. Verutti believes Betterguards' new flagship product, the BetterGuard 2.0, is a step towards changing that. "It's the first and only adaptive ankle support system that offers protection and mobility," Verutti says. "That was the idea from the start, designing a product with the athlete in mind, grounded in science, to help them move freely, perform at their best and recover faster." Related: 'This is the Future': WNBA Legend Lisa Leslie Reflects on the WNBA's Growth and Championing Small Business Launchpad to success Betterguards got its start through the NBA Launchpad program, designed to source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies, working with entrepreneurs and companies to innovate the NBA ecosystem. Betterguards was among the first five companies selected for the program in 2022. "The launch pad exists to help the NBA solve its own problems," Verutti says. "Well, 25% of NBA players hurt their ankle every season." Betterguards handled the R&D of the product, while the launchpad helped by providing them with use cases to test, and third-party experts for evaluation. "The launch pad was a huge accelerator for us because it set us on the journey to develop the Betterguard as our own product," Verutti says. Like many great startups, Betterguards is solution-oriented, aiming to lower the barrier to entry for ankle protection. Most medical products, like ankle braces, are introduced via a prescription from a doctor. Verutti says many doctors prescribe braces simply because they fit the code. "Ankle braces are made based on codes that get submitted for reimbursement," he explains. "So people are creating products that fit the code, and nobody was thinking about what the athlete needs." While the BetterGuard has been vetted, Verutti emphasizes the importance of cutting out the intermediary and selling directly to the athletes. "Athletes have been hungry for a product like this, especially with ankle injuries being the most common in sports." It's easy to target athletes, but convincing them you're legit is a different story. Betterguards' direct-to-consumer model means they rely on athlete adoption and scientific validation, rather than just doctor recommendations, to bolster their credibility. A big part of their customer base is young athletes between 12 and 20. Verutti believes seeing the pros rocking his products will help them catch on with this segment. "Just like pro-model shoes can be inspiring, we see Betterguards becoming a kind of badge of honor, a sign that you take your athletic performance seriously," Verutti says. "Making that technology more accessible only helps level the playing field." Related: Is Horse Racing the Next Big League? Meet the Founders Betting on It Science, not tradition He also notes that the company has an advanced scientific advisory board across Germany and the US, with multiple PhDs in research, orthopedic surgeons, performance experts and practitioners at the highest level of rehabilitation. "We always say that Betterguards makes products based on science, not tradition," Verutti says. "It's a crucial part of our ethos." These strategies are paying off. Betterguards are now used by 30 top NCAA programs, several Tier 1 athletes in the NBA and NFL, and four national Olympic teams. They are also endorsed by Keke Lyles, former Director of Performance for the Golden State Warriors. Image credit: Betterguards "Betterguards stands out for its groundbreaking innovation," Lyles says. "Their technology is unlike anything I've seen, with a clear focus on injury prevention that addresses a critical need for athletes. This isn't just another endorsement for me; Betterguards is a game-changer in how we approach injury prevention and performance enhancement." He would know, considering he helped rehab Steph Curry, the victim of some of the most infamous ankle injuries ever. "Unlike traditional ankle braces that restrict movement, the BetterGuard allows athletes to move freely," Lyles says. "If an ankle roll occurs, the brace engages instantly to prevent or minimize injury, reducing recovery time from weeks to days. This enables athletes to focus on training and performance rather than rehab." Injuries are every athlete's worst nightmare. Verutti's dream is to modernize injury prevention and recovery, enabling athletes to play longer, move better, and recover faster. "In one or two years, we want to become the face of modernizing injury prevention and recovery," Verutti says. If Lyles's words are any indication, the company is well on its way.
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
How to Avoid Injuries on the Tennis Court
The first game of tennis after a long break can feel like a revelation. The birds sing, the air is crisp and your serve isn't half bad after three months off. The day after, however, is a different story. If you took the winter off, you can expect some aches and pains when you get back onto the court. But compared with contact sports like soccer and basketball, recreational tennis poses a fairly low risk of acute injury, said Dr. Tiana Woolridge, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City who has worked with collegiate players. Even so, games like tennis and pickleball are full of repetitive and high-impact movements, such as lunging for balls and swinging the racket, and that can put a lot of stress on the body. A five-year analysis of 449 Austrian recreational tennis players found that acute injuries spiked in the summer months, especially in June. The most common involved falls or twisted joints, especially ankle sprains, usually caused by missteps. The spine and upper extremities are also particularly susceptible to chronic wear-and-tear injuries, said Dr. David Dines, the medical director of the Association of Tennis Professionals. Here is an overview of the most common tennis injuries and tips on how to treat and prevent them. Lower Back Injuries During a serve, the back is hyperextended, and every stroke requires rotation. The damage can be subtle. In a small British study from 2007 involving competitive adolescent players, none of the 33 participants complained of back pain, but 28 of them had signs of spinal damage after M.R.I. imaging, a proportion you might expect in people over 60. Back pains and strains become more frequent after 40, when the cushioning tissues between the vertebrae can start to deteriorate, Dr. Dines said. If you feel lower back pain, the first course of action should be rest, he said. If the pain returns, see a physical therapist or have a tennis professional assess your technique. When you hit a tennis ball, most of the force is generated from the legs up. If the body's powerhouse muscles — the core, glutes, hamstrings and quads — are weak, the lower back pays the price. Dr. Dines recommended adopting a routine of core exercises, such as planks, and lower-body exercises, such as Romanian dead lifts and squats. Upper Body Injuries The ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder is secured by the four muscles and tendons of the rotator cuff, which can become irritated, torn or overstretched, particularly when playing overhead sports like tennis. As we age, tissue in the body naturally starts to break down, causing small, often painless microtears, said Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, an orthopedic surgeon at Mass General Brigham in Boston. But if the rotator cuff muscles are weak, the tears can worsen as you forcibly extend your arm going for a shot, she said. Rotator cuff injuries cause pain when rotating the arm or extending it overhead and a dull ache in the shoulder that worsens at night. Minor irritation usually disappears after one or two days of rest, Dr. Woolridge said. If it persists, see a physical therapist; M.R.I. imaging may be required to rule out a full tear, which can require surgery. Tennis elbow is a repetitive stress injury that affects up to 50 percent of tennis players annually and feels like a persistent pain on the outside of the elbow. It occurs when the muscles and tendons along the forearm that help extend the wrist are taxed from actions such as over-gripping the racket or hitting backhand with poor technique, Dr. Matzkin said. Dr. Woolridge said that shoulder-strengthening exercises, like scapular rows and shoulder extensions with a resistance band, should be a staple in every tennis player's routine. These exercises can also ward off tennis elbow, as can wrist-strengthening drills like wrist curl flexion and extension exercises. For both drills, work up to 30 reps and then add a light dumbbell of no more than five pounds. The grip size of your tennis racket and the tension of its strings can also contribute to tennis elbow and shoulder aches, Dr. Matzkin said. If you play more than once a month, she said, ask a pro to assess your equipment. Lower Body Injuries Ankle sprains are a hazard of any sport with intense side-to-side movement and sudden stopping or pivoting, Dr. Woolridge said. Most ankle sprains do not require surgery. While the standard advice has been rest, ice and compression, many experts now prefer movement and heat. However, research suggests that once you sustain an ankle sprain, you're at greater risk of sustaining another. Calf muscle tears are common enough that many doctors call them 'tennis leg.' 'When players are quickly changing directions, they might feel a pop in the back of the mid-calf,' Dr. Matzkin said. The injury rarely requires surgery, but the calf will be sore and swollen and will require rest. Tight calf muscles can also contribute to Achilles tendinitis, an inflammation of the tendon that connects the calf to the heel. 'If the calf is too tight and unable to contract, the Achilles takes the force and can rupture,' Dr. Matzkin said. 'That is a rough injury with a very long recovery.' The fast-paced cutting and pivoting motions in tennis also put knees, particularly aging ones, at risk for injuries like ACL and meniscus tears. The muscles in your feet and legs play an important role in ankle stability. You can strengthen them with exercises, such as resistance-band foot drills and lunges forward, backward and sideways. Balance drills, such as single-leg toe touches or lunges performed on an unstable surface, like a pillow, can improve proprioception, or body awareness. Protect your knees with a regiment of squats and lunges, which strengthen the muscles that keep the knee stable and firm up the tendons and ligaments around the joint, Dr. Matzkin said. To stretch and strengthen the calves and Achilles' tendon, she recommended calf raises with heels hovering off a step. Playing Smart to Play Strong A pregame dynamic warm-up for tennis or pickleball should be nonnegotiable, Dr. Woolridge said, especially if you're a weekend warrior or you're going from a desk to the court. If pain arises, don't ignore it. Continuing to play can aggravate it or cause you to make compensations that put other joints and muscles at risk, Dr. Matzkin said. Managing pain when it starts can shorten the time it will take to subside. In your 20s and 30s, tennis is the workout, Dr. Woolridge said. But as we age, we start needing to work out to keep playing. Complementing your game with strength and mobility exercises can make tennis a sport you can play for a lifetime.
ABC News
24-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Australian researchers lead world-first project to address the gap around female athlete health
The conversation about the knowledge gap in women's health in Australia has been growing. Whether it's the difference in heart attack symptoms or the estimated seven years it takes for endometriosis to be diagnosed, many conditions disproportionately impacting women haven't received the focus they need. Meanwhile, historically, most research has been conducted on male bodies, which is then generalised to female and intersex bodies. Only around six per cent of sport science and sports medicine research is female-specific. Australian researchers are working to understand what the gaps are through a new research project by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in conjunction with Edith Cowan University and the University of Technology Sydney. They're developing an evidence gap map, which will summarise existing performance and health evidence, assessing its quality and major research gaps that need increased focus. The AIS hopes the findings will encourage governments and academia to invest in under-represented research areas, and make high-quality information more accessible to the athletes, coaches and sporting organisations who need it. Chief Science Officer at the AIS, Paolo Menaspà, says that it's not just about the quantity of evidence available for athletes and high-performance staff, but its quality. "There is a growing concern that sometimes the threshold for what is good quality kind of moves," he said. Menaspà says a big part of the AIS's project will be a "systematic assessment … of the quality of each study" for things like bias to ensure the evidence being used by athletes and coaches is appropriate. Planning for the study included asking the very people who will benefit from the research — athletes and their coaches — what they see as key concerns. So far, they've asked for topics like menstrual and gynaecological health, illness and infection, and bone health and nutrition to be prioritised. Dr Rachel Harris, Female Performance and Health Initiative Lead at the AIS and former professional swimmer, says there is limited research available. This gap means often relying on evidence that hasn't considered differences or impacts resulting from sex and gender. It can result in incorrect or delayed diagnosis and treatment for injuries and other health conditions, and limited ability for prevention. "We want that information that gets to our athletes to be based on high-quality research that's going to benefit them, not from low-quality research that is just flash in the pan, hot topic at the present time," Dr Harris said. Do you have a story idea about women in sport? Email us abcsport5050@ The research announcement follows the launch of the Global Alliance for Female Athletes, of which the AIS is a founding member, in March. A significant partnership with counterparts in the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, the Alliance is designed to share resources like best-practice research and performance insights to support female athletes' health and performance worldwide. Dr Harris says the group was formed because high-performance staff from different countries realised, they were talking about navigating the same challenges with often limited time and resources. "None of this information is around state secrets," she said. "It's actually all around some real basics. So we just wanted to try and see if we could potentially get together and avoid the duplication, collaborate more." She says that members are sharing their open access resources for anyone's use — not just those in the Alliance, or particular sports. Mr Menaspà explains that the evidence gap project is also operating "under the principles of open science." "If we make the information transparent then it can be not only peer-reviewed but also checked by other research groups," he said. Both the Global Alliance partnership and this new project acknowledge the physical and mental impact that the lack of quality research available is having on women athletes. Retired American soccer player and winner of two FIFA Women's World Cups, Megan Rapinoe, recently revealed on her podcast A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe that all three ACL tears she experienced during her career had happened while she was on her period. The revelation came in response to new research being conducted at Kingston University in London and funded by football's world governing body FIFA to investigate a possible link between serious knee injuries for female athletes and their menstrual cycles. Dr Harris says she's seen a "real upswing" in the amount of interest and activity in the women's health and performance space. "We really want to try and drive home the fact that we need to be having good quality research to answer the questions that our athletes want [answered]. "For example, does hormonal contraception impact our health now and in the future? We don't necessarily have that answer." This knowledge gap becomes more pronounced for diverse athlete populations whose experiences or characteristics may also go unrecognised in research. For example, one priority area Dr Harris highlights for the map is the health needs and their associated impacts for para-athletes. As a professional swimmer who won gold in 800m freestyle at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Harris says she was "pretty naive back then" about what information she was missing before she retired at the age of 21. She sees many more athletes today wanting this information, something she attributes to social media and increased attention on women athletes. "We're definitely not where we need to be yet. "Hopefully for Brisbane 2032, we're going to know a lot more of these questions if we start this process now." ABC Sport is partnering with Siren Sport to elevate the coverage of Australian women in sport. Danielle Croci is a policy officer and freelance writer and podcaster specialising in women's sport.
New York Times
24-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Inside the ACL clinic that treats Rodri, Real Madrid stars
At the foot of the tallest skyscrapers in the business district of Madrid, you will find the sports clinic that operated on Rodri after he suffered his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in September. The Ballon d'Or-winning Manchester City and Spain midfielder had been out for almost the whole season but returned to training earlier this month. On Tuesday, he made his first appearance in eight months in the 3-1 win against Bournemouth. Advertisement It has been a long process of recovery that started at the Olympia clinic, which has operated on players from 17 of the 20 clubs in La Liga and has become a go-to for the record 15-time European champions Real Madrid. Split over three floors and covering 12,000 square metres in Spain's capital city, Olympia employs more than 50 specialists in sports medicine — but what is most striking about the place is the 255 framed shirts hanging on the walls with dedications and messages of gratitude from different sportsmen and women. With names including Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos and Zinedine Zidane, it could be a Real Madrid hall of fame. The Athletic is here to see Dr Manuel Leyes, a man whose name has become more familiar in recent years through his involvement in surgeries on high-profile players, particularly when it comes to the dreaded ACL rupture — the previously career-threatening injury that can lead to players missing entire seasons and that Leyes calls the 'star surgery' because of how often it happens. Leyes, 57, was born in the northern Spanish region of Galicia and early in his career, specialised in traumatology — the study and treatment of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence. A fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation convinced him his future was in sport. While there, he treated basketball and American football players, including the Cleveland Cavaliers' Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shawn Kemp, along with the Cleveland Browns' Orlando Brown and 1999 No 1 NFL draft pick Tim Couch. More than two decades later, he leads the renowned Olympia project in Madrid, with Rodri one of his more notable recent clients. 'Rodri has a good head on his shoulders and is surrounded by a team that advises him very well,' Leyes tells The Athletic. 'He likes to have as much information as possible to make decisions. Advertisement 'Professional athletes are highly skilled decision-makers because they practise every day.' Here, Leyes will take us through the stages of an ACL injury — from when it happens to the surgery and rehab that follows — and his team's approach. According to Leyes' data, teams suffer an ACL injury every two seasons on average — but that risk can be mitigated. 'The intensity of the game now is higher and the speed is much faster than when it was played 15 years ago,' Leyes explains. 'You have to protect the player: you reduce the number of games or you increase the number of players in a squad.' The Swedish national knee ligament registry found the risk of a player suffering an ACL injury was highest at the start of a football match, with 47 per cent of those injuries sustained in the first 30 minutes of games and 24 per cent in the first 15. The same data indicates that ACL injuries occur more in matches than in training. It also suggests that players who tear their ACL in non-contact situations are more at risk of re-tearing it because that indicates a predisposition to this type of injury. It is quickly apparent to a player and the medical staff when an ACL injury has occurred. 'When the cruciate ruptures, it bleeds,' explains Leyes. 'It swells quickly and often the players feel the snap. 'But the big clubs have amazing resources. Real Madrid has a very good MRI area in Valdebebas (their training complex) and the diagnosis is made on match day, even if the knee is very swollen.' Before the player heads to Olympia for surgery, they must wait hours or days — a period that can also depend on associated injuries — for the swelling to reduce and for their leg to regain some mobility. 'In the initial studies, it was seen that if you operated on the player at a very acute stage of the injury, there was a higher risk of subsequent stiffness,' says Leyes. 'The ideal situation is for (the player) to have acceptable mobility.' Advertisement When players visit Olympia for surgery, they enter directly through a private garage and go straight up to the consultation room by lift to avoid any waiting media outside. Leyes carries out the operation with two other senior surgeons from his highly experienced team of Dr Eulogio Martin, Dr Antonio Cruz and Dr Cesar Flores, his business partner. A typical ACL reconstruction surgery lasts between 60 and 90 minutes and consists of making tunnels in the femur and tibia to insert the new tendon. As these are high-level athletes, it is not enough to repair the ACL: a new one has to be made. In the case of footballers, Leyes and his team take out the central third of the patellar tendon. The other thing that Leyes inserts is an extra joint reinforcement (with another tendon) that controls the rotation of the knee and reduces the risk of rupturing the cruciate. Leyes also offers the player the opportunity to create a WhatsApp group with their agent, club doctors, physiotherapists and physical trainers so that everyone is kept abreast of the process. 'It is very important to have a single means of communication,' Leyes says. 'Everything is sent (to the group). A video of the surgery, the progress of the rehabilitation… it works well. 'It is sensitive information, so the player creates it (the group) and he decides who enters. Once the process is closed, the group is closed.' The average recovery period for an adult male player is eight months. If he is under 20, the period of absence then goes up to a year because some players are still growing. Patients rarely require an overnight stay. Once the player has taken fluids and been to the toilet, they are discharged. In the past, the player was hospitalised for several days, but most now leave on the same day. In the first week of recovery, very little is done while the inflammation and pain go down. For this, the players use cryo-compression machines to cool and ease the pain. Advertisement During recovery after ACL reconstruction, it is essential to control pain and swelling in the first few weeks, while working on regaining knee mobility. As the recovery progresses, players improve their range of motion, build up leg muscles and work on stability. In the more advanced stages, the goal is to regain full strength and improve their tolerance of certain exercises, while continuing strengthening and stabilisation. After three months, the focus should be on specific training for agility, speed and neuromuscular control. The player has to wait five to six months to make sudden changes of direction. As the player makes tentative steps towards training again, Leyes visits the relevant clubs at their training grounds. 'It has advantages because you normally deal with patients who have very good genetics, they have all the means in the world at their disposal and then they are very eager,' Leyes says. 'You don't have to insist on their recovery. 'For example, Dani Carvajal told me at the start of his rehab, 'Doctor, I'm at my best'. The truth is that he works very well but you have to take it easy. 'Then there are some disadvantages: you have a bit more pressure, not so much from the player but above all from the environment (around the player), from the representatives, rushing to return to competition.' At Olympia, players can also be treated by top-level physiotherapists and rehab experts who work closely with the doctors and have advanced tools including gravity-free running machines, cryotherapy chambers and specialised swimming pools. Leyes' team recommend different rehab programmes tailored to the players' position. As a centre-back, Eder Militao had to be more reactive in his movement, so he worked on his initial acceleration after surgery. Forwards, such as Villarreal's Yeremy Pino, have needed to get used to changing direction again when they drive forward. Advertisement Patience is needed to avoid a relapse. 'The trend is the opposite of a few years ago, when there were players coming back after four months,' says Leyes. 'Now we are delaying it more and more because we see that a lot of them are breaking (down).' When the player has taken part in full training sessions and just before he starts playing again, the Olympia medical team take into account three parameters to give the definitive green light to return to the pitch: strength, scans and what they call the 'fear scale'. 'The fear scale correlates with subsequent performance,' says Leyes. 'If they score badly, you have to focus more on psychological treatment. When you play, you remember what happened to you.' The player can complete his long-awaited return to the field of play but that does not mean his recovery is complete. In fact, in the first few months, there are risks. 'It is very important that the return is progressive because the probability of rupturing the cruciate muscle increases with fatigue,' says Leyes. 'Normally the level is usually reached in the following season, not in the season of return. 'We are good at getting players back on the pitch but we have to improve on getting them back to their best. It's really more important that you get back to being the player you were before, (become) just as decisive and that you don't shorten your career, which happens over time.' And with that, Leyes returns to the operating theatre.
