Rewriting the Future of Knee Injury: Using Biomechanics to Prevent the Long-Term Consequences of Sport Injury

Delivered by Brian Pietrosimone ’05, PhD
Professor of Athletic Training in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

For decades, successful rehabilitation after knee injury has been defined by returning athletes to sport. Yet for many individuals, the real consequences of injury emerge years later. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries dramatically increase the risk of developing post-traumatic knee osteoarthritis, often leading to chronic pain, disability, and, ultimately, joint replacement at a relatively young age. Research over the past two decades has revealed that the way we move after injury may play a critical role in determining long-term joint health. Even subtle alterations in walking biomechanics following ACL injury and reconstruction can change how forces are distributed across the knee, triggering biological responses that accelerate cartilage degeneration long before symptoms appear. This lecture will explore the growing evidence linking biomechanics to joint biology and discuss how these discoveries are transforming our understanding of rehabilitation. From identifying biomechanical risk factors to developing personalized gait retraining strategies and wearable technologies that monitor joint loading in real time, new approaches are emerging that move rehabilitation beyond restoring function toward preserving lifelong joint health. Together, these advances offer an opportunity to rewrite the future of knee injury by preventing, rather than simply managing, its long-term consequences.

At UNC, Brian Pietrosimone also serves as director of the MOTION Science Institute and co-director of the UNC Sports Medicine Institute. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training at Springfield College in 2005 before completing both his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Virginia in 2009, where his training focused on sports medicine and biomechanics. His work integrates disciplines of biomechanics, biology, and clinical research to develop new strategies for preventing and treating musculoskeletal conditions. Pietrosimone has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, presented over 300 scientific abstracts, and delivered more than 120 invited lectures nationally and internationally.

This event is free and open to the Springfield College community and the public.

For more information on the 2026 Peter V. Karpovich Lecture

For questions or more information, contact Laura Feeley at (413) 748-3413 or lfeeley@springfield.edu. If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodations to participate in this event, contact her by September 25 to discuss your accessibility needs.