“I was in a game pitching, I landed on my plant leg, and I felt a pop. Once I felt the pop my leg got swollen really quick. I couldn’t really walk on it; I limped off the field.”
Many athletes have their own version of this story, seeing their dream disintegrate in a split second. With sport injuries being a common risk athletes face, Tyler’s story is one of many.
“I was worried if I could ever play again, if my dreams of playing at the next level were over with.”
Tyler’s doctor referred him to Dr. Deryk Jones, a sports medicine and cartilage specialist. Through an MRI, Dr. Jones saw that cartilage was continuously chipping off underneath Tyler’s knee.
Understanding his patient’s dreams of playing professional ball, Dr. Jones wanted to give Tyler the best chance to make that recovery. He knew the next step had to include CartiMax®.
Dr. Jones recommended CartiMax® to Tyler because it would provide him with the fastest recovery.
“I’ve been very impressed at how quickly people return to function after CartiMax®. I’ve seen high level athletes get back to full sport, such as football, at six months. I’ve seen weekend warrior athletes playing tennis at a high level at 6-9 months,” Dr. Jones explained.
Used to treat cartilage lesions in the knee, foot, and ankle, CartiMax® is made up of viable, cartilage fibers combined with cartilage allograft matrix to make a biologically active scaffold with putty-like handling characteristics. This product offers the potential to facilitate cartilage healing and regeneration through a single-stage procedure.
With the main goal of getting back on the field, Tyler jumped on it.
“I got out of surgery, woke up, and the nurses came in to start walking me around that same day. And that’s just not something I expected.”
The first few weeks of Tyler’s recovery focused on walking around comfortably and getting off crutches. After three months of rehab, Tyler was off crutches and able to jog around. After five months of rehab, Tyler was back on the field doing what he loves.
Two years after the surgery, Tyler’s dream came true as he continued his athletic career at a college of his choice.
“This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life, I’m excited for the opportunity, and none of that would have been possible without my friends, my family supporting me, and without Dr. Jones pushing CartiMax®.”
*Dr. Jones is a paid CONMED consultant