Dr. George Branche is an orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine physician, and friend of Restore Motion. He has been offering his services to players at the CitiOpen tennis tournament here in D.C for over a decade. We had a chance to speak with him at the tournament and ask about recent trends in his practice. His specialization and passion lies in arthroscopic surgical treatment of the shoulder and the knee.
“I’m doing more and more revisions,” he says, “as more people are active well into their older years.” Dr. Branche has seen a steady increase in the number of older patients seeking a remedy for knee and shoulder pain interfering with their active lifestyles. “15 years ago if you saw a 60 year old in our office you might ask him if he was lost, ” he jokes. “These days I’m treating people in their 60’s, 70’s, and even 80’s.”
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the knee is one of four ligaments between the femur and the tibia that helps keep the bones together and stable during movement. Injury to this ligament can lead to knee pain, a feeling of your knee buckling or giving out from under you, and decreased knee range of motion. Spraining or tearing of the ACL is one of the most common knee injuries in humans. Depending on the severity of the injury and the person’s age, physical therapy may be the first treatment option to stabilize the knee. If symptoms do not improve with conservative management, surgery is often considered next.