Physical therapy instructional video may be as good as an in-person visit for shoulder rehabilitation exercises
Source: Science Daily
A rehab video may get the same results as an in-person visit for shoulder rehabilitation exercises, a new study suggests. “These results are significant for two reasons,” said the lead researcher. “First, having an additional tool to augment what the patient learns at an initial physical therapy visit may help with exercise accuracy and hopefully therefore improve outcomes. Additionally as access to physical therapy becomes more limited due either to cost or insurance, identifying new tools to better help out patients will be essential.”
Year-round play contributes to 10-fold increase of ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction among youth
Source: Medical News Today
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.
In pitching injuries, the elbow is connected to the hip bone
Source: Medical Xpress
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.
Study: Fewer men receive osteoporosis evaluation after distal radial fracture
Source: Healio
Following a distal radial fracture, significantly fewer men received evaluation for osteoporosis compared with women, and evaluation rates were significantly below those established in published guidelines, according to study results.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 95 men and 344 women older than 50 who were treated for a distal radial fracture during a 5-year period, and assessed whether the patients had received a dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan and osteoporosis treatment within 6 months following the injury. Using multivariate analysis, the researchers then identified independent predictors of bone mineral density testing and osteoporosis treatment.
Acoustic technique developed to detect knee osteoarthritis
Source: Medical News Today
A revolutionary medical technique using sound waves to identify osteoarthritis in the knee has been developed by researchers.
The UK is leading this new field of health research based on listening to the sounds emitted by the body.
Microphones are attached to the knees of patients, and the high frequency sound waves emanating from their knees are measured as they stand up. These acoustic emissions are interpreted by computer software to give information about the health of the patient’s knee.
Collagen for the knee: Gel-like implant invented
Source: Science Daily
Millions of people suffer cartilage damage to the knee every year. Cartilage injuries are not only painful; they can lead to osteoarthritis decades later. In the course of the disease, the protective shock absorbing cartilage that covers the bone within the joint slowly is removed until the bone is finally exposed, typically requiring an artificial joint replacement. A biotechnology company has developed a one-step minimally-invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of cartilage defects: a gel-like implant.
‘A glass of milk a day’ may delay knee osteoarthritis in women
Source: Medical News Today
A degenerative disease causing pain and swelling of the knee joints, knee osteoarthritis currently has no cure. But researchers say drinking milk every day has been linked to reduced progression of the disease.
Publishing their results in the American College of Rheumatology journal Arthritis Care & Research, the researchers say while their findings show that women who regularly drank fat-free or low-fat milk experienced delayed progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA), those who ate cheese actually experienced an increase in progression of the disease.
Study: UCL reconstruction surgery likely to put major league pitchers back on the field
Source: Healio
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
High-demand patients returned to work quickly after arthroscopic treatment of a dislocated elbow
Source: Healio
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.
Ask a Sports Medicine Doc: Hip injuries among youth
Source: VailDaily
Q: My 14 year old daughter is a competitive ski racer and has been having hip pain. Could she have a labral tear?
A: Hip injuries are on the rise in adolescent athletes. This is due to the increasing number of young athletes participating in organized sports as well as advances in technology that have improved clinician’s diagnostic ability.
