Centers of Excellence

Archive: Mar 2014

1. [Release] Dr. Tsai - Ringside at Mixed Martial Arts Events

   March 26, 2014 3:02 pm
   
   

   The fast growing sport of mixed martial arts is now regulated by the State of Wisconsin, which
   means events are both larger and safer for the participants. One of the primary regulations
   Wisconsin demands that each event have a licensed ringside physician. Davis Tsai, MD, an
   orthopaedic surgeon with the Kennedy Center in Oshkosh, has recently been assigned by the State
   to be the ringside physician for the upcoming Combat USA final 8 Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
   competition to be held at the Oneida Casino in Green Bay on March 5. The day prior to the event,
   Dr. Tsai will perform physical exams on the fighters to confirm they are in good physical condition.

   According to Dr. Tsai, “Mixed Martial arts basically evolved out of street brawling. With state
   regulation, mixed martial arts have become a legitimate sport – if not an art form.” It combines the
   best aspects of Muay Thai kick boxing, Karate, Greco-Roman wrestling, European boxing, Russian
   Sambo and Brazilian Jui-Jitsu.

   Until recently, the unregulated sport allowed promoters to hold fights in bars and clubs with no
   oversight. Today, MMA competitions are held at much larger venues, have regulations similar to
   boxing and must have a physician available who can stop the fight if they determine a fighter cannot
   continue physically.

   “I am currently treating four patients in my practice who participate in mixed martial arts,” says Dr.
   Tsai. “They enjoy the sport because it is so physical, so ‘in your face’. But because it is such a violent
   physical activity, participants can get injured and require the services of a trained physician.” Unlike
   boxing which has two “zones of concern”, the head and neck and the trunk of the body, MMA has
   six zones for attack – head and neck, truck, right and left arm and right and left leg. Participants ave 300% more body parts at risk for injury – in essence fighters have a greater risk of injury and a
   greater need for a ringside doctor.

   Dr. Tsai’s has been ringside physician in the past for amateur boxing. His interest in MMA stems
   from having trained in Judo and Karate in his youth. It was a natural evolution for him to from
   covering boxing to MMA as cage fighting has come out of the shadows to become a legitimately
   sanctioned and regulated sport.

   Comments Off

2. Golfing After Joint Replacement Surgery

   March 6, 2014 8:31 pm
   
   

   Believe it or not, spring is nearly here.

   It’s time to take out your golf clubs, stretch your shoulders and hips and get ready for golf season.

   If you’ve had hip replacement or knee replacement surgery at the Kennedy Center in Oshkosh, you might want to think about the following tips from Golf Digest before you take that first swing.

    

   • Don’t golf in wet weather – slipping and falling while swinging your club could be disastrous.
   • Any golfer with a joint replacement should learn to play more “on the toes.” Don’t listen to the golf pros who tell you to swing with your feet flat on the ground. Swinging flat footed puts a lot of stress on a joint replacement. On the backswing, the left heel should come off the ground and on the downswing, the right heel should come off the ground.
   • Golfers with total hip replacements should learn to play with bigger hip turns. Hip movement is triggered by the lower back. By turning the trunk more, the muscles around the hip are stretched less and therefore take stress off the hip replacement. Be sure to rise up on your toes while attempting a bigger hip turn or the stress of the trunk rotation will be transmitted to the hip or the knee.
   • Right handed golfers with a total right knee replacement may benefit from “stepping through” their shots with their right leg. In this movement, the right leg comes off the ground during the downswing and follow-through – it actually steps toward the target. This helps the weight shift and will take some stress off the right knee. Golfers with a left knee replacement should never try this technique- it will not help your swing and could be dangerous.
   • Right handed golfers with a total left knee replacement will probably benefit from an open stance. This will make the backswing a bit more difficult but if the left heel is allowed to come up, a full turn should be possible. An open stance has the golfer facing the target more and the hips don’t need to turn so drastically to the left in the impact zone, therefore taking stress off a left knee replacement.

   And finally, a tip from the sports medicine doctors at the Kennedy Center, make sure you do warm up stretches for your back, shoulders and hips before hitting that first ball. Simple exercises like holding a golf club in two hands and stretching overhead and backwards several times will loosen the shoulder, arm and back muscles.

    

   Have Fun!

   From the Team:
   Dr. McLaughlin, Dr. Tsai, Dr. Hausserman, Dr. Schaufelberger and Dr. Fornetti

   Comments Off