Fox 12 Good Day Living’s Stephanie Kralevich recently visited ROC’s Tualatin location to catch up with Dr. Elliott Cole.
Dr. Cole talks about his work treating ACL and meniscus injuries, his work with athletes, and what he likes most about being a sports doctor at ROC.
Video Transcript:
Stephanie Kralevich: We are at the Tualatin location of ROC Orthopedics, right off I-5. Today we are talking to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of knee injuries.
We are here with Dr. Elliott Cole at ROC. Dr. Cole, thanks so much for having us.
Dr. Elliott Cole: Of course, thanks for being here.
Kralevich: As an orthopedic surgeon, you see a lot of ACL tears. What exactly is an ACL tear and how do you go about treating it?
Cole: So an ACL is one of the main stabilizing ligaments in the knee. Mainly it helps with front-back knee stability, but it also si important in rotational stability of the knee. So for any athlete or any person doing sports or activities that involve cutting, pivoting, stabilizing, very important to have a functioning ACL.
Kralevich: Okay, what about meniscus injuries? How do you go about treating those?
Cole: Uh, it depends kind of what meniscus tear it is, age of the patient, you know, quality of the meniscus tissue… Sometimes, it’s non-operative, with things like injections and bracing and physical therapy. Sometimes we debride, or just kind of trim the torn part of the meniscus, and sometimes we repair it completely. Just kind of depends what kind of tear it is.
Kralevich: And prior to this interview, you were giving some patients injections. How does that work?
Cole: Uh, the point of the injections is to help with the symptoms, knee pain kind of in the area of the tear, or swelling. And sometimes, something like a cortisone or steroid injection is very helpful to eliminate that pain and, kind of, get the swelling down.
Kralevich: And let’s talk rotator cuffs. You see a lot of rotator cuff injuries – How do you treat those?
Cole: At the end, it’s very patient-specific. It kind of depends on whether it’s an acute tear after a certain injury or it’s more of a chronic tear, kind of wear-and-tear over time. Um, it can be similarly things that are non-operative like steroid injections and physical therapy to help with the pain symptoms, to a rotator cuff repair to kind of tack that torn tissue back down.
Kralevich: What’s the most rewarding part of being an orthopedic surgeon here at ROC?
Cole: Uh, besides the guys here, who are awesome… As a sports doctor, the most rewarding part for me would be seeing an athlete on the field who gets hurt, being able to diagnose their injury, do their surgery, follow them through the recovery process, and see if we can get them back out on the field.
Kralevich: And sometimes you have patients return to the field as even better athletes than they were before.
Cole: Yes, that’s the goal, obviously. It takes a lot of rehab to get there, but a lot of times, in that rehab process, getting the other muscles stronger, working on coordination, helps you get back out there faster.
Kralevich: Dr. Cole, thank you so much.
Cole: Of course.
Kralevich: To learn more about orthopedic care and recovery at Regenerative Orthopedic Center, visit rocpdx.com.
