Research led by Associate Professor Adam Culvenor is helping to change the way clinicians understand and manage serious knee injuries in young people.
“Many young people who rupture their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) go on to develop osteoarthritis, ongoing knee problems and reduced quality of life before the age of 40,” he explains.
“However, until now, there has been a lack of evidence-based treatments to relieve the debilitating symptoms of post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis after this kind of injury.”
Associate Professor Culvenor’s research is focused on developing and testing new models of care to reduce the long-term burden of ACL injuries and early-onset osteoarthritis.
As part of this work, he was the first to discover the rapid onset of osteoarthritis in young adults within the first year after a knee injury.
“Using advanced MRI technology, we found that osteoarthritis can develop much earlier than previously thought and may progress rapidly following an ACL injury,” he says.
Associate Professor Culvenor has also pioneered treatments to reduce the burden of knee injuries and osteoarthritis through seven clinical trials, including exercise therapy, dietary interventions and knee bracing.
“My research has also been used to update national and international clinical practice guidelines on the management of ACL injuries and osteoarthritis, and has underpinned new osteoarthritis prevention clinical trials globally,” he adds.
The next phase of Associate Professor Culvenor’s research will focus on improving access to evidence-based rehabilitation care immediately after injury to improve long-term outcomes for young Australians.
