The Recovery Story of a Super Bowl Champion

The PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) can be ruptured in car accidents when the knee hits the dashboard and in ski accidents when knees get impacted in wild falls.  If left alone, the injured knee degrades over time. Understanding the injury and novel ways to treat it has changed its natural history.

The lack of gravitational force is deadly to humans. The list of bodily systems that don’t work properly grows with every examination of astronauts who spend prolonged time in space.

1. Gravity

Winter sports are often enjoyed at altitude. Going to high elevations pushes all your cardiovascular systems to respond. Are you ready?

“Doc, my knee popped, it now catches and gives way.” Whether it is the knee, the ankle, the hip, or the shoulder, catching and giving way—especially after hearing a pop—is bad news.

Surely you have heard the usual advice: Get strong, stay flexible, don’t take the last run, and ski with a helmet. All fine and good—until you notice that the top skiers on ski teams, along with super fit backcountry skiers, all get hurt too. So let’s think about some of the less common ski tips and see if they keep you safe next year.

The first known experiment using the CRISPR gene editing technique with live human embryos was conducted in China in November 2018. The joy of seeing babies born with potential immunity to the HIV/AIDS virus was, unfortunately, dulled by a chorus of critics. What was not said is that the potential for good is unlimited and that the first real success will launch a thousand ships carrying weapons capable of killing off the diseases of old.

I used to find a lot of time in every second. Rapid thinking, multi-tasking, and impatience all supposedly led to productivity. And stress. Now I go slow to go fast—and I am trying to go slower.

“I’m grateful to not be that guy.” How often do you say this to yourself when you see someone with an obvious disability? That same gratitude is what you need to feel when it’s you who are hurt.

The stem cell tsunami overwhelming all of medicine is evolving. Where once it was thought that these cells could morph into anything and cure everything, our new understanding of their behavior will change how they are used. Here is where we are on the learning curve: