Episode 5 Prof. Evangelos Pappas

In this episode we speak with Professor Evangelos Pappas, Associate Dean and Professor at University of Wollongong, where he is working on development of the Health and Wellbeing precint and commencing research into long-term outcomes from ACL injuriesHis research focuses on the aetiology, prevention and treatment of athletic knee injuriesPrior to his move to the University of Wollongong he previously worked at University of Sydney where he continues to head  a large team researching ACL injuries.In this episode we talk about his career path in researching ACL injuries,  ACL healing and how the definition of healing may be causing some widely different healing statistics. We discuss ACL repairs and reconstruction and the pros and cons of each. We delve into the gender difference in ACL injuries and try to work out why females are at much greater risk. We talk about long term outcomes post ACL injury, discussing long term participation in sports, osteoarthritis rates and what we can do to keep people active and reduce the chances of arthritis. We also talk about how we need to avoid a inter-professional turf war and what to look for in choosing a health profession to get advice from on managing ACL injuries.