On Thursday, January 25th, Timothy Hewett, PhD presented on “Injury Prevention in Athletes” at the 17th Annual Ralph & Mary Wilson Gift Lecture. Visiting from The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Hewett presented to orthopaedic physicians, residents, and fellows, in addition to athletic trainers, physician assistants, nurses, and others interested in sports medicine and athlete safety. His presentation, titled “Evidence based injury prevention strategies in a team setting: A paradigm shift in injury prevention”, focused on the causes of and prevention techniques for ACL tears in athletes, with emphasis on the female athlete.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury devastates the knee joint, leading to short-term disability and the risk of long-term osteoarthritis. During Thursday’s lecture, Dr. Hewett presented his ACL injury research findings, and emphasized that prevention is the only effective intervention for this life-altering disruption in knee health. Dr. Hewett and his research team has spent the last two decades working to delineate injury mechanisms, identify injury risk factors, and develop ACL injury prevention programs. Advancements have led to the development of potential solutions that allow athletes to compete with a lower risk of ACL injury. Dr. Hewett found that he could reduce ACL injuries by utilizing personalized injury assessment tools and target prevention strategies for athletes. His interventions have been validated, and lead to an approximately 50% reduction in non-contact ACL injury in the highest risk group
Following Dr. Hewett’s presentation, Dr. Leslie Bisson and sports medicine fellow Dr. Stephanie Grilli presented cases that illustrate the use of ACL and hamstring strain preventative exercises in professional athletes. He was then honored with a crystal buffalo memento, as a thank you for his participation in the lecture series.
ABOUT THE RALPH & MARY WILSON GIFT LECTURE:
This Ralph & Mary Wilson Gift Lecture was the 17th presentation given since the series began in 2011. The Ralph C. Wilson Foundation made a $1 million donation to UB’s Department of Orthopaedics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in September of 2011. The donation supports research and education, particularly for the training of five orthopaedic residents and two sports medicine fellows who rotate through the department each year. The generous donation was made by the Wilsons to honor the Buffalo Bills team physicians who care for the players on and off the field.
In November 2015, after the passing of Ralph C. Wilson, Mary Wilson and her fellow trustees of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation gifted $4.2 million to the UB Department of Orthopaedics. This gift established the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Center of Excellence in Sports Medicine in the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Patients of UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, the clinical practice plan comprised of the professors at the University, benefit from these donations by receiving innovative and collaborative care by those on the cutting edge of research.