Richard Cunningham, MD

About Richard Cunningham, MD

Dr. Richard Cunningham is a knee surgeon, shoulder specialist, and sports medicine physician at Vail Summit Orthopedics & Neurosurgery. Dr. Cunningham is an expert at treating conditions to the

Back to Sports after ACL Reconstruction Surgery: Maintain Your Knee Health through Strength, Flexibility, Balance and Agility Training

A year has passed since you underwent ACL reconstruction surgery on your knee and you are ready to return to sports. Whether you are an avid skier or ultrarunner or play on your high school soccer team, you will want to take good care in maintaining the quality of both your knee and the [...]

Back to Sports after ACL Reconstruction Surgery: Maintain Your Knee Health through Strength, Flexibility, Balance and Agility Training2020-01-30T01:26:42+00:00

What are Femoral Osteotomies & Why Do We Perform Them in Orthopedics?

Osteotomies, or bone cutting and realignment procedures, have been used by orthopedic surgeons long before joint replacements were being done. The main indication for an osteotomy is to change one’s alignment and unweight one side of the knee joint that may be arthritic and painful. Today, we still perform osteotomies in people who are [...]

What are Femoral Osteotomies & Why Do We Perform Them in Orthopedics?2020-01-24T21:39:37+00:00

Repeated Shoulder Dislocations Cause Increased Damage to the Shoulder

---------- --------- -------- ------- ------ ----- ---- --- -- - People who live here in the mountains tend to play hard. Injuries are not uncommon. It is not unusual for me to see young people in my office who have dislocated one or both of their shoulders. When someone dislocates their shoulder [...]

Repeated Shoulder Dislocations Cause Increased Damage to the Shoulder2020-01-24T21:39:38+00:00

Infection Control After Orthopedic Surgery

Both patients and surgeons worry about infections occurring after surgery. Fortunately, the risk of infection following orthopedic surgery performed in the Vail Valley is about 0.3%. This risk is about 1% in several Denver area hospitals. However, our hospitals, surgical centers and surgeons cannot take all the credit for achieving lower rates of surgical [...]

Infection Control After Orthopedic Surgery2020-01-24T21:39:38+00:00

Baseball Throwing Injuries and Orthopedics

The baseball pitch has been extensively studied and can be divided into several stages: windup, early cocking, late cocking, acceleration, deceleration and follow-through. During throwing, there is a transmission of forces from the lower extremities and core to the upper extremity. The transition point between the late cocking and acceleration phase is the most [...]

Baseball Throwing Injuries and Orthopedics2020-01-24T21:39:38+00:00

Motorcross Injuries & Orthopedics/Sports Medicine

The snow has already melted off many of the trails down valley, and with that comes motocross for some and mountain biking, hiking, and trail running for others. Motocross is a very strenuous sport. Motocross is gaining in popularity with more dirt tracks being made. Although motocross athletes wear protective gear, injuries are not [...]

Motorcross Injuries & Orthopedics/Sports Medicine2019-12-27T02:41:36+00:00

Golf Injuries and Orthopedics

Golf is a great sport and people of all ages play the game. In 2009, it is reported that around 25 million people participated in golf in the U.S.  In one study, there were 0.5 injuries per 1,000 hours of golf played per person. The most commonly injured site is the low back, followed [...]

Golf Injuries and Orthopedics2019-12-27T02:42:33+00:00

Celebrate Athletic Training Month

March is Athletic Training Month, a great time to focus on the important role of Athletic Trainers in an orthopedic practice. Our ATs are a vital part of our care team in helping our patients rehab and get back to doing what they love as soon as possible. [...]

Celebrate Athletic Training Month2019-12-27T02:21:46+00:00

Biceps Tendon Tears

Illustration showing the anatomy of the elbow The biceps muscle of your arm has two tendons that come off the top end of the muscle and attach to different parts of the scapula and then then one tendon at the bottom end that attaches down near the elbow onto the radius bone [...]

Biceps Tendon Tears2019-12-27T02:43:46+00:00

Ask a Vail Sports Doc: A plant-based diet to treat arthritis

Studies show osteoarthritis is the most frequent cause of physical disability among older adults, affecting more than 20 million Americans. In osteoarthritis, there is a gradual loss of the coating or articular cartilage in our joints. Although there is a mechanical wear and tear component (such as obesity and meniscus tears), it is now known [...]

Ask a Vail Sports Doc: A plant-based diet to treat arthritis2019-12-24T19:17:32+00:00

Knee Dislocations: Things to Consider in Immediate Care

If you’re a sports fan like me, you have seen the number of knee dislocations rise over the last couple of years in all sports.  Knee dislocations often occur from direct impact from an opposing object to the knee.  In sports such as football, contact with the knee from opposing objects or player, is [...]

Knee Dislocations: Things to Consider in Immediate Care2019-12-27T02:48:27+00:00

What is a Physician Assistant (PA) and What Do They Do?

The physician assistant (PA) profession first began in 1965, and has flourished, and growing every year since. Physician assistants are medical professionals trained in general medicine with the option for working and specializing in a specific field. Often, people have a misunderstanding about what exactly we do. A common question we receive is “So [...]

What is a Physician Assistant (PA) and What Do They Do?2019-12-27T02:49:27+00:00
Go to Top