By Monica Jaramillo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Research presented here indicated NCAA athletes who underwent lower extremity surgery prior to college were at a higher risk of undergoing orthopedic and knee surgery in same extremity during college, especially those involved in overhead sports, demonstrating rehabilitation may be inadequate or athletes did not fully return to function after surgery.
Researchers retrospectively identified 1,142 NCAA Division I athletes involved in 12 different sports, among whom 262 underwent orthopedic surgeries, as determined by the Sports Injury Monitoring System. Using pre-participation evaluations (PPEs), factors such as gender, sport and pre-college upper or lower extremity orthopedic surgeries were determined. 
The researchers utilized a multiple Cox regression model to identify patient-related independent variables. The researchers also calculated exposure time from the date of PPE to either surgery date or end of career as a collegiate athlete.