ArticleSports health
Evolving Treatment Patterns of NFL Players by Orthopaedic Team Physicians Over the Past Decade, 2008-2016.
Article in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ready or Not; A Narrative Synthesis of Sports Medicine Practitioners' Practices During Return to Play in the Management of Musculoskeletal Injuries.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A Review of Research on Throwing Biomechanics, Upper Extremity Injuries, and Treatment of Throwing Injuries in Professional Baseball and Football.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Review
- Preferences Including Graft Choice, Lateral Augmentation, and Rehabilitation After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Among National Football League Team Orthopaedic Surgeons.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears among Football Players.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025Review
- Practice Patterns and Return-to-Sports Timing of National Football League Head Team Physicians for ACL Reconstruction.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- What to Cover When You're Covering: Preparing the Sideline Physician for the Season.Journal of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America · 2024Review
- National Football League Wide Receivers and Running Backs Have Decreased Production Following ACL Reconstruction: An Evaluation of Fantasy Football Performance as an Outcome Measure.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2022Article
- Return to Play After Surgical Treatment of High-Grade Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries in the Australian Football League.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- ACL Tears in the National Football League From 2013 to 2020: Analysis of the 2020 Season After Delays and Schedule Changes From the Early COVID-19 Pandemic Relative to Prior Seasons.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- Return to Play Rates in NFL Wide Receivers and Running Backs After ACL Reconstruction: An Updated Analysis.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2021Article
- Return to Play and Performance After Primary ACL Reconstruction in American Football Players: A Systematic Review.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2020Review
- Epidemiology of Hand and Wrist Injuries in NCAA Men's Football: 2009-2010 to 2013-2014.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2019Article
- Foot and Ankle Injections in Athletes.Sports healthReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies have analyzed the treatment patterns used to manage injuries in National Football League (NFL) players. HYPOTHESIS: Treatment patterns for injuries in NFL players will have changed over the study period. STUDY
designDescriptive epidemiology study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 5.
methodsThe head orthopaedic team physicians for all 32 NFL teams were asked to complete a survey containing questions regarding experience as team physician, medical coverage of the team, and treatment preferences for some of the most common injuries occurring in football players. Responses from the current survey were compared with responses from the same survey sent to NFL team physicians in 2008.
resultsResponses were received from 31 (31/32, 97%) NFL team physicians in 2008 and 29 (29/32, 91%) NFL team physicians between April 2016 and May 2017. The proportion of physicians preferring patellar tendon autograft in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction increased from 87% in 2008 to 97% in 2016 ( P = 0.054). In 2008, 49% of physicians allowed return to contact after ACL reconstruction at 6 months or less as compared with only 14% of physicians in 2016 ( P = 0.033). In 2008, 93% of physicians used Toradol injections prior to a game to help with nagging injuries. Toradol injection utilization decreased to 48% of physicians in 2016 ( P < 0.001). Seventy-nine percent of physicians would administer 5 or more Toradol injections prior to a game in 2008, as compared with 28% of physicians in 2016 ( P < 0.0001).
conclusionOrthopaedic physicians have changed their injury treatment preferences for professional football players. In particular, physicians have become more cautious with allowing players to return to play after ACL reconstruction and with the use of pregame Toradol injections. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Expert opinions can help guide treatment decisions and lead to better care of all athletes.
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Registered trials
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