14
September
2018
|
07:00 AM
America/New_York

The ripple effects of Russell Westbrook's surgery

The Oklahoman reported that Oklahoma City Thunders' Russell Westbrook underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to treat cartilage loss.

HSS sports medicine surgeon Joshua S. Dines, MD, who did not treat Westbrook, said "any time you've had three or four clean ups, each time you go in there, there's sort of less cartilage. So at some point, you get to a point where it's almost an arthritis situation."

In terms of recovery, Dr. Dines noted "the quicker [athletes] get the swelling out of there, the quicker their quad strength is going to come back, and they'll be safe enough to return."

Dr. Dines added that new data and treatment could emerge to help athletes with knee ailments, similar to how PRP injections have proven beneficial for arthritis sufferers.

Read the full article at newsok.com [subscription required]. This also appeared in the September 14, 2018 print issue.