Stem cells are sparking a lot of conversation in the medical world. And there’s a good reason to be excited over them. Scientists and doctors continue to research and apply new uses for stem cells every day. This development means progress in the field of medical care, but also in the future of medical treatment as a whole. Here is why your orthopedic surgeon is so excited about stem cells. What are Stem Cells? Stem cells are essentially like raw materials for our body. All the other cells in [Read More]
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How to Deal With Persistent Sciatica Pain
If you have sharp or chronic pain, numbness, or tingling that radiates anywhere from your lower back to your feet, it's possible that you could be suffering from sciatica. Complaints about pain felt in the lower back are one of the most common reasons a patient visits a pain specialist. Up to 85 percent of Americans experience some back pain during their lives. If sciatica is the cause of your persistent pain, many treatments are available to help you cope. What Is Sciatica? Sciatica [Read More]
Misconceptions About Arthritis
Tens of millions of Americans are affected by arthritis. Although plenty of excellent information about the disease is readily available online and elsewhere, several myths remain attached to the condition. Some of the most common misconceptions about arthritis include the following: Misconception #1: “Only older people get arthritis” The risk of arthritis does increase as we grow older – about half of all people over 65 have some form of the disease. However, many arthritis sufferers are [Read More]
The Difference Between Sprains and Strains
Strains and sprains can be quite common injuries for people of practically all ages, and most people suffer them at least once in their lifetime. They are one of the most frequent reasons people seek a health care provider. These injuries occur frequently in active, athletic people, and most treated sprains and strains heal within 2 to 4 weeks. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two types of orthopedic injuries: What Are Sprains? A sprain is an injury to a ligament, which is [Read More]
The Complete Guide to Kyphoplasty
Sustaining a compression fracture or break in one of the vertebrae of your spine can be quite painful. Not only that, but it can also make it difficult for you to move about freely since it could mean that there are bone fragments in your back rubbing against each other. The good news is that there are minimally invasive procedures that can treat such fractures, relieve your pain, and improve your mobility when other measures fail to do so. One of these is balloon kyphoplasty. Often [Read More]
Common Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them
Young or old, we Americans love our sports – not just watching them, but also participating in them. However, some sports – whether football, golf, or any sport in between – are more physical than others, which means they pose a greater risk of injury. Here are some of the most common sports injuries, and ways you can avoid getting sidelined as a result: Sprains and Strains A sprain involves the stretching or tearing of a ligament – the fibrous tissue connecting bones and joints, while a [Read More]
Using Regenerative Medicine to Treat Joint Pain
For the 25 million Americans who suffer from chronic joint pain, finding adequate relief can be a long-term effort of trial and error. Physical therapy usually works to some degree, but only if the damage in the joint isn’t too severe. Losing weight, taking anti-inflammatory medications, and getting pain-relief injections are great temporary fixes – until that next tough workout or until the medications wear off. But what happens when the pain won’t go away, or the pain is so great that [Read More]
Why Would My Orthopedist Recommend Spinal Cord Stimulation?
Spinal cord stimulation is an interventional pain management method that utilizes electrical signals to interrupt the pain messages sent by nerves before they travel up the spine to the brain. It has been used by pain management physicians since the 1960s, but it is now becoming more mainstream. Many people have found spinal cord stimulation to be an effective way to decrease, minimize, or even eliminate chronic back pain. If your orthopedist specializes in treating spinal pain, spinal cord [Read More]
Preparing for Your Rotator Cuff Repair
That snapping sensation or “crackling” sound that occurs in your shoulder when taking in an extra game of tennis or swimming a hard set of laps. That limited motion and numbness when you spend the weekend painting your house or chopping wood, followed by the inability to raise your arm much higher than waist level. If any of this sounds familiar, chances are you have injured your rotator cuff – that group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint, thereby allowing you to move [Read More]
Stem Cell Myths and Facts
Stem cells are one of the most important medical discoveries in the past century. The potential for treatment or even cures for previously untreatable conditions may all be within reach, thanks to stem cells. As a research tool and medical treatment, stem cells have been controversial since they were first discovered in the 1980s. A “stem cell” is named for its ability to specialize into other types of cells. Once specialized, the stem cell can replicate to heal or develop into – [Read More]
