Adam Anz, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, served as the covering physician for Team USA at the 2016 Lake Louise Alpine Ski World Cup in Alberta, Canada.
Adam Anz, M.D.: Covering Physician for Team USA
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Dr. Anz, who also leads the Andrews Research and Education Foundation’s Regenerative Medicine Center, said in the December 16, 2016 news release, “Taking care of athletes at all levels helps me communicate better with the patients I see on a day-to-day basis. Seeing what the athletes I cover can do to overcome injuries inspires me and makes me realize that while we strive to be perfectionists, life isn’t perfect. Our bodies aren’t going to be perfect but we can still be outstanding athletes and we can still compete.”
“My experience treating athletes taught me that you can always compete no matter what your body has been through, ” Dr. Anz said. “Athletes still do compete despite what injuries they’ve obtained. Experiencing this has helped me take care of my patients more effectively and it ignites the sports medicine spirit inside me. The real reason we cover athletes more than we’re required is that underlying spirit and flame that sports medicine fuels in us all.”
“The sports medicine spirit is important at all levels. To ultimately be the best sports physician it has to be more than a job. It has to be a hobby and passion too. I learned that from James Andrews, M.D., and we call it hobby passion. This hobby passion is for all athletes, not just for college athletes or professional athletes. If you boil it down, this is why we do what we do. As part of the hobby passion, you must be a servant to the core. And that’s what I’ve seen and admired in Dr. Andrews: he’s a servant, and he serves everyone.”
Dr. Anz told OTW, “The highlight of the event was seeing the athletes finish the race event strong with no injuries. It is surprising how many injuries these athletes endure throughout their careers as ski racers yet are able to perform at the highest levels. They have a lot of grit, courage, and determination.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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