Source - Medical News Today
New data presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2014) show that ultrasound-guided injections of growth factors-containing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are no more effective in treating recently developed epicondylitis than injections of saline.
Source - Medical News Today
The common elbow surgery made famous by Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, Tommy John, definitely does its job to return pitchers to the mound, but risks for having the surgery may be able to be recognized earlier in a player's career, say researchers presenting their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Annual Meeting. The study was the largest cohort of MLB pitchers, to date, that have undergone UCL reconstruction.
Source - ScienceDaily
Arthritis can cause terrible pain, making activities of daily living difficult, if not impossible. While most people are familiar with knee and hip replacement surgery for debilitating arthritis in these joints, ankle replacement is another procedure that's on the rise for people suffering from severe ankle pain.
Although ankle fusion traditionally has been the standard treatment, improvements in implant design have prompted more orthopedic surgeons and their patients to consider ankle replacement to relieve pain and restore function, according to Jonathan Deland, MD, co-chief of the Foot and Ankle Service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Source - ScienceDaily
Hundreds of thousands of hip and knee replacement surgeries are performed in the United States each year, and they are highly successful in eliminating pain, restoring mobility and improving quality of life.
Over the past two years, Dr. Westrich has seen a sharp increase in the number of people coming in for a second hip or knee replacement, called a revision surgery. When the implant wears out or another problem develops, people often need a second surgery in which the existing implant or components are taken out and replaced.
Dr. Westrich says patients should be aware of warning signs that there may be a problem, such as pain that comes on suddenly or trouble getting around. They also may have decreased range of motion. Anyone with a joint replacement experiencing these symptoms should see their doctor immediately, Dr. Westrich adds.
Source - Healio
Multidisciplinary pain treatment has been shown in a recent study to one way to aid patients following total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty procedures.
In the study, investigators found that multidisciplinary pain treatment (MPT) “has beneficial short-term and mid-term effects on subjective pain intensity, physical capability and depression levels in patients with persistent pain after joint arthroplasty,” lead author Christian Merle, MD, MSc, and colleagues, wrote.
Merle and colleagues conducted a retrospective study that followed 40 patients (mean age 62 years) with persistent unexplained pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) that previous treatments were unable to rectify. The procedures were performed between April 2007 and April 2010.
The evaluations, which were done before MPT, after 3 weeks of MPT and at 32 months mean follow-up, focused on the patients’ pain intensity, physical capability and psychological status, according to the study.
All the scores used showed a significant improvement at the completion of MPT over the baseline pain scores. At 32 months’ follow-up, pain intensity, physical capability and depression levels deteriorated slightly, but were significantly better than at baseline. The results showed 79% of the 34 patients available for final follow-up reported a reduction in pain on the Numeric Rating Scale of 0.5 to 5.0 points. All patients reported pre-MPT NSAID use, 41% of patients continued to use NSAIDs and15% of them reported using opioids after 32 months.
Because MPT helps to alleviate unexplained pain following TKA and THA, Merle and colleagues noted in the study it may help patients avoid exploratory revision surgery.
Source - ScienceDaily
As an emphasis on competitive success in youth sports has led to intense training, frequent competition and early single sport specialization, overuse injuries and burnout have become common. Given these concerns, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) has released a new clinical report that provides guidance to physicians and healthcare professionals who provide care for young athletes.
Source - News Medical
With the coming of the new year, many people will vow to get in shape after overindulging during the holidays. However, not knowing the proper way to work out might do more harm than good.
Nearly 500,000 workout-related injuries occur each year. One reason is people want to do too much too fast and overuse their muscles. These injuries occur gradually and are often hard to diagnose in the bones, tendons and joints. Another reason is poor technique during weight and other training.
Source - ScienceDaily
A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower leg could aid in the rehabilitation of patients with ankle-foot disorders such as drop foot, said Yong-Lae Park, an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.
Park, working with collaborators at Harvard University, the University of Southern California, MIT and BioSensics, developed an active orthotic device using soft plastics and composite materials, instead of a rigid exoskeleton. The soft materials, combined with pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs), lightweight sensors and advanced control software, made it possible for the robotic device to achieve natural motions in the ankle.
Source - Healio
The use of uncemented hemiarthroplasty is associated with more hip reoperations and mechanical complications for patients with femoral neck fractures compared to patients who are treated using cemented hemiarthroplasty, according to a recently published data.
Using the PERFECT database, researchers identified 25,174 patients in Finland who were treated with hemiarthroplasty (HA) for a femoral neck fracture from 1999 to 2009. Using the unique personal identification number of each patient, data on comorbidities, the use of residential care and deaths in this population were extracted from the Finnish Health Care Register. Primary outcome measures included mortality, while secondary outcomes included reoperations, complications, readmissions and treatment times.
Researchers found patients who have an uncemented HA showed lower postoperative mortality during the first postoperative days. However, there were no significant differences in mortality for the patients at 1 week and 1 year after surgery. Patients treated with uncemented HA showed more mechanical complications, re-arthroplasties and femoral fracture operations during the first 3 months after surgery.
Source - UT Southwestern Medical Center
Less than 7 percent of orthopaedic surgeons in the U.S. are women, according to data from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. It is a statistic that Dr. Katherine Coyner, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center, is trying to change.
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