CINCINNATI (WKRC) – It’s hard to believe the Bengals season opener is this weekend. Many of us remember how last season ended with quarterback Joe Burrow's injury.

Local 12 talked to the team at OrthoCincy this week about the game-ending injury for Burrow. He had an ACL-MCL injury that damaged his knee. At the time, he tweeted he’d be back stronger than ever.

Those who help local athletes recover from injuries say many athletes do get back into the game with long-term winning moves.

Dr. Matthew DesJardins is a sports medicine specialist at OrthoCincy. He’s also the team physician for Cooper High School. He said it’s partly genetics and partly good rehab that make the difference, but he said for both high school and professional athletes now, as a member of the medical advisory committee of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, the focus for that training is shifting to prevention.

"We're spending a lot of time in our group focusing on prevention. High school soccer players, high school football players, other athletes, they can get the same injuries that Joe Burrow had, unfortunately," said Dr. DesJardins. "There are some ways you can prevent that: some preseason training, some in-season training, certain strength drills, certain jumping drills and so forth that can actually prevent a number of those knee injuries. So very, very important for teams to be aware of that and parents to be aware that those options are there to protect their kids."

If you would like to book an appointment with Dr. DesJardins, click here.