July Featured Author

Lynn Snyder-Mackler, PT, ATC, Sc.D, SCS, FAPTA
Biomechanics and Movement Science Program
Department of Physical Therapy
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware

From the July issue: Does Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Improve Functional and Radiographic Outcomes Over Nonoperative Management 5 Years After Injury?

Podcast: Listen to Dr. Snyder-Mackler discuss her article in the July issue.

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Dr. Lynn Snyder-Mackler, PT, ScD, ATC, SCS, FAPTA, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Physical Therapy at the University of Delaware, began her career as a clinical physical therapist, but due to her persistent curiosity and interest in finding answers to questions, she quickly found her passion in the research side of the profession. Dr. Snyder-Mackler’s persistence has surely paid off, as she recently received a prestigious Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This award will fund her research on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries for up to ten years so that Dr. Snyder-Mackler can continue feeding her curiosity and finding answers to the many unanswered questions that she has.

Dr. Snyder-Mackler received two grants from the Foundation during the early years of her career that helped to secure the course of her research and brought her to where she is today. The first, a Doctoral Training Research Grant in 1988, funded a small randomized trial during Dr. Snyder-Mackler’s PhD studies at Boston University. This project was one of her first forays into research and it helped her to learn the basics of this type of work. The second grant, a research grant in 1991, funded a study entitled, “Comparison of Electrical Stimulation and Voluntary Exercise in Patients after ACL Surgery.” Over the years, this project continued to grow, and it is this research that eventually turned into the project for which she received the NIH MERIT award.

Dr. Snyder-Mackler’s current research focuses on how people respond differently to ACL injuries. Some people, who Snyder-Mackler calls “copers,” have the ability to stabilize themselves after an ACL injury by participating in rehabilitation, while for others, surgery may be necessary to repair the injury. By delaying surgery, those identified as copers are able to regain knee stability through neuromuscular training with a physical therapist. Her research focuses on determining how to identify these copers and how to rehabilitate them in order to make it less likely that they re-injure themselves. The study is set up as a long-term cohort and is being done simultaneously in Norway and the United States.

Selected Other Published Work in AJSM

Wellsandt E, Failla MJ, Axe MJ, Snyder- Mackler L. Does Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Improve Functional and Radiographic Outcomes Over Nonoperative Management 5 Years After Injury? AM J Sports Med. 2018, Jun

Arundale AJH, Capin JJ, Zarzycki R, Smith A, Snyder-Mackler L. Functional and Patient-Reported Outcomes Improve Over the Course of Rehabilitation: A Secondary Analysis of the ACL-SPORTS Trial. AM J Sports Med. 2018, Jun

Grindem H, Wellsandt E, Failla M, Synder-Mackler L, Risberg MA. Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury—Who Succeeds Without Reconstructive Surgery? The Delaware-Oslo ACL Cohort Study. Ortho J Sports Med. 2018, May; 6 (5)

Arundale AJH, Silvers-Granelli HJ, Snyder- Mackler L. Career Length and Injury Incidence After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Soccer Players. Ortho J Sports Med. 2018, Jan; 6 (1)

Zarzycki R, Failla M, Arundale AJH, Capin JJ, Snyder-Mackler L. Athletes with a Positive Psychological Response to Return to Sport Training Have Better Outcomes One and Two Years after ACL Reconstruction. Ortho J Sports Med. 2017, Jul; 5 (7_suppl)

Failla M, Zarzycki R, Logerstedt, Wellsandt E, Axe MJ, Snyder-Mackler L. Hop Test Symmetry Scores Early after Rehab Predict Successful 2 Year Outcomes of ACLR. Ortho J Sports Med. 2017, Jul; 5 (7_suppl)

Suydam SM,. Cortes DH, Axe MJ, Snyder-Mackler L, Buchanan TS. Semitendinosus Tendon for ACL Reconstruction: Regrowth and Mechanical Property Recovery. Ortho J Sports Med. 2017, Jun; 5 (6)

Nawasreh Z, Logerstedt D, Cummer K, Axe MJ, Risberg MA, Snyder-Mackler L. Do Patients Failing Return-to-Activity Criteria at 6 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Continue Demonstrating Deficits at 2 Years? AM J Sports Med. 2016, Dec; 45 (5)

Failla MJ, Logerstedt DS, Grindem H, Axe MJ, Risberg MA, Engebretsen L, Huston L, Spindler KP, Snyder-Mackler L. Does Extended Preoperative Rehabilitation Influence Outcomes 2 Years After ACL Reconstruction? AM J Sports Med. 2016, Jul; 44 (10)

Zachazewski J, Silvers HJ, Li B, Snyder-Mackler L, Insler S,. Ahmad CS, Mandelbaum B. Hamstring Injuries in Major and Minor League Baseball. Ortho J Sports Med. 2016, Jul; 4 (7_suppl)