Half the people who have had a knee reconstruction develop knee arthritis in their 30s, which means a less active lifestyle and potentially even a knee replacement in middle-age.
La Trobe University researcher Dr Brooke Patterson, a former basketballer and AFLW footballer, is driven by her own ACL injury to prevent the rise of this crippling condition and keep people playing sport for longer.
The knee is one of the most complex joints in the body, and the ACL is like a rope connecting your shin bone to your thigh bone. It is just three centimetres long, but with the help of your muscles it keeps your knee stable.
ACL injuries accelerate the development of osteoarthritis because the injury changes how the knee works, and the trauma affects the cartilage and other knee tissues.
The first phase of the study was a small proof-of-concept trial for 27 people with persistent knee symptoms after surgery. The research team is now looking ahead to a large-scale trial.
A whopping 52 million parcels delivered
Australia Post has again delivered a huge Christmas, with 52 million parcels delivered through the December peak and more packages moving by air than ever before.
More than 5.6 million Australian households shopped online to spoil friends and family in the lead-up to Christmas Day, and with volumes in October and November also higher than in previous years, it demonstrated a desire to plan ahead and shop early.
Australia Post had up to 25 dedicated freighters taking to the skies each night, and more than 8700 tonnes of parcels were flown across the country throughout December, up 13 per cent on the previous year, with a massive 556 tonnes moved on the busiest December day.
Vegetable industry priorities
Driving increased consumption of vegetables and potatoes, developing more effective businesses and becoming a more resilient industry are the core priorities of AUSVEG’s 2022 Federal Election Priorities, released ahead of the upcoming poll this year.
Australia’s peak industry body for the vegetable and potato sectors, has published its priority list, which highlights opportunities to combine the broader social benefits of eating more vegetables and potatoes with the positive employment and economic benefits that growers generate for their regional communities.
AUSVEG chief executive Michael Coote said the list had been the result of extensive consultation from growers and industry associations from every major vegetable production region.
“A key ask will be to secure funding for a national behavioural change campaign that will address the trend of declining vegetable consumption, with the average Australian eating around 13kg fewer vegetables per year than 20 years ago – equating to around half a serve per day,” he said.
Unhealthy Victorians
A recent survey of 500 Victorians following the latest COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and festive season has revealed half gained weight in 2021 and close to one in three (28 per cent) drank more alcohol after lockdown restrictions eased.
The ‘febfast’ survey conducted by Youth Support and Advocacy Service in January 2022, via an online Ipsos panel, has revealed that while a third of survey takers reported binge drinking and unhealthy eating during Victoria’s extended lockdowns in 2021, they boozed and ate sugary and fatty foods even more after the latest pandemic lockdowns ended.
Around 60% of survey takers said they had gained weight, with a whopping majority (79%) expressing their desire to cut sugar out of their diet in 2022 after eating even more sugar and fatty food during lockdown-free periods and the festive season.
While half of Victorians want to drink less alcohol in the new year, men aged 18-34 living in Metropolitan Melbourne were most likely to binge as a result of pandemic stress.
More than half of young Victorians (18-34) surveyed also did something they regretted or drank to the point of blackout as a result of extended and heightened binge-drinking behaviour.
Regional house price increase
Regional Victoria’s median house price has recorded its largest annual increase since 2001, according to data from Real Estate Institute of Victoria’s December quarter report.
In 2021, the median house price in regional Victoria grew 27.0 per cent, reaching a record-breaking $565,000 over the year.
Units and apartments in regional Victoria also grew, achieving an annual growth of 19.6 per cent bringing the median price to $395,950.
“The data reflects the enduring attraction of regional Victoria as a lifestyle choice following two years of COVID-19 restrictions,” REIV president Adam Docking said.
Surpassing a median house price of $1,125,000 in the December quarter, metropolitan Melbourne maintained a steady growth with a quarterly increase of 4.2 per cent and 18.9 per cent annually – the highest annual growth in over a decade.
The data shows houses in middle Melbourne, the typical suburban family belt, achieved a $1,230,000 median price, with a reported annual increase of 18.3 per cent.
Houses in outer Melbourne have experienced price growth for six consecutive quarters and with a median price of $815,000 are now 16.4 per cent more valuable than 12 months ago.
