Chams helps athletes regain the field

Roger Chams understands the desire to return to competition as soon as possible after an injury.

Chams played high school football, baseball and basketball at Niles West before graduating in 1984. He said a dislocated shoulder kept him from playing football after high school.

Now Dr. Roger Chams, an orthopedic surgeon with the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute out of Condell and Lake Forest hospitals in Lake County, is helping high school and college athletes return from serious shoulder and knee injuries to their previous skill levels.

And Chams, who works with high schools such as Carmel and Vernon Hills and Lake Forest College, is busier than ever.

"The big thing these days is we've seen a huge epidemic of injuries because kids play all year round," Chams said. "We get a lot more overuse injuries and try to set up preventive programs.

"We see a lot more shoulder and knee injuries than we used to because kids are such higher-level athletes."

Sports and medicine has been a perfect combination for Chams, who comes from a family of doctors. He graduated from Illinois in 1988 and did his fellowship at the Southern California Orthopaedic Institute.

Working with athletes, athletic trainers, coaches and athletic directors on injury prevention is a big focus for Chams.

Chams has also been making surgeries less invasive. He said all of the shoulder surgeries he does now are arthroscopic and the ACL surgeries are minimally invasive.

"With arthroscopic surgery we realized it's a lot easier," Chams said. "Athletes come back at about the same speed, but it's a better procedure and they get back to better function.

"They come back stronger and do come back with much less trauma to the associated tissue."

Chams has also tailored surgeries to suit male and female athletes and specific sports. He said he now has three ways of performing ACL surgeries instead of one.

For a shot putter or discus thrower in track and field, Chams said he can perform a shoulder surgery to provide more range of motion.

Having an athletic background helps when it comes time to start the return from surgery.

"When you know the psyche of a kid," Chams said, "it's a lot easier to motivate them to get back and understand what they're getting into."

Another change is Chams is performing surgeries on kids who are younger and younger. He said this week he had four ACLs on 13-year-olds, which would have never happened a few years ago.

And a first-hand recommendation from the adults he deals with at various schools doesn't hurt.

"Those are the people you want to take care of," Chams laughed about operations he's performed on coaches and athletic directors.