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Return to play rates after shoulder surgery

We will see many patients after a shoulder surgery with less than hoped for results. One reason the surgery was not thought to be a success was the patient’s over-expectation of what the surgery could do and how fast they could return-to-play their favorite activity. A study published in the Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine (1) wrote: “In professional female tennis players, a high return to play rate after arthroscopic shoulder surgery is associated with a prolonged and often incomplete return to previous level of performance. Thus, counseling the patient to this fact is important to manage expectations.” In this

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Shoulder Instability and Chronic Dislocation

The shoulder comprises a complex matrix of bone and soft tissue that enables an extreme range of motion. But the price the shoulder pays for that range of motion is a greater risk of chronic injury. Sometimes the bones in the joint slip out of normal alignment or are forced out by injury-subluxation and dislocation. For those individuals who suffer from chronic shoulder instability, dislocations may occur frequently. This occurs because first dislocations usually require a significant amount of force as in anterior dislocations, in which the anterior static shoulder stabilizers are stretched or torn away from the bone. Approximately

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Sacroiliac joint dysfunction treatments

I see many patients who come into my office with an MRI that shows something wrong or off in their sacroiliac joint or joints and a compliant that they have low back pain. Some will tell me that based on their MRI, their doctors are confirming that the primary source of their low back pain is their sacroiliac joint. Further, the patient has been told to strongly consider a surgical recommendation to spinal fusion sacroiliac joint dysfunction. For many patients, this may have been the same doctor who had taken them through a course of conservative treatments. These treatments may

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ACL reconstruction surgery and Failed ACL reconstruction surgery. Non-surgical treatment options

Is it realistic not to get reconstruction surgery? Many orthopedists may not recommend ACL reconstruction because it is not realistic for the patient. These recommendations may be made to patients who have an isolated ACL tear. These are ACL injuries that did not include meniscus damage, other ligament tearing, or cartilage tear. ACL reconstructions may also not be recommended to people who are not sport active or do physically demanding lines of work. These non-operative anterior cruciate ligament treatments may include physical therapy and exercise programs to strengthen the knee and restore function. However without an ACL, there will be

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Rotator cuff tear conservative treatments and injections

We often receive emails from people looking at their rotator cuff pain and tear treatment options. The emails we get center around the possible avoidance of rotator cuff surgery with regenerative medicine injection options. These options can include bone marrow aspirate injections or Platelet Rich Plasma therapy or PRP. There is some new research I will explore with you here on these rotator cuff treatment options. Hopefully this information will help you make an informed decision to have or not have these treatments. We know that some people, like someone with a physically demanding job or an athlete, will make

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Estrogen and joint pain

There are a good number of research papers that make a connection between a woman’s low estrogen level and her chronic joint pain. Further, low hormone levels may contribute to other problems such as metabolic disorders such as obesity, high blood pressure, fatigue, general malaise, etc. These are all challenging conditions to manage. When we see menopausal or post-menopausal women, whether they are engaged in an active lifestyle, make good lifestyle choices, or not, and they have knee pain or hip pain, it is a worsening chronic condition that has, in many cases, suddenly escalated into a more acute type

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