There are times when medical strides are made through the worst of circumstances. For example, triage procedures have advanced because of the demands of military combat. The success of emergency medicine is predicated on the efficient use of the golden hour, those precious minutes after an injury has happened.
Sports is as another venue that has pushed the advance of medical procedures. One famous practitioner with athletes has been Dr. James Andrews:
“… He’s logged 40,000 lifetime surgeries, mostly on knees, shoulders and elbows. They’re not all on superstars, of course. Pro and college athletes compose 20 to 25 percent of his practice. But the man has done 2,500 Tommy John surgeries alone, with a 90 percent success rate. That’s to say nothing about the number of influential opinions he has rendered — just last week on Eli Manning’s shoulder when Andrews concurred with New York Giants physicians that the quarterback could play.”
link: Dr. James Andrews still works on the cutting edge
Many of Dr. Andrews’ patients have been high profile athletes. Their recovery is big business, as many sports franchises depend on the abilities of Dr. Andrews’ patients to perform. There is a ‘spare no expense‘ approach to the medical procedures, the surgery and the post operative care. These athletes are extremely motivated to recover fully and to return to the playing field. As a result, these athlete/patients, along with physicians like Dr. Andrews, advance medical science.
At times, medical procedures are developed and refined because of the needs of those highly paid athletes. Those odd injuries sustained on the field of play might eventually find their way onto the pages of prestigious medical journals, and into your local hospitals and clinics.
Catherine Forsythe
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