Transplanting Knee Tissue Lets Athletes Return to Sports

Here's some interesting information from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Data presented at the AOSSM annual meeting in 2010 showed that transplanting new bone and cartilage into an injured knee allowed all 25 adults studied to resume a minimum of light jogging or cycling an average of four years after surgery.

The knee surgery, called an osteochondral allograft transplantation, is performed when the knee loses chunks of bone and cartilage due to a direct impact injury. The symptoms are pain and locking of the knee.

Individuals with a congenital bone disease called osteochondroitis dissecans can develop similar symptoms, and they can also be treated with a knee tissue transplant. Recovery from the surgery takes 3 to 6 months.

This study is the first to suggest that the transplant alone is enough to repair damage to the knee bone and cartilage, and that athletes might be able to fully resume their sports. Larger studies are needed, but I think there is reason to be optimistic.

Arthroscopic Hip Surgery Seems Successful

Data presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine suggested that approximately 80 percent of athletes who had arthroscopic surgery to repair impingement in the hip socket were able to return to their sports of choice, including running, at an average of 9 months after surgery.

That's good news for runners, who are notoriously frustrated by injuries and layoffs. Nine months sounds like a long time, but hip surgery is a big deal.

Femoro-acetabular impingement, also known as FAI, occurs in some people who have a bump on the upper thigh that keeps the hip joint from moving freely. Doctors are becoming more aware of this problem, which is characterized by hip pain and reduced range of motion. If left untreated, hip arthritis can develop.

Here's a quote from Dr. Bryan Kelly, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, who presented the study at the meeting:

“Although technically challenging, appropriately performed arthroscopic surgery results in less soft tissue trauma, less blood loss, shorter hospitalizations, and likely provides a faster return to a full recovery,” Dr. Kelly said.

The idea of less invasive surgery is encouraging. If you have hip pain, whether or not it is due to running, do your homework and talk to specialists about your surgical options.

What You Need to Know About Water

Hydration is important for everyone, especially runners. The Mayo Clinic website lists three different strategies for staying hydrated, and any of them can work for you.

The bottom line, however, is that if you don't feel thirsty, and if your urine is mostly clear, you are adequately hydrated. And of course, runners and other exercisers might need more water, depending on how hard the workout and how much we sweat.

-IOM recommendations: For what it is worth, the Institute of Medicine recommends daily intake of 3 liters of fluids (13 cups) for men and 2.2 liters (9 cups) for women. This includes any beverage, starting with your morning coffee or tea.

-8x8: The adage about drinking 8 ounces of water 8 times a day doesn't have any science behind it, according to the Mayo Clinic. But it's a handy way to remember how much fluid to drink, and remember that any fluid counts; it doesn't have to be water.

-Fluid replacement: If you are mathematically inclined, think of hydration in terms of replacing the fluid volume lost by urine, sweat, and maintenance of body functions. Based on the average fluid lost daily by most adults, drinking two liters of fluid (water or other beverages) each day will keep you replenished.

Running's Benefits Transcend Weight

Some beginning runners take up running to lose weight, and that's great. But weight loss is tricky, and it can be easy to lose motivation to keep running if you aren't losing weight the way you think you should.

But even if you don't lose a pound, running can help keep you healthy.

Every now and then I like to mention some sports-related scientific research. A recent study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggested that college students who were fit had healthier metabolic profiles than those who didn't exericise, even if the body fat percentage of the exercisers was slightly overweight.

If you are running to lose weight, great, but if you feel frustrated at the numbers on the scale, try to think about the big picture--how much better you feel and how you are reducing your risk of health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.

Making the Best of It

Here's another tip inspired by a quote from legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who died in June 2010 at age 99:

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

To me, this translates into the following marathon training tip: If your planned training run doesn't go as planned, don't beat yourself up about it, and don't give up. One run when you felt tired, ran slower, or bagged your speed workout in favor of a steady run does not mean that your marathon is doomed. Much of marathon training is just getting the miles in--you don't have to hit a magic number on a heart rate monitor to benefit from a 5-mile run, not in my experience. So don't get discouraged if (and when) you tweak your training plans. Instead, make the best of it--you got your miles in, and that's what will help you as much as anything on marathon day.