Is shock therapy recommended for Jumper's Knee?
Q: I've been told that I might get some benefit from "shock therapy" to my knee for a bad case of "Jumper's Knee." Is this really a safe method of treatment? Sounds gruesome but I'm desperate and willing to try just about anything. Running and jumping over and over often leads to a condition in athletes known as or jumper's knee (also known as patellar tendinosis. Pain along the front of the knee during the activity that goes away with rest is a cardinal symptom of this condition. Dancers, gymn...
Exercise Should Be the First Treatment for Tendinopathy
Tendon repair can be tricky business. When the process gets interrupted for any reason, the tendon may get stuck in a lose-lose situation. Too much inflammation (and even sometimes not enough inflammation) can result in a process that produces a problem we call tendinosis or tendinopathy.Tendinopathy refers to any tendon that has been damaged in some way but is no longer in the acute inflammatory phase, which would be called a tendinitis. Examination of tendon tissue in patients who have had chr...
How is it possible to have a wrist fracture and not know it
About a month ago, my left wrist started aching for no known reason. I finally had it X-rayed and sure enough, there was a fracture in the scaphoid bone. How is it possible to have a wrist fracture and not know it? The scaphoid is the most common carpal bone to break. It is located on the thumbside of the wrist next to the radius (larger of the two forearm bones). And according to results of studies published in orthopedic journals, it's also not uncommon for patients to be unaware of a fracture...
Theories about tendon disorders in athletes
Sports injuries command a lot of attention in the orthopedic world. Keeping athletes in tip top shape and in playing or competitive mode is a top priority for sports medicine specialists. Toward that end, researchers are trying to understand what causes tendon problems (called tendinopathies) in this group of individuals. If we can understand how and why tendon disorders develop, then maybe we can prevent them from occurring in the first place. The authors of this review article on tendinopathie...