Getting Back to Sport

WRITTEN BY BILLINGS CLINIC, PROVIDING REGIONAL SPORTS MEDICINE, ORTHOPEDIC SERVICES

Women’s athletics has a rich and long-standing tradition in Montana and is a point of pride for many in our state. With 2,172 points, Shannon Schweyen (formerly Shannon Cate) scored more than any woman or man in Montana basketball history. Alice Ritzman of Kalispell earned more than $1 million on the LPGA Tour between 1978 and 1998. Most recently, Billings Skyview’s Breanna Williams repeated as Gatorade Montana Girls Basketball Player of the Year. These examples illustrate the caliber of athletes coming up in our Montana communities. However, for every tale of glory, there is one of injury—of what might have been.

As women’s athletics in Montana continues to grow, so does, unfortunately, the number of significant injuries. The most common include tears to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The ACL is a vital ligament of the knee that provides stability under stress. It can also be vulnerable to injury, and when that happens, it can sideline an athlete both on the field and in daily life for months.

Billings Clinic marketing and development strategist and former Montana State University Billings soccer player, Lexie Bloyder, was fortunate throughout her athletic career. Her father, Joe Bloyder, is a physical therapist at Billings Clinic, and, from an early age, she began learning the fundamentals of sound form in her movements and techniques.

“I’m super thankful for the guidance and expertise I received from my high school weightlifting coaches and athletic trainers,” Bloyder said. “I was able to utilize that knowledge throughout my college career. I attribute not having any significant or career-ending injuries to this training – not everyone is so fortunate.”

This approach defines Billings Clinic’s goals as a statewide health system when it comes to meeting athletes’ needs. In the Gallatin Valley, Billings Clinic Bozeman is the heart of health care for western Montana while providing sports medicine services tailored to athletes’ individual needs. The expert local team provides athletes from across the region with comprehensive and streamlined care. Billings Clinic Bozeman Orthopedic Surgeon, Emily Harnden, MD, specializes in sports medicine and ACL treatment and understands the unique challenges facing female athletes. She strives to get them back in the game and minimize the risk of injury and/or reinjury.

“One of the most important things I consider and strive to understand when I treat an athlete is their personal goal in getting back to sport. This allows me to design a specific treatment plan to give that athlete the best chance to achieve their goal and have a successful outcome from their injury. When treating female athletes, it is paramount to understand the unique anatomic, physiologic and psychologic factors that contribute to their injury and recovery. Recognizing and addressing these appropriately through a multidisciplinary approach gives her the best chance to return to her desired level of sport,” said Harnden.

Dr. Harnden works alongside skilled pediatric and orthopedic teams at Billings Clinic Bozeman to provide a wide range of services. In addition to treatments for ACL, they treat a comprehensive list of shoulder, hip, knee and spine conditions. Treating injuries is just one part of the equation for the skilled team. It places equal importance on protecting young athletes through proactive and preventative work while collaborating with other regional expert teams, consulting and referring when appropriate.

To the east, in Billings, the Billings Clinic sports medicine team provides the latest innovations in sports medicine to keep active athletes on the playing field while providing comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plans for various injuries and conditions. Athletic trainers at Billings Clinic work with middle and high school student athletes who train in the summer months. Billings Clinic also offers sports-specific training, which provides progressive training tailored to each athlete’s needs. The aim is to create faster, more agile and explosive athletes through teaching proper movement patterns for running, changing direction and jumping.

Everyone hopes to avoid injuries and, whether you’re a competitive or amateur athlete, daily quality of life is so important. But injuries can still happen. Montana gives us ample opportunity to get out, explore and play. Many people have children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren they want to keep up with for as long as they can. The good news is there are proactive measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of injury. The best potential outcomes come out of training with care, developing good habits and technically sound movements and techniques while relying on the expertise of medical professionals in our communities when they’re needed the most. No matter where you are across Montana, the Billings Clinic team is there to help with that. Learn more at www.billingsclinic.com/sportsmedicine.