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University of Missouri Orthopaedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Expert Cares for Athletes in Football, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Softball

Prakash Chandran: Treating elite athletes is a very special expertise, but so is treating the community. Today we'll meet Dr. Clayton Nuelle with the University of Missouri Healthcare, who excels in treating both on a regular basis. My name is Prakash Chandran and let's meet the official team physicians for Mizzou Athletics. Welcome Dr. Nuelle. Thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. Could you maybe just start by introducing yourself?

Dr. Nuelle: Yeah, sure. Thank you for having me Prakash. It's a pleasure to join. As you mentioned, I'm Dr. Clayton Nuelle. I'm one of the team physicians for the University of Missouri. I'm a fellowship trained sports medicine orthopedic surgeon with MU healthcare. And I take care of, as you mentioned, both Mizzou athletes, but then also our athletes in the community and our patients throughout the community and throughout the greater Missouri.

Prakash Chandran: Awesome and we're definitely gonna get into that, but I'd love to just start by asking what exactly attracted you to medicine in the first place?

Dr. Nuelle: That's a great question. As many people that end up in sports medicine in the, in our field, I think I played sports a lot growing up and. Had a number, a couple different major sports injuries and so was exposed to physicians and in particular exposed to team physicians and exposed to surgeons that take care of those types of athletic injuries and sports injuries. And I thought it was a pretty interesting thing that they did. And being able to get athletes back out onto the field and get them back to doing the things that they love was something that I thought was very intriguing.

And then as I went through my educational process and went through college. I enjoyed being kind of around healthcare and then when I went to medical school, I enjoyed the technical aspects of surgery and some of the things that go with that. And so that kind of all led me down the pathway of medicine and then specifically orthopedic surgery. And then even more specifically, sports medicine.

Prakash Chandran: Cool. And just outta curiosity, what sports did you play growing up?

Dr. Nuelle: I played football, basketball, and baseball.

Prakash Chandran: Okay, awesome. So, currently you're as I've read the team physician, the primary surgeon for the Mizzou football, soccer, softball, tennis, and swimming teams. So, how do you think about your experience as a sports player growing up to how you treat the athletes of today?

Dr. Nuelle: That's a great question. I think it just helps me relate to them because I've, in many cases, I've either been in their position or I've known people in the positions that they are in, and or had teammates or friends that are in similar positions. And so I think even just with beyond being able to take care of them from a specific injury or from a medical standpoint, I can relate to where they are. Journey or their pathway as an athlete or in their career or what they're trying to accomplish. And I think especially elite level and high level athletes like we see at the division one level here that gives them an extra bit of confidence or it gives them an extra bit of trust.

Knowing that I can relate and understand to what they're doing and what they're trying to accomplish or where they're trying to go in their career beyond just saying, well, you have this injury and I'm gonna fix this injury and then that's it. They, I think they enjoy being able to kind of have that relational capacity.

Prakash Chandran: Totally, and you probably speak the same language as as they do, but also there's also this sense of urgency that an individual has in wanting to get back to the game. That is hard for maybe a surgeon without the experience of sports to understand. So you probably bring that too, like understanding how to get them back to play in a healthy way. Is that correct?

Dr. Nuelle: Yeah, without question. That's a great point per Kosh because athletes wanna get back out as soon as they possibly can. And our job to do that and help them do that, but it's our job to help them do that safely. And I think when the athlete knows that you have their best interest in mind and it's not necessarily just some outside interest or outside entity, but you wanna do the best thing for them and in a safe manner and in a safe fashion so that they can perform at the highest level and not re-injure the. They really appreciate that and I think that's the goal for everyone.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. Now I know that you specialize in sports and joint restoration. Can you talk broadly about what that means?

Dr. Nuelle: Definitely. So sports medicine is a broad term and that can encompass a lot of different things. That can encompass taking care of athletes. On the sideline if, they have a health issue. Or it can encompass, from a surgical standpoint, if they have an injury that requires surgery then an arthroscopic surgery typically, or an open surgery to reconstruct a ligament or reconstruct soft tissue injury. And so, sports medicine is very wide and encompassing. Joint restoration is kind of a broader aspect of that where potentially someone has had an injury that has done potentially irreparable damage to the joint.

And then we have to perform some sort of a procedure where we restore the joint, whether that be at some, a transplanting new tissue into the joint or reconstructing multiple areas of the joint. And that frequently is oftentimes more common in what we may say are recreational are delayed athletes. Those maybe some of our, those community patients like we're talking about, who have now had multiple injuries over the course of their lives and the joint has had significantly more damage.

And they're looking to be restored to quality of life or being able to play soccer with their kids on the weekend as opposed to go back to playing elite division one level athletics. And so, that encompasses kind of all of that as well.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. So I was just gonna touch on that you kind of service the gamut from these elite athletes that are actively playing right now to the weekend warriors or delayed athletes as you call them, that still want to remain active but are doing different things. Can you talk about how you bring that elite level of service to the Mizzou athletes, to the broader community and how you think about putting together a treatment plan for them as well?

Dr. Nuelle: Absolutely. So I think it encompasses a number of different things. It encompasses having a good understanding first and foremost of where the patient, that specific patient is in their life, and then what their expectations are. And then being able to meet that patient at their expectations with all of the capabilities that we have and that encompasses a number of different arms. And so that's the, just the technical arm of doing a surgery or doing a procedure, but then that's also. The evidence-based medicine behind that.

And so we do a lot of research here at the University of Missouri and we're constantly trying to improve our understanding and our knowledge of these types of things and of the joint and the, and human pathologies. and then we're also trying to improve our techniques. And so we're always trying to get better and trying to get more efficient and then improve techniques and hopefully improve the science to improve both the efficiency, but then also the ability of patients to get back to doing what they are, whether as you mentioned an elite athlete or whether it's the recreational athlete.

We've got tons of patients who say that what they love is pickleball, or what they love is playing racquetball with their friends. And if they can't do that, then that's hard. And so I think the things that we do, especially here, it's. That sets us apart from some, or that we were really proud of, is that we bring all those things kind of together and we bring all those things to the table. The capability to take care of an elite athlete, but then also incorporating the research and the technical advancements and some of those types of things and the technology into the day-to-day lives for all of our patients, our recreational athletes, and our weekend warriors as well.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, that's another thing I wanted to touch on. I love the fact that you and your team are involved in research. I read you specifically have authored or co-authored a number of different publications, and I think that's important because you're constantly trying to improve, right? And you're learning things. And you're kind of on the cutting edge of sports medicine and helping people just get better faster. Is there anything notable around the publications that you've authored or co-authored that you'd like to share?

Dr. Nuelle: Sure. Thanks. Yeah, thanks for pointing that out. I think, my particular area of interest, as you mentioned is joint restoration. And if so in particular, that typically involves cartilage and meniscus and ligament surgery or reconstructions. And so, we've published a number of different things on advancements in ACL reconstruction and different techniques to make it less invasive less painful which improves patient's recovery and makes it hopefully the rehab a little bit easier in the immediate post-operative period, but then also the recovery quicker.

As most people probably know, or anybody that's ever played sports. Everybody knows somebody that's torn their ACL and then knows that's a really long recovery, and that's a really difficult surgery and a difficult rehab. And so we're working to do a number of things to try and make that easier for the patient and make that recovery go smoother. I mean, there's some things that you can't control if the human body has to heal things and certain things, but we're trying to help that and we're trying to help improve those things.

And so we published a number of different things in regards to that. And as you mentioned we're continuing to do research on it and continuing to improve. And I think that's a big aspect of it because I think we can all improve in everything we do, but especially in our field, things are always changing and medicine and technology is always changing and we're always trying to get better. And if we can get better and better, that's just that's gonna make life and our outcomes for all of our patients improve.

Prakash Chandran: I love that. I'd like to spend this time just understanding a little bit more about you as a person outside of being a doctor, you know, your personal life. Is there anything that you'd like to share about your family, your kids, and what you'd like to do at your free time?

Dr. Nuelle: Sure. So I'm a couple different kind of fun things. I grew up in Missouri originally specific to Missouri. And so, I went away for some of my education and training, got to experience some different things. And then they brought me back, which I'm fortunate. Because now I'm kind of like the hometown kid that came back, so to speak a little bit. So it's really kind of fun to be able to. grow up in a place, and then come back and practice and get to serve the community that I grew up in and give back to that same community.

It' s definitely really fulfilling and, getting to see a lot of, friends and family that I've known for years now come in as patience is something that's just, it keeps me, it's really fun and it keeps me going but from a personal standpoint too, so my. I actually get, I'm partners with my wife in practice. So she's a hand surgeon which is pretty unique as well. And so she, and she actually helps kind of take care of some of our athletes too, and they have difficult hand and wrist injuries and things.

And so it, we're really fortunate to be able to share what we do professionally then, you know, on the personal side, of things as well. And so it, it keeps us really busy having two very busy orthopedic surgeons. But it's kind of fun to be able to share that and do that together. An d then we have two kids. And so we really love doing outdoor things and our kids love to love nature and love animals, and so love playing outside and any and every trip that we can take that encompasses some sort of outdoor activity is basically where you'll find us when we have free time.

Prakash Chandran: I love that and wow. It's a team of orthopedic surgeons. It's amazing. Between the two of you, you can just take care of everyone.

Dr. Nuelle: We try, I, we try, I don't know about everyone, but we certainly do our best.

Prakash Chandran: I love it. I love it. Hey, listen, I'd love to do a quick fire round, ask you a couple questions and have you answered them. Would that be okay?

Dr. Nuelle: Absolutely.

Prakash Chandran: All right. What was your very first job?

Dr. Nuelle: My very first job was I picked tomatoes in a greenhouse for $3 an hour.

Prakash Chandran: Oh, okay. Wow. $3 an hour. I think that's like, be like at your, at your age when you were young, that maybe that was below the minimum, did it because it was hard work and it made you better, right?

Dr. Nuelle: Yeah, my dad informs me that it instilled some sort of work ethic or something, which I'm not really entirely sure still to this day, cuz after payroll taxes, it actually was $2 and 70 cents an hour. So, I still give him a little bit of a hard time about getting me that job, but I'm, sure it, yeah, it instilled something in me of some sort

Prakash Chandran: Yeah, my dad has said similar things to me, so I totally undewrstand. What's an interesting fact that people may not know about you?

Dr. Nuelle: Well, in the Midwest, this is really random, but in the Midwest I was just having an argument with this about the other day, but in the Midwest ranch dressing is like, everybody loves ranch dressing and ranch flavor and all things ranch, and I don't like anything ranch.

Prakash Chandran: No, not even with pizza.

Dr. Nuelle: Nah. I know. Not even with pizza. I don't know why. I know, right. It makes me, people say, it makes me really weird that I can't eat anything ranch. But that's an interesting fact that people find odd in the, especially in the Midwest,

Prakash Chandran: That's so funny. Well, on the other side of that, what is your favorite food or drink?

Dr. Nuelle: Barbecue. I love barbecue, so I'v e got a smoker at home and so I like to smoke all different types of meats. And so I, I will eat anything and everything, barbecue and any time of year and I love that.

Prakash Chandran: And what would your current self teach or advise your younger self?

Dr. Nuelle: That's a great question. I think my current self would probably say, continue to work hard and set the goals that you set, but but maybe don't stress out about the small things quite so much. I think maybe that, maybe a lot of us probably come that way when you start to get maybe mid-career or even later career and things like that. Because I think as you go through the process, particularly when you go through a really stressful process like medical training and that sort of thing it's intense and We all wanna do the best we can and be the top of our class and be the best that, that we can possibly be, which is good.

That's what we should strive for, you should try to strive for. But I think a lot of times when you're going through that process, every little detail and every little thing we sometimes stress out about, and I'm certainly been guilty of that many times in my life. And so I think especially having kids now has helped me realize that you gotta just enjoy kind of the moments that you're in. And not everything has to. Moving towards a goal at all times and a hundred percent of the time. Sometimes you can just take a step back and take an hour or a day or just even five minutes and relax and enjoy the moments that you're in and enjoy the process.

Prakash Chandran: Yeah. I love that. What great advice. And finally, if you weren't practicing medicine, what would you be doing?

Dr. Nuelle: That's a great question. People have asked me that a lot of times. When I was a kid I always thought I was gonna be a professional football player. And then, when that realization came to me that that was probably not gonna happen at a relatively young age, then I thought I was gonna be a general manager of a football team. And then I realized those jobs are also few and far between. Then I started getting more interested in medicine. But I think I, you know, I think I would probably still do something involved with athletics. Whether that be like a coach or or some sort of a, some sort of an advisor in some capacity or along kind of an administrative role in some capacity in athletic department. I would probably find my way into that in some way, shape, or form.

Prakash Chandran: Well, I love that, Dr. Nuelle, it's been awesome getting to know you today. Thank you so much for your.

Dr. Nuelle: Thank you, Prakash. I appreciate it. Have a great day.

Prakash Chandran: You too. And thank you all so much for joining us today. For more information, you can visit muhealth.org/teamdocs, or you can call 573-882-Bone. My name is Prakash Chandran. Thanks again for joining us and be well.