For the past 20 years, we’ve all watched sports reporters tell about a professional athlete who injured his or her knee and required a “knee scope” to fix the problem. Although orthopaedic surgeons use a “scope” to fix a variety of problems in the knee joint, by far the most...
Almost any adult looking back to their days of high school athletics will recall the yearly ritual of the pre-participation physical exam. Most physicians feel that the pre-season physical is a crucial part of any sports medicine program. If you or your child participates in organized athletics, it is always...
People who continually put stress and strain on their knees are much more likely to develop certain subsets of knee disorders than the average person. The kneecap joint it especially prone to overuse and mal-alignment disorders and is the subject of countless orthopaedic consultations each year. The joint that the...
Sports medicine is a rather unique field that encompasses many different disciplines in medicine and health care. A sports medicine practice is generally centered around a physician who has special expertise in dealing with the unique problems of physically active people. But the sports medicine doctor is only one among...
Most active people have dealt with the problem of a “pulled muscle” at one time or another. The topic dominates the injury reports given to coaches as well as the sports page of the newspaper on a daily basis. Many competitive athletes as well as “weekend warriors” have been sidelined...
Orthopaedic surgeons make use of dozens of diagnostic tools every day in the management and treatment of sports injuries. These range from the relatively simple to the unbelievably complex and from free to very expensive. From X-rays to MRIs, orthopaedists use over a century of technology to help visualize the...
In sports medicine, football injuries are discussed all of the time. Football players can injure just about anything while playing the game. Fortunately, most things will not cause significant morbidity in the long run. Even when dealing with knee ligament tears or severe shoulder problems that may sideline players for...
The term "growing pains” has come to be associated with everything from calf pain to the trials of adolescence. In orthopaedics and sports medicine, growing pains are well characterized and very common. Specifically, the type of growing pain to be discussed today is known as apophysitis. When adolescents hit a...
Ski season is upon us. The fact that finding a place to ski in Texas is impossible does not mean the sport is unpopular with Texans. On the contrary, skiing is an extremely popular sport among people in this area. Orthopaedic and sports medicine clinics throughout North Texas are inundated...
In our zeal to promote fitness, several aspects of the healthy lifestyle are often emphasized. Strength and endurance training are the cornerstones of fitness. However, there are several other important aspects of health that aren’t talked about as much but are equally important. One of the most important things that...
If you follow this column with any regularity, you are aware that injuries in the overhead athlete are relatively common, Arguable, the shoulder bears the brunt of many injuries in throwing athletes, as was discussed in the last column. However, elbow injuries are exceedingly common in overhead athletes as well....
Although other lower extremity joints take up much of the sports medicine specialist’s time, injuries to the hip and pelvis are not uncommon and can present a variety of diagnostic and treatment problems. From an anatomical standpoint, the hip should be differentiated from the pelvis. Many lay people and a...
Osteoporosis is one of the most significant health problems facing medicine today. It is estimated that about 30 percent of post-menopausal women and 70 percent of women over the age of 80 are afflicted with osteoporosis. The costs of treating this disease in not only dollars but in pain and...
One of the chief reasons people visit any doctor is low back pain. It is estimated that four out of five people will experience low back pain at some point in their life. It is a major contributor to health care dollars spent and in money lost in time off...
One of the chief reasons people visit any doctor is low back pain. It is estimated that four out of five people will experience low back pain at some point in their life. It is a major contributor to health care dollars spent and in money lost in time off...
Exercise can be a tricky business. The vast majority of us don’t get enough exercise and don’t have to deal with the consequences of over-training. However, many high school, college, professional and serious recreational athletes do indeed grapple with the effect of too much exercise. Although a problem for both...
Despite the development of new treatment strategies and the improvement of old ones, the incidence of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) has increased world wide in the past decades. Traditionally, the therapy employed by most doctors has been to treat this condition with anti-diabetic drugs, diet modification, and sometimes insulin...
In sports medicine, we often focus on the more severe and “down time” injuries and neglect the smaller, yet still important injuries. Many of these injuries are evaluated and managed not by sports doctors but by coaches and trainers in the training rooms, locker rooms and field houses. Although this...
A knee injury can threaten any athlete’s career. After headlines have assured readers that a star athlete has a minor knee sprain, arthroscopic examination often reveals that a combination of three injuries have occurred: two torn knee ligaments and a torn cartilage. Among coaches, trainers, and orthopedic surgeons, this triple...
The focus of this week’s upper extremity column will be the overuse of injuries of the hand and wrist. The wrist is a very complex area with several bones, muscles, tendons, nerves and ligaments, which can become injured or overused. One of the most common wrist problems seen in orthopaedic...
There are a whole host of conditions that affect the general population that can have special consequences in the active population. One emerging occupational condition that also affects the athletic population is carpal tunnel syndrome. Ten to 15 years ago, few people knew what carpal tunnel syndrome was. Today, it...
In sports medicine, we often focus on the more severe and “down time” injuries and neglect the smaller, yet still important injuries. Many of these injuries are evaluated and managed not by sports doctors but by coaches and trainers in the training rooms, locker rooms and field houses. Although this...
It’s no secret among successful athletes that in order to improve, you’ve really got to work hard. Many of these columns focus on not only how to work hard but also how to work smart. Part of working out smart is to know when to rest. When you train, your...
Degenerative joint disease (DJD), commonly known as “arthritis” has been the subject of this column on more than one occasion. Its repeated inclusion is justified for several reasons. It affects millions of people worldwide. It is one of the most common reasons for patients to visit an orthopaedic surgeon. And,...
More than 600,000 people each year sustain an anterior cruciate ligament tear. It is arguably one of the most discussed topics in sports medicine. Millions of dollars have been funneled into research to find the best treatment for this injury. And every sports medicine enthusiast who follows this column knew...
Few people make it all the way through life without experiencing an ankle sprain to some degree. It is undoubtedly one of the most common injuries seen in sports medicine. Ankle sprains are quite prevalent in basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, track and baseball. However, anyone who participates in sporting activities...
Over the years, in sports medicine as in most other areas of medicine, there developed a need to allow some allied health professionals to assume some of the responsibilities of the physician. With today’s dynamic health care environment, this need is particularly evident. Two “mid-level” providers play a significant role...
