Blog Archive
A new technology will help surgeons more than double the shelf life of donor tissue for joint replacement surgery. A research study at the University of Missouri School of Medicine on the viability of donor tissue for joint repair surgery has led to the development of a new preservation method that...
A new study out of Boston University School of Medicine and University of Erlangen – Nuremberg in Germany has found a link between meniscus tear surgery and a heightened risk for osteoarthritis and progressive joint damage after surgery in some patients. Dr. Frank W. Roemer and his team used data from the...
Much research has been published in the last five years showing the dramatic increase of children and teens suffering from ACL tears. The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is a stabilizing ligament in the knee that connects the thighbone to the shinbone. Unfortunately, once the ACL is torn it does...
Recently, a Finnish study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has suggested that meniscus tear surgery only helps certain patients, and in some cases doing nothing at all is as effective as surgery. At 700,000 operations per year, meniscus tear surgery is the most common orthopedic procedure performed...
When examining a patient who fails his or her first ACL reconstruction, it is important to determine if the cause of failure could be malalignment of the knee joint. Patients who have a varus deformity, also known as “bowlegged,” are more likely to have failure of ACL reconstruction. Due to...
Surgeries to repair the ACL are very common in the United States. Generally, most ACL reconstruction surgeries are successful. However, not all ACL surgeries are successful the first time. It is fairly common for an ACL to retear under certain circumstances. If the primary reconstruction has complications or a retear...
Recently, two Belgian orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Steven Claes and Dr. Johan Bellemans, published a paper describing the location and function of a previously unknown body part: the anterolateral ligament (ALL). The structure is located on the outside of the knee, and attaches the femur (thighbone) to the tibia (shinbone). Though...
Recently, while playing in the New York Giants’ third preseason game against the New York Jets, safety Stevie Brown hurt his knee while intercepting a pass. An MRI later revealed the injury to be a torn ACL, an injury that generally occurs with sports that involve quick pivoting and lateral...
Several studies and articles have been published recently describing the increased occurrence of ACL tears in children and young adults. Most orthopedic surgeons and researchers attribute this phenomenon to more children and young teens playing competitive sports, as well as better diagnostic tools. The ACL is a stabilizing ligament that...
The meniscus is a c-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber in the knee. Each knee has two menisci, the lateral (outer) and the medial (inside). When the meniscus tears, surgery is normally needed to relieve the pain, swelling, instability, and locking that most patients experience. There...
There are many variations of ACL reconstruction, all of which aim to give the patient the best functioning knee possible. The variability depends on what the graft, the new ligament, is made from. In general, there are three main graft options: a patellar tendon autograft, a hamstring autograft, and an...
Cortisone is part of a larger class of medications called corticosteroids, which are commonly used to treat inflammation in the body. Cortisone can be prescribed locally, through an injection, or systemically, through pills. In orthopedics a cortisone shot may be prescribed in order to decrease the body’s inflammatory response to...
Knees are complex joints that can bear a large amount of weight at any time. For everyone, especially active and athletic individuals, the pressure and strain that we put our knees through can be extreme. To many, at first glance, the knee joint does not have a very complex movement,...
Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress recently sustained a rotator cuff injury that spells out the end of his season and may also be the end of his roller coaster ride of a career. On Monday, August 10th, he underwent surgery to repair the tear he suffered at practice. It’s always...
PERFORMANCE MINDEDA support & fitness brand by people who live the lifestyle it will serve & inspire. It’s founder even sets a world class record to earn your power.Dr. Millstein supports Kappel LeRoy Clarke and his campaign to bring health & fitness to more people.Click the link below and contribute...
Knee pain is one of the most common complaints among people seeing their doctors and it’s due to many reasons. We all live in an active society that promotes healthy living, exercise, and sports. Over time, these movements can begin to weigh on the body, especially on pivotal weight bearing...
PRP (platelet rich plasma) and stem cell therapy are two different ways to help aid recovery after surgery and/or injury and both are playing larger roles within the context of sports medicine. If you are undergoing surgery and want to learn more about either of these therapies, don’t hesitate to...
A twisted knee is an injury that can range from mild to severe and is usually painful, even debilitating, depending on the extent of injury and damage to the knee joint. The term twisted knee is a catchall for two different types of injuries: a sprained knee, which involves injury...
Total knee arthroplasty (TKA), otherwise known as knee replacement surgery, is usually associated with older individuals in need of new knees due to a lifetime of wear and tear. While that remains true for a majority of TKA patients, the number of patients undergoing knee replacement surgery that are under...
At first glance, baseball, football, tennis, and swimming may seem very different, but they all have one important thing in common: overhead hand motion. The overhead motion plays a crucial role in all of these sports from swinging to throwing to swimming. Unfortunately, the intensity and repetition of these motions...
The meniscus is a strange-sounding word derived from the Greek term for crescent and has become an all too familiar term to many Americans. In the past few months alone, Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook, Indiana guard Erin Phillips, and Mississippi State cornerback Darius Slay have all been sidelined...
Mississippi State’s Darius Slay recently suffered a torn meniscus that has doctors and sports fans alike questioning his future. Previously expected to be a first-round draft pick, Slay is now facing possible surgery and rehab to repair the tear and regain strength and range-of-motion in the knee. However, some doctors...
During game two of the first round of playoffs against the Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook injured his knee in a collision with another player. Although Westbrook remained in the game for 29 more minutes—scoring an astounding 20 points—medical testing later revealed that he suffered a torn meniscus...
Most people are familiar with the traditional solution to a swollen knee: wrap some ice around it, rest, and allow the body to recover naturally. But what if this tried and true therapy fails? After a month-long struggle with swelling in his right knee, superstar forward for the New York...
I recently surpassed the six month “anniversary” of my open heart surgery for a congenital defect. I’m very happy to share that the surgery was a success, and I’ve been back at work for five months now and feel as good as I did the day I walked into the...
Tennis champion Rafael Nadal recently asserted his intention to enter the Mubadala Tournament in Abu Dhabi. The tournament takes place just six months after Nadal sustained a partial tear of the patellar tendon in his left knee. His decision comes as a bit of a surprise, as the return from...
Everyone is familiar with the garden variety sprains that include the ACL, PCL and MCL, yet there is another sprain that cannot go unnoticed — the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprain. The lateral collateral ligament sprain is a little less known but it is just as important. When this ligament...
Just last month, Clippers guard Chauncey Billups found himself sidelined due to yet another ankle injury. In February of last year, Billups tore his Achilles tendon, requiring surgical repair followed by ten months of rehabilitation before returning to the court. The frequency of Achilles tendon ruptures (complete tears) in professional...
If you’re an athlete, there’s a good chance that you’ve at least heard of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear. Perhaps you or someone you know has suffered one, or you’ve watched a professional athlete on one of your favorite sports teams get sidelined by such an injury. ACL tears...
The American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine estimates there are about 150,000 ACL injuries in the U.S. every year, and it often affects soccer players because of the jumping and quick changes in direction that comes with playing the sport. Thankfully, a new study, spearheaded by Dr. Robert Brophy from...
ACL tears are one of the most widespread and devastating injuries for athletes, impacting the likes of Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and Chipper Jones. While many athletes find that an ACL injury puts them out of the game for months, if not years, advances in ACL surgery are making it...
An estimated 35 million American kids play a sport every year. And while athletics are a great way for students to stay in shape, make lifelong friends and learn valuable skills like cooperation and teamwork, orthopedic specialists are noticing an increasing number of ACL injuries among student athletes. According to...
How Do Stress Fractures Occur?Stress fractures occur due to repetitive loads on bones from exercises that cause an imbalance between bone resorption and bone repair. A sudden increase in repetitive stresses like running or cross training can unfortunately lead to increased bone breakdown and possibly even fracture. Muscle weakness can...
The rotator cuff is the group of four tendons and muscles that surround the shoulder joint. When the rotator cuff is injured, it is the tendons of these muscles that are injured. Tendons connect muscle to bone, and can be susceptible to inflammation or tearing near this attachment.Different Rotator Cuff...
With baseball season in full swing, we figured it would be a good time to discuss shoulder injuries, which are very commonly seen in baseball players.Our shoulder structure allows for tremendous flexibility, and a large range of motion. With proper training, this allows for the unique ability to throw a...
Depending on the severity of the injury and the type of surgery, as well as other factors like age and activity level, you may need to participate in a formal rehabilitation program to regain strength and flexibility after your orthopedic surgery.Rehabilitation often takes three forms: physical therapy to increase your...
After 2 two weeks of Olympics coverage, many viewers tuned in to enjoy the most popular sport on the planet – soccer. The popularity of the sport is at an all-time high, and individuals across the country are currently spending their summer months competing at various levels.Unfortunately, with an increase...
Arthroscopic surgery, which comes from the Greek words “arthros” (joint) and “scopos” (to look), is a surgical procedure that allows surgeons to view the inside of joints and surrounding spaces. Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure often utilized to confirm a diagnosis made by physical examination and imaging studies. Surgeons...
Knee pain is often caused by either a one-time acute injury or repetitive motions that stress the knee over time, particularly as we age. But while many people will experience knee injuries at some point in their lives, there are ways to prevent them. Here are some tips on how...
With the increased popularity of women’s sports and the new generation of aspiring female athletes, there has been a rise in female sports participation. However, the increase in participation has also revealed that females have a higher risk of damaging or tearing their ACL during athletic activity.Studies show that women...
Most people forget how much targeted exercises can help when it comes to strengthening and injury prevention, especially when it comes to commonly injured body parts like the knees and the shoulders. The knees and the shoulders are often injured due to the high ranges of motion that tear the...
Instructor: Hello. My name is Susan Bass and I’m a physical therapist. Today I’m going to give a little talk on shoulder rehabilitation. The purpose of this talk is to help teach you some exercises to prevent shoulder injury and improve balance and coordination around the joint. First, we are...
A: This will vary from patient to patient, and often depends on your occupation. It is important that you take enough time off of work as you can in the beginning of your recovery. On average, Dr. Millstein recommends taking at least 1 week off of work after your rotator...
What people often ask me is what sports medicine is? Do I treat professional athletes? Am I limited to the types of people I treat? And for me, the great thing about sports medicine is again that I’m treating people like myself who want to have to work, go for...
A large part of my practice is treating shoulder injuries. Some are acute shoulder injuries that happen from a fall or an accident while playing sports. Other injuries are more of a chronic nature that occur over time and increase over time without any one incident that precipitates the pain....