ACL Reconstruction: LARS v Traditional... Neither?

With success stories such as Nick Malceski and David Rodan the LARS synthetic ligament replacement surgery has received a great deal of positive press in 2010. The surgery has apparently led to their return much sooner than the 12 months AFL fans have come to expect after the traditional replacement technique.


This study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that, for many, immediate reconstruction may not be necessary. Apparently after two years patients who had undertaken rehab first and given the option of surgery at a later date had similar outcomes to those that underwent immediate surgery (with about 40% taking up the option of the surgery).

I don't have access to the entire article but I've read elsewhere that the study had some obvious flaws in that it is difficult to control for actual activity (and hence knee stress) levels throughout and post rehab, also, translating the specific rehab program used in this study to all rehab programs is a bit of a stretch. (Pun embarrassingly intended)

Whilst the success of LARS in elite athletes is convincing it is interesting that for many adults reconstruction may not be necessary at all.

A thorough rebuttal of The China Study

The China Study is a pro vegan book that uses masses of data comparing the dietary intakes of different Chinese regions. Its primary conclusion is that any animal protein intake correlates positively with western diseases.

And it is thoroughly and elegantly rebutted here:

Raw Food SOS: The China Study: Fact or Fallacy

Careful now! It's a lengthy article which dispassionately investigates the statistics; with hardly a mention of foods we evolved to eat. However, in much the same way as Good Calories, Bad Calories it shows that epidemiological studies are so prone to confirmation bias they are practically useless.

Adventures of Elaine, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.: Elaine on vacation

Now this is definitely what God intended when he invented the internet.

Adventures of Elaine, the Tyrannosaurus Rex.: Elaine on vacation: "I've got a new friend called Elaine. Elaine is a quite small Tyrannosaurus Rex that likes to do lots of fun stuff. So Elaine went on vacatio..."

In keeping with tradition...

I am not posting any original content. I don't have enough mental capacity remaining during this mad rush to finish jobs at work before I leave.

I did, however, read this on Edge and loved the eloquence:

'HOW IS THE INTERNET CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK?'

In the North Pacific Ocean, there were two approaches to boatbuilding. The Aleuts (and their kayak-building relatives) lived on barren, treeless islands and built their vessels by piecing together skeletal frameworks from fragments of beach-combed wood. The Tlingit (and their dugout canoe-building relatives) built their vessels by selecting entire trees out of the rainforest and removing wood until there was nothing left but a canoe.

The Aleut and the Tlingit achieved similar results—maximum boat/minimum material—by opposite means. The flood of information unleashed by the Internet has produced a similar cultural split. We used to be kayak builders, collecting all available fragments of information to assemble the framework that kept us afloat. Now, we have to learn to become dugout-canoe builders, discarding unnecessary information to reveal the shape of knowledge hidden within.

I was a hardened kayak builder, trained to collect every available stick. I resent having to learn the new skills. But those who don't will be left paddling logs, not canoes.

-George Dyson

Useful Notes