Post-traumatic osteoarthritis occurs after an injury around a joint. For example, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in the knee frequently leads to early osteoarthritis related to that injury. “An ACL tear can accelerate the development of osteoarthritis in that knee by a decade or more. This is important because people who have an injury in their 20s or 30s can develop severe osteoarthritis in middle age, which can impact their occupation and ability to work,” says Cleveland Clinic orthopedic surgeon Kurt P. Spindler, MD. Dr. Spindler has decades of experience as an orthopedic surgeon with fellowship training in sports medicine and is now a principal investigator on multiple clinical trials testing interventions to delay the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in the knee.
