Research
Medical Directors: Christopher Kaeding, MD and Thomas Best, MD, PhD, FACSM
OSU Sports Medicine Center has an orthopaedic basic research laboratory dedicated to the physiological and biomechanical aspects of skeletal muscle injury, repair, and management. Currently, research in this laboratory is focusing on gaining further insight into the mechanisms of proinflammatory cell signaling during exercise and its subsequent affects of tissue damage and repair. Concurrent research projects involve the cellular mechanisms of functional biomechanical adaptations following long term exercise regimens. The laboratory is used by sports medicine and orthopaedic faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and technicians.
Additionally, OSU Sports Medicine Center is currently involved with research with the College of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiac and Pulmonary Divisions and the School of Allied Medical Professions. Sports Medicine faculty is additionally involved in numerous multi-center studies, grants, national and international presentations and ongoing publications. In fact, Dr. Best was just named Associate Editor-in-Chief of the journal Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise. This journal is highly regarded internationally as the scientific vehicle for dissemination of sports medicine and exercise physiology research and information.
For more information on research opportunities please contact our Principal Investigators by calling 293-3600.
Research News
There are many exciting projects that the OSU Sports Medicine faculty and staff are working on. What follows is a sampling of research initiatives as well as an explanation describing these various projects.
Core Stability, Biomechanical Loading, and Athletic Performance
Sponsor: NFL Charities Foundation
This study investigates the effectiveness of 6-week training programs on core stability, biomechanical loading, and athletic performance. It is geared to former high school football players, so that we can apply what we learn to future high school football players.
MOON
MOON stands for “Multi-center Orthopaedic Outcomes Network”, and it consists of seven top orthopaedic institutions in the United States: Cleveland Clinic, Hospital for Special Surgery, Ohio State University, University of Colorado, University of Iowa, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University. Drs. Kaeding, Jones, Flanigan, and Bishop are all Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgeons here at OSU that are participating in the MOON group. This group’s goal is to conduct the largest prospective cohort study of its kind related to outcomes following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). The overall study’s goals are to identify risk factors at the time of injury/surgery and estimate the magnitude of the effect of these factors on important quality of life and clinical outcomes (e.g., OA and additional surgery).
Core Stabilization in Professional Pitchers
Chris McKenzie, PT and Tom Best, MD, PhD are conducting a two-pronged research study involving professional baseball pitchers. A second-year medical student, mentored by Dr. Best, is also involved with the project. The first arm of the study is focusing on predicting potential risk factors related to core stabilization to injury during the season. The second arm of the study is aiming to validate a measurement device that can accurately evaluate the change in pelvic stabilization. This last arm is going to be expanded to include non-professional baseball players as well.
Insulin Resistance in Collegiate Football Players
Jim Borchers, MD and Kelley Clem, MD (Fellow) are conducting a research study focusing on the evaluation of insulin resistance in OSU football players. These athletes will be evaluated for potential predictors of insulin resistance.
Modeling of Muscle Strains and Prediction of Injury Risk Factors
Tom Best, MD, PhD and Tim Butterfield, PhD are conducting a study in an animal model regarding muscle injury. Dr. Best has done many studies involving muscular injury and is renowned in his field.
Evidence-based Sports Medicine
Tom Best, MD, PhD has co-authored an authoritative book called Evidence-based Sports Medicine on using evidence-based medicine to achieve optimum results in care of sports medicine patients.
Evidence-based Sports Medicine and
The Sports Biomechanics Laboratory
One of the greatest challenges to providing evidence-based personalized health care to sports medicine patients is the lack of research on how injuries happen and which treatments will work best for different people, as pointed out by Thomas Best, MD, PhD. The OSU Sports Medicine practitioners and researchers are meeting this challenge head on by performing state-of-the-art research in addition to providing clinical care. One of the centerpieces of this program is the Sports Biomechanics Laboratory. “We will use technologies originally developed for video games and movies to accurately measure how people move their bodies, what the forces on their joints are, and how the treatments we prescribe help them heal—or even prevent injuries from happening in the first place,” says Ajit Chaudhari, PhD, assistant professor of Orthopaedics and director of the laboratory. “Right now we are focused on research, but in the future we also expect to be able to take ‘personal health assessments’ to the next level, where we use these tools to let people know what sports are more safe to participate in or what individualized training an athlete needs to stay healthy in his or her sport.”
