Photo by A. J. Monseau.
Monseau says in terms of advancements in sports medicine, there are biologic treatments on the horizon— forming medications made from living organisms— that evidence suggests could help speed up recovery and improve tissue healing. He also touches on the importance of the use of diagnostic ultrasound, explaining that it allows for a more dynamic look at soft tissue injuries, improved accuracy with diagnoses and tracking of the healing process and advantages when guiding procedures such as injections.
“ As ultrasound becomes more widely adopted, it is significantly improving our ability to diagnose conditions earlier, treat them more effectively and track recovery with greater precision,” Monseau says.
Working closely with WVU and other Big 12 universities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Monseau strengthened these professional relationships and, in 2022, was named chair of the Big 12 physician medical director group.
“ This period reinforced our core mission: to advocate for student athletes as individuals first and athletes second,” Monseau says.“ While college sports have continued to evolve, our role as physicians remains centered on protecting the health and well-being of our student athletes.”
Chad Lavender, M. D., assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and orthopaedic surgeon at Marshall Health Network, was inspired to pursue sports medicine because of his passion for helping athletes safely return to the sports they love as well as the practice’ s diversity of injuries and constantly evolving practices.
Lavender pioneered the fertilized ACL technique, which uses bone marrow concentrate, autograft bone and demineralized bone matrix for reconstruction. The technique uses biologics and an internal brace to help heal the grafts in the bone, prevent cysts from forming and advance rehabilitation. Lavender has also begun an arthroscopy trial for a Nano Needle, which, by using a smaller scope, will help reduce the use of strong pain relievers by patients after surgery.
“ We have changed the graft we use to a quad tendon graft. Also, the internal brace now comes preassembled to our implants, which makes it more reproducible,”
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