Dr. Matthew Matava, an orthopedic surgeon with Washington University Orthopedics, spoke to Upper School students in our Sports Medicine Biology class on Thursday as part of their human body strand speaker series. Matava specializes in sports-related injuries in adults and children, specifically focusing on ligament injuries of the knee, articular cartilage restoration, meniscal transplantation; athletic injuries of the shoulder including instability and rotator cuff issues; and pediatric knee disorders. Dr. Matava is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Physical Therapy, the head team physician for the Washington University athletic teams, as well as a team physician for the St. Louis Blues. He is also the president of the National Football League (NFL) Physician Society and an MICDS parent.
On Thursday, Dr. Matava talked to students about his profession and about surgery techniques. He spoke about patient (player) confidentiality challenges, sports injuries, arthritis and scoliosis, treating professional athletes in comparison everyday people, his career and much more. He even shared sports medicine ideas in the pipeline like:
- Vaccines to prevent addiction to alcohol, tobacco, drugs and obesity
- Prosthetic performance engineering
- Epigenetics – changes in desirable gene expression
- Bioethics of transgender competition
- Human Genomics to determine injury susceptibility
- Implantable chips with medical data
Following, he gave a cadaver demonstration of the knee joint where students could see what the actual anatomical structures of the knee look like. “They have been learning about the anatomy and various injuries of the knee joint in class,” shared Head Athletic Trainer and Upper School Science Teacher Stacey Morgan. Students had the opportunity to help Dr. Matava with the dissection and ask him questions. “This real-world learning creates experiences that students will remember and helps them make better connections to the material learned.”
As a special bonus, Dr. Matava passed around the cherished Blues Stanley Cup Championship Ring—a perk of the hard work that he’s put in throughout his career. Some students even got to try the ring on!
Kneedless to say, we’re very thankful to Dr. Matava for bringing his vast expertise and this hands-on learning opportunity to our Upper Schoolers!