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Return to Sport After Cartilage Procedures

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Return to Sport after ACL Reconstruction and Other Knee Operations

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Abstract

Focal chondral defects in the knee are prevalent in athletes and can occur from a variety of etiologies, including trauma, osteochondritis dissecans, and early degenerative changes. As these lesions are often symptomatic and debilitating, a variety of cartilage restoration procedures are available for treatment. While most patient goals include returning to basic activities of daily living, athletes are unique in that they also strive to return to sport at their preinjury level of play or higher. Cartilage restoration procedures as a whole have reported up to 79% return to sport with specific procedures showing up to 93% return to sport. However, not all athletes return at their preinjury level. It is extremely important to manage return to sport expectations, expected timeline for return to sport, and the likelihood of returning to their preinjury level of play. Evidence-based treatments are mandatory to help patients attain their recovery goals without compromising the knee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA

    Taylor M. Southworth, Neal B. Naveen, Tracy M. Tauro, Ian J. Dempsey, Jorge Chahla & Brian J. Cole

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  1. Taylor M. Southworth
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  2. Neal B. Naveen
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Correspondence to Neal B. Naveen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Emeritus, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Noyes Knee Institute, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Frank R. Noyes

  2. Noyes Knee Institute, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Sue Barber-Westin

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Southworth, T.M., Naveen, N.B., Tauro, T.M., Dempsey, I.J., Chahla, J., Cole, B.J. (2019). Return to Sport After Cartilage Procedures. In: Noyes, F., Barber-Westin, S. (eds) Return to Sport after ACL Reconstruction and Other Knee Operations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22361-8_29

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