The importance of the mind-body connection in Sports Medicine is well-established and continues to be a hot topic of study and conversation. This connection between psychological and physical is especially noted with ACL injuries, surgery, and rehabilitation. Dr. Brian M. Devitt, MD, PhD from UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin, Ireland joins us to discuss his team's work examining psychological readiness and return to play rates in elite versus nonelite athletes. One might assume that the elite athlete, perhaps with more personal athletic identity and rehab resources would outperform the nonelite athlete, but does that actually play out?

The correct treatment for rotator cuff tears remains a matter of debate. The varying characteristics of cuff tears – symptomatic versus asymptomatic, tear size, tendon quality, the presence of fatty atrophy, etc. – makes generalizations about the best treatment approach difficult. One thing shoulder specialists agree on is that tear enlargement is problematic. A cuff tear that enlarges may turn a once fixable tear into an unfixable one. Predicting which tears will enlarge and the rate at which they will is not an exact science. We welcome Dr. James Irrgang, PT, PhD, FAPTA & Dr. Luke Mattar, PhD from the University of Pittsburgh to discuss their study looking at tear propagation trends in patients with a symptomatic, isolated supraspinatus tears after 3 month of an initial trial of physical therapy.

Shoulder and elbow injuries in pitchers are as old as baseball itself. Measures to lower the risk of these injuries have been evolving for decades, with a nationalized though heterogenous effort from state to state implemented in the mid-2010s. Adherence to pitch counts and mandatory days of rest in between outings, for example, are common restrictions placed upon pitchers to try and keep them safe. Dr. Peter Kriz, MD and his team from Boston Children's Hospital look back to see if these policies made any impact. Have the pitching restriction regulations designed to keep pitchers safe actually worked?

Sleep disruption is a hallmark symptom of rotator cuff pathology. Poor sleep can result in profound detriment to one's health and wellbeing. One of the greatest rewards of rotator cuff surgery is the ability to correct this. However, recovery from rotator cuff repair surgery can be long, upwards of 6+ months, with each individual's recovery pathway unique to him/herself. So when should a patient expect, on average, to see improvement in sleep after shoulder surgery? Drs. Mohammad Daher, MD and Joseph Abboud, MD from the famed Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, PA join us to share their findings on this topic.

Does cannabis use have any effect, good or bad, on Orthopaedic Surgery? It's a question we, as a Sports Medicine community, hear increasingly frequently from our patients but so far don't have great data to provide sound advice. We welcome Dr. Grant Hogue who has studied this extensively across several disciplines of Orthopaedic Surgery. He presents his work with his colleagues at Boston Children's Hospital looking specifically at adverse effects of marijuana use on ACL reconstruction recovery.

Whether to close the capsule at the conclusion of hip arthroscopy remains a matter of great debate. Prior data has been mixed. Dr. Bjarne Mygind-Klavsen from Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark joints us to discuss the results of his team's randomized controlled study comparing interportal capsulotomy closure versus no closure at 1 year following hip arthroscopy.

Multimodal analgesia refers to a pain medication strategy that targets multiple chemical pathways to achieve adequate pain relief. This concept has grown in popularity over the years particularly in light of the recognition that opioids have major downsides including dependence. We welcome Dr. J. Preston Van Buren, DO from the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to discuss his team's findings after implementing a focused multimodal analgesia strategy with a reduced number of prescribed opioid tablets following Sports Medicine surgery compared to a more traditional, opioid-heavy regimen that has been classically employed.