The Role of Athletic Trainers in Preventing and Managing Posttraumatic Osteoarthritis in Physically Active Populations: a Consensus Statement of the Athletic Trainers' Osteoarthritis Consortium

The
Role of Athletic Trainers in Preventing and Managing Posttraumatic
Osteoarthritis in Physically Active Populations: a Consensus Statement of the
Athletic Trainers’ Osteoarthritis Consortium.

Palmieri-Smith RM, Cameron
KL, DiStefano LJ, Driban JB, Pietrosimone B, Thomas AC, Tourville TW, Athletic
Trainers’ Osteoarthritis Consortium. J Athl Train. 2017 Jun 2;52(6):610-623.
doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-52.2.04.

Full Text Freely Available

The Athletic Trainers’ Osteoarthritis Consortium has
released a consensus statement on the role of athletic trainers in preventing
and managing post-traumatic osteoarthritis in physically active populations. The consensus statement offers 7 recommendations and a nice summary of key information relevant to sports medicine. This
was part of the Journal of Athletic Training’s Special Issue on Osteoarthritis. The editorial to this issue highlights why athletic trainers need to adopt their important
role in preventing and treating osteoarthritis. We also released a special podcast episode discussing this special issue.

This topic is particularly relevant for athletic trainers since the current version of the proposed Curricular Standards now notes the importance of developing and implementing wellness strategies to reduce the risk of long-term health conditions like osteoarthritis:

“Standard 53: Develop and implement wellness strategies to mitigate the risk for long-term health conditions across the lifespan. These conditions include but are not limited to:
A. Osteoarthritis
B. Cardiovascular disease
C. Neurocognitive disease
D. Obesity
E. Diabetes”

View 132
other recent position statements, consensus statements, guidelines, and
recommendations related to sports medicine.

5 Comments

Dana on July 11, 2017 at 8:54 pm

Thanks SMR for consolidating these resources into one post. I am a newly certified Athletic Trainer and know post traumatic osteoarthritis was only touched upon in my program. From my experience as an athletic training student I cannot recall a time where I, or a clinical preceptor I was working with, discussed long-term tissue changes to an athlete who suffered a joint injury. It can be challenging to bring up long-term effects the athlete may encounter when they are only focused on how soon can they return to play. The awareness this statement provides will be significant in athlete care. This makes me think twice about what is important to discuss with your patients after suffering a joint injury.

Jeffrey Driban on July 11, 2017 at 9:39 pm

Thanks Dana! The ATOAC and JAT did a great job with this consensus statement and special issue. In a setting where the coaches, patients, and parents are often focused on today it is critical that sports medicine professional also focus on tomorrow.

Dana on July 12, 2017 at 7:28 pm

Jeffrey,

This is so cool you commented back. I am a graduate student at the University of Virginia and I was talking to Joe Hart yesterday and he mentioned your work in this area. I'm excited to learn more about this topic and what has been examined thus far. Thanks for replying!

Unknown on July 14, 2017 at 9:17 pm

These articles were very eye opening about the long lasting effects of joint injuries. As an athletic trainer we usually are thinking of the short term and trying to get our athletes back to play, but it's our job to not just rehab injuries but prevent them too. So these articles will help find the best way to the athlete get back out to play but help increase their awareness for long term effects and help decrease their risk of getting PTOA

Jeffrey Driban on July 15, 2017 at 8:28 am

Dana, feel free to contact me (Joe Hart has my email) and to become a member of the ATOAC (https://atoac.org/join-atoac/).

Unknown – I'm glad these articles were helpful. Return to play isn't the end of the story for our patients. It's merely the beginning of a new chapter in their care.

Dana on July 11, 2017 at 8:54 pm

Thanks SMR for consolidating these resources into one post. I am a newly certified Athletic Trainer and know post traumatic osteoarthritis was only touched upon in my program. From my experience as an athletic training student I cannot recall a time where I, or a clinical preceptor I was working with, discussed long-term tissue changes to an athlete who suffered a joint injury. It can be challenging to bring up long-term effects the athlete may encounter when they are only focused on how soon can they return to play. The awareness this statement provides will be significant in athlete care. This makes me think twice about what is important to discuss with your patients after suffering a joint injury.
Jeffrey Driban on July 11, 2017 at 9:39 pm

Thanks Dana! The ATOAC and JAT did a great job with this consensus statement and special issue. In a setting where the coaches, patients, and parents are often focused on today it is critical that sports medicine professional also focus on tomorrow.
Dana on July 12, 2017 at 7:28 pm

Jeffrey,

This is so cool you commented back. I am a graduate student at the University of Virginia and I was talking to Joe Hart yesterday and he mentioned your work in this area. I'm excited to learn more about this topic and what has been examined thus far. Thanks for replying!
Unknown on July 14, 2017 at 9:17 pm

These articles were very eye opening about the long lasting effects of joint injuries. As an athletic trainer we usually are thinking of the short term and trying to get our athletes back to play, but it's our job to not just rehab injuries but prevent them too. So these articles will help find the best way to the athlete get back out to play but help increase their awareness for long term effects and help decrease their risk of getting PTOA
Jeffrey Driban on July 15, 2017 at 8:28 am

Dana, feel free to contact me (Joe Hart has my email) and to become a member of the ATOAC (https://atoac.org/join-atoac/).

Unknown – I'm glad these articles were helpful. Return to play isn't the end of the story for our patients. It's merely the beginning of a new chapter in their care.