News updates
Pro athletes may safely return to competition after lumbar microdiscectomy
Source: Healio
CHICAGO — The pooled rate of return to play following lumbar microdiscectomy for herniated disc nucleus was 83.5%, according to results presented at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting, and the overall return to play rate for elite athletes with a herniated disc after this procedure was 84.5%.
Stresses on elbow during pitching may alter multiple structures
Source: Healio
In a pre- and post-season ultrasound evaluation of high school pitchers’ elbows, adaptive changes occurred to multiple structures about the elbow from stresses placed on the elbow during one season of pitching, based on results of a recently published study.
Activity could help keep knees lubricated
Source: Science Daily
Cartilage is filled with fluid — about 80% of the volume of the cartilage tissue — that plays the essential roles of supporting weight and lubricating joint surfaces. Loss of this fluid, called synovial fluid, results in a gradual decrease in cartilage thickness and increase in friction, which is related to the degradation and joint pain of osteoarthritis. Since cartilage is porous, fluid is readily squeezed out of the holes over time. Yet the symptoms associated with osteoarthritis usually take decades to develop. Researchers have now proposed a mechanism that explains how motion can cause cartilage to reabsorb liquid that leaks out.
Bats and balls, not base runners, cause worst injuries to major league catchers
Source: Medical Xpress
Contrary to popular belief, the worst injuries baseball catchers face on the field come from errant bats and foul balls, not home-plate collisions with base runners, according to findings of a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
A 48-year-old woman with right knee pain
Source: Healio
A 48-year-old woman with a history of hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis treated with chronic prednisone, and a two-pack-per-week cigarette use, presented to clinic with 8 years of right knee pain. She had an intra-articular steroid injection with some relief 6 years ago. She denied any hip pain and uses a cane for ambulation.
Stiff shoulders less likely to re-tear after rotator cuff repair vs non-stiff shoulders
Source: Healio
Patients who had preoperative shoulder stiffness and those who developed stiffness at 6 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively after rotator cuff repair were less likely to experience a re-tear compared with patients who had no stiffness, according to results presented here.
What constitutes good treatment of tennis elbow?
Source: Medical Xpress
What is the best treatment for acute tennis elbow? Physiotherapy? Cortisone? A combination? Or might you just as well forego treatment?
The two most common treatments for tennis elbow are physiotherapy and cortisone injections. It is unclear which of these gives the best result, and diagnosis can be problematic for general practitioners.
Factors affected variability in PF instability injuries among high school athletes
Source: Healio
Understanding that patterns of patellofemoral instability injuries among high school athletes may vary by sport, sex and type of exposure, which investigators in this study found, may help with the formulation of new injury prevention strategies and to decrease the risk of further patellofemoral instability injuries.
Similar results seen for ACL reconstruction with autograft, hybrid graft
Source: Healio
Satisfactory and similar subjective and objective clinical outcomes were reported in a study of patients who underwent primary ACL reconstruction with either hybrid graft or autograft.
Researchers call for consideration of pre-injury status in ACL reconstruction evaluations
Source: Healio
Investigators who studied outcomes following ACL reconstruction said they believe patients’ pre-injury status has been overlooked in determining postoperative results.