Becky Schaffner felt a familiar, painful snap in her left knee as she attempted to make a sharp turn on a Colorado ski slope.

“I didn’t make the turn,” says Schaffner, a recreational athlete who goes skiing when time permits. “I knew right away what was wrong, having torn my right ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) a few years earlier.”

As the ski patrol transported her down the slope by toboggan, Schaffner could only imagine what lay ahead. After being fitted with a knee brace, she flew home for evaluation and treatment, consulting initially with Joseph Buckwalter, M.D., professor and head of orthopaedic surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Schaffner had an important decision to make. She could either have the torn ACL reconstructed or decline the procedure and focus instead on strengthening her leg muscles to provide stronger knee support. “Some doctors recommend against ACL reconstruction for people my age and condition,” the 48-year-old University of Iowa employee says. “But I really wanted to make sure I could ski again, go hiking, walk my dog, and take up tennis again or any other sport I might choose—basically not be afraid to do anything I wanted to do.”

Buckwalter said her best option was an ACL reconstruction. Furthermore, he recommended she consult with a highly regarded sports medicine specialist who was soon to become medical director of the UI Sports Medicine Center.

Ned Amendola, M.D., was arriving with an impressive resume of clinical experiences and research interests to join the faculty at UI Hospitals and Clinics.

Under Amendola’s leadership, UI Sports Medicine was making its services easier to access for high school athletes, weekend warriors, and recreational athletes. The same staff who for 30 years had treated and rehabilitated professional and competitive athletes at every level—NBA and Major League Baseball, as well as the Iowa Hawkeyes—were now becoming more conveniently available to everyone.

These same orthopaedic surgeons, athletic trainers, primary care physicians, physician assistants, and rehabilitation therapists were offering a full range of services—preventative measures, rehabilitation, exercise prescription, medical management, or surgery—to treat patients with all musculoskeletal conditions and injuries.

The goal is to efficiently and effectively get patients back into action or physical activity safely and as soon as possible. “Unfortunately, everyone experiences the same types of injuries that athletes at the highest level incur. That’s why we think the same high-end sports medicine should be available to everyone,” Amendola explains.

In Schaffner’s case, Amendola recommended the use of a hamstring ligament as the tendon graft, with aggressive weight-bearing rehabilitation immediately after the procedure. Schaffner concurred, underwent the procedure, and began rehabilitation therapy three times a week at first, continuing for three months. Today, Schaffner feels fully healed and remains very active.

“Other than a tiny scar where Dr. Amendola inserted the scope, I feel absolutely good as new,” she says. “I still take long walks with my dogs, I play golf, and pursue normal activities. I haven’t had a chance to go skiing again but I’m anxious to do so.”

UI Sports Medicine Center’s hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information or an appointment, patients may call the clinic directly at 319-384-7070 or contact UI Health Access and ask for the UI Sports Medicine Center.

For consultation or referral, physicians may call UI Consult.

FIRST-TIME ACL OPTIONS

ACL ligament tears do not heal on their own and ligament repairs do not work well, so generally the best option is to “reconstruct” a new ligament. Most first-time ACL reconstructions are performed with one of three soft tissue grafts:

• Patellar tendon, usually harvested with a piece of bone from the knee cap along with bone from the area where the patellar tendon inserts onto the tibia.
• Hamstring grafting involves harvesting tendons which come down the leg on the inner side of the knee, then once again channeling them through drill holes in the tibia, across the knee, and then fixed into the femur.
• Allograft (cadaver) tissue is frequently used in failed prior reconstructions and sometimes as the first choice in an ACL reconstruction.

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GOOD AS NEW Recreational athlete Becky Schaffner is back in action following ACL repairs and aggressive therapy directed by UI Sports Medicine director Ned Amendola, M.D. Amendola also serves as team physician for the Iowa Hawkeye football team.