As one of the nation’s top orthopedic and specialized knee centers, the Noyes Knee Institute serves patients from throughout the tri-state area and is nationally recognized as one of the top centers in North America. Over time, the Noyes Knee Institute has established a stellar team of orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers, performance enhancement specialists and allied health professionals who are dedicated to restoring patients with knee disorders and arthritis to an active healthy lifestyle.
“Your surgery will fail if you don’t have a good team,” says Frank R. Noyes, M.D. “I’m humbled that I have some of the best rehabilitation specialists, athletic trainers and other allied personnel so that when our patients come in, we literally wrap a whole team around them.”
The Institute has achieved many national awards for clinical out- comes and research and have trained thousands of specialists world- wide on programs developed at the Institute. Committed to physician education, Noyes established one of the first sports medicine fellowship programs in the United States.
“We work with hospital organizations, medical organizations and universities across the United States and around the world to train specialists and facilitate their programs,” says Noyes, who has traveled to India, Dubai and South America to teach physicians and orthopedic surgeons cutting-edge techniques.
Damage to the articular cartilage of the knee through injury or “wear and tear” is one of the most common problems orthopedists see. The gradual deterioration of the knee joint, typically known as osteo- arthritis, affects millions of individuals annually.
“If you suffer from this problem and are over the age of 60, a total knee replacement provides dramatic and reliable relief from pain and is the best treatment,” says Noyes. “However, if you’re younger, total knee replacement is not the best option.”
Then there are the dreaded ACL injuries. Because female athletes suffer four to 10 times more ACL injuries, a team of athletic trainers, physical therapists and researchers, under Noyes’ direction, developed Sportsmetrics™, the first ACL injury prevention program that is scientifically proven to decrease serious knee ligament injuries in female athletes. It’s a coordination, muscle and strengthening program so that when a woman lands, she has good neuromuscular control.
“Instead of that wibble-wobble knee, the athlete lands with good balance, good muscle contraction and good strength,” says Dr. Noyes, noting that their foundation has trained other centers to use the pro- gram and now 1,400 cities in the U.S., Europe and other countries use Sportsmetrics™.
Partial knee replacement is an operation that’s used in patients who suffer severe arthritis in only one portion of their knee joint. Many advances have been made in this operation, including improved implant design and surgical techniques, that now make it an attractive alter- native to total knee replacement in the appropriate patient candidate. Noyes was one of the pioneers of the minimally invasive robotic-assist- ed surgery, using the MAKOplasty Partial Knee Resurfacing Systems with the Robotic Arm Interactive Orthopedic System.
The advantages of partial replacement over total knee replacement include less blood loss, smaller incisions, preservation of bone stock, return to higher levels of function, fewer complications, shortened hospital stays and an overall faster recovery. Most patients can walk without support a few weeks after surgery and resume daily activities within four to six weeks.
A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PROMOTES A HEALTHY HEART
Tobacco use and second-hand smoke are major contributors to heart disease and stroke. In fact, heart disease is the No. 1 killer world- wide with stroke ranking second. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), more than 480,000 people die from cigarette smoking each year, and those under 18 are twice as likely to be- come lifelong smokers. Despite these startling statistics, 25% of high school students smoke e-cigarettes, known commonly as vaping.
Often users mistakenly think that e-cigarettes are safe because they assume these products contain no nicotine when, in reality, each Juul pod has the nicotine content of an entire pack of regular cigarettes. The use of nicotine can create an increased risk of mood disorders and addiction issues. Young users, in particular, whose brains do not develop until age 25, might possibly experience compromised decision making and impulse control.
The Noyes Knee Institute at Cincinnati Sports Medicine Research and Education Foundation supports the AHA in their efforts to reduce, and ultimately prevent, tobacco and e-cigarette use.
“We’ve seen many advances in the fields of cardiology and neurology, and some of these amazing advances have been developed right here in Cincinnati by our incredible research doctors and fund- ed by the AHA,” says JoAnne Noyes, vice president of the Noyes Knee Institute and devoted AHA volunteer.
The AHA strives to be a relentless force in helping people live longer, healthier lives, and they do so by funding research grants for hospital research centers, school education programs, and CPR and blood pressure kiosks in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, addressing social inequities, and so much more. The board of directors — including Board President Dr. Brett Kissela, Board Chairman John Mongelluzzo, Midwest Board President, Dr. DP Suresh, as well as the talented AHA staff led by Missy Ford — has been instrumental in making anti-vaping a top priority in the community.
“We strongly support the AHA’s important stance against vaping, which has become a true epidemic among our children,” says JoAnne. Thankfully, the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky AHA staff members, led by Dr. Angelica Hardee, have comprised a Tobacco Endgame Toolkit. The AHA focuses on nonpunitive prevention education by increasing awareness on the detrimental effects of vaping and sup- porting individuals who want to quit.
“We provide schools, organizations and communities the resources they need to eliminate tobacco and vaping in their respective areas,” says JoAnne.
For more information about smoking/vaping and how you can help pass on this vital information, please visit heart.org/cincinnati and download the Tobacco Endgame Toolkit.
The Noyes Knee Institute is located at 10663 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH 45242. To make an appointment, call 513.794.8471 or visit noyeskneeinstitute.com.