Long-term outcomes of revision arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery is not as successful as in a first-time surgery, according to researchers from the Orthopaedic Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, who presented their work at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine’s (AOSSM) Specialty Day.
Shoulder rotator cuff repair aims to suture torn rotator cuff tendons and provide them with the optimal environment to heal and minimize chance of retear. Overall retear rates have decreased over the years, but are still a major concern. Better suture techniques have been thoroughly investigated but there is less attention paid to the rehabilitation protocol. Currently the gold standard for rehabilitation after surgery is to wear an abduction brace and begin physical therapy for passive range of motion within the first few weeks. As surgical techniques have evolved from open surgery to arthroscopic surgery, there are questions as to whether this rehabilitation protocol is ideal. Animal studies have shown that longer periods of immobilization are beneficial to healing after rotator cuff repair.
New University of Florida research suggests that a pitcher’s elbow injury could be linked to movement in the hips. Dr. Kevin W. Farmer, an assistant professor in the UF department of orthopaedics and rehabilitation, presented research at the March meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons that shows a limited range of motion in a pitcher’s hips could be a risk factor in injury to his elbow.
Distal radius fracture fixation techniques can differ and be more or less effective based on the patient’s age, bone quality and fracture stability. In a Cover Story in Orthopaedics Today Europe, investigators from throughout Europe discuss their results with distal radius fracture treatments, how to avoid complications and factors that impact a patient’s return to preinjury levels of activity.
Baseball season is back and so are the injuries. But, elbow injuries, once seen as a problem for professional athletes, are becoming more prevalent among high school and middle school athletes due to increased play and competition at the youth level. Repetitive stress to a pitcher’s ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) – an important stabilizing ligament of the elbow joint – can lead to pain and eventually to the inability to pitch and throw.
When it comes to buying a mouthguard, parents who want to reduce their child’s risk of a sports-related concussion should visit a dentist instead of a sporting goods store.
High school football players wearing store-bought, over-the-counter (OTC) mouthguards were more than twice as likely to suffer mild traumatic brain injures (MTBI)/concussions than those wearing custom-made, properly fitted mouthguards, reports a new study in the May/June 2014 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).
Researchers have found that a patient’s age and the type of tissue graft have a direct impact on ACL reconstructive surgery (ACLR) outcomes, according to an exhibit presented at the 2014 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in New Orleans.
The ACL is a critical ligament that stabilizes the knee joint. An ACL injury, one of the most common sports injuries, often requires surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation before an athlete can return to sport and other activities. Recent research has found that screening tools, such as "hop" or isokinetic (computer/video) tests to identify neuromuscular deficits, as well as neuromuscular training programs, may reduce ACL injuries.
More than 53,000 Americans have total shoulder joint replacement (SJR) surgery each year, and yet the effects of this surgery on a patient’s ability to safely drive a vehicle, and the appropriate recovery time before patients should return to driving, have yet to be determined.
A new ultrasound probe that has been developed at Clemson University could take some of the guesswork out of determining the severity of rotator-cuff injuries, making it easier for doctors to decide whether patients need surgery.
As temperatures continue to plunge and snowfall levels increase across the tri-state region, a physical therapy professor at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia reminds individuals the exertion, cold weather, and slippery surfaces snow shovelers face in these conditions are a dangerous combination.
Pediatric obesity is currently an epidemic, with the prevalence having quadruped over the last 25 years. Children diagnosed with obesity can be at risk for various long-term health issues and may be putting their musculoskeletal system at risk. According to new research in the February issue of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), obese children who sustain a supracondylar humeral (above the elbow) fracture can be expected to have more complex fractures and experience more postoperative complications than children of a normal weight.
A new ultrasound probe that has been developed at Clemson University could take some of the guesswork out of determining the severity of rotator-cuff injuries, making it easier for doctors to decide whether patients need surgery.
Investigators found patients returned to work 2.7 weeks after acute arthroscopic repair of the radial ulnohumeral ligament for elbow dislocation.Michael J. O’Brien, MD, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed the results of surgeries they performed in 14 consecutive high-demand patients. The investigators defined high-demand patients as those who needed both hands to work or play a competitive sport. One patient in the series was a surgeon.
Few guidelines exist about return to work after elbow dislocation, according to O’Brien, who presented the results at the American Academy of Orthopaedics Surgeons Annual Meeting, here.
In this series, “All patients returned to their pre-injury level of function,” he said.
The investigators followed the patients for an average of 30 months after either acute or subacute treatment of the radial ulnohumeral ligament (RUHL).
O’Brien said all patients achieved a Mayo Elbow Performance Score that was excellent and ranged from 95 points to 100 points. According to the paper abstract, results using a goniometer showed a final range of motion from -3 º in full extension to full flexion that exceeded 130 º.
O’Brien said the return to work was longer — at about 4.6 weeks — in the patients who underwent arthroscopic stabilization subacutely.
Orthopedic surgeons from Liverpool, United Kingdom, who prospectively studied a linked elbow arthroplasty system in 100 consecutive patients found an acceptable rate of major complications at a mean follow-up of 4 years.
Simon Frostick, MD, who presented the findings at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, here, said that the follow-up of these patients was ongoing.
Frostick and colleagues treated these patients, who had various pathologies, with the Discovery Elbow System (Biomet; Warsaw, Ind.) in primary and revision procedures.
“The Liverpool Elbow Score improved in all main pathology groups,” Frostick said, and those groups included patients with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fractures.
The outcomes were assessed by an independent entity.
The rate of infection in the series was 2%, and the 4% loosening rate that the investigators reported at the last follow-up was from 60 patients.
“The ulnar neuropathy rate was comparable to other series,” Frostick said.
Major League Baseball pitchers who undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction have a strong likelihood of resuming their professional baseball careers after surgery, according to results of a recently published study.
“When compared with demographic-matched controls, patients who underwent [ulnar collateral ligament] UCL reconstruction had better results in multiple performance measures,” Brandon J. Erickson, MD, and colleagues stated in the study. “Reconstruction of the UCL allows for a predictable and successful return to the [Major League Baseball] MLB.”
The study analyzed 179 MLB pitchers who underwent UCL reconstruction. Overall, 174 (97.2%) resumed pitching in professional organized baseball and 148 (83%) returned to the MLB level. Mean time to return to MLB was 20.5 months and the average career after surgery was 3.9 years, however, 56 pitchers were still pitching at the start of the 2013 MLB season.
Pitchers had fewer losses, lower earned run average, losing percentage, hits per inning and fewer walks, hits and home runs allowed after UCL reconstruction than before surgery.
“There is a high rate of [return to pitching] RTP in professional baseball after UCL reconstruction,” Erickson and colleagues concluded. “Performance declined before surgery and improved after surgery.” -by Christian Ingram
Playing a sport is a healthy physical activity for kids, but does it promote healthy food and drink choices as well? Over 75 percent of boys and 69 percent of girls in middle elementary grades play sports. It has already been shown that high school kids who play sports eat more fruits and vegetables than those who don’t play sports, but food and drink habits in elementary kids who play sports have not been well studied.
Get out and enjoy winter but take steps to protect yourself from common ski- and snowboard-related injuries such as sprains, strains, dislocations and fractures, an orthopedist says.
“No matter your skill level, everyone is susceptible to injury on the slopes,” said Dr. Allston Stubbs, an associate professor of orthopedics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, said in a center news release. “Most of these injuries happen at the end of the day, so you may want to think twice before going for ‘one last run,’ especially when you’re tired.”
Simple strength and balance training can effectively help to prevent falls, but Bournemouth University research shows only a minority of older people will carry out these exercises.
If a picture is worth 1,000 words then a movie is worth far more, especially when it comes to diagnosing wrist problems.
UC Davis radiologists, medical physicists and orthopaedic surgeons have found a way to create “movies” of the wrist in motion using a series of brief magnetic resonance imaging scans. Called “Active MRI,” the technique could be useful in diagnosing subtle changes in physiology that indicate the onset of conditions such as wrist instability.
