News
The difficulties of treating shoulder pain in baseball pitchers
Source: Medical News Today
Results of treating shoulder pain in baseball pitchers and other throwing athletes are not as predictable as doctors, patients and coaches would like to think, according to a report in the journal Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America.
Thumbs-up for mind-controlled robotic arm
Source: Science Daily
A paralyzed woman who controlled a robotic arm using just her thoughts has taken another step towards restoring her natural movements by controlling the arm with a range of complex hand movements.
Staying at Home for Knee Rehab
Source: DailyRx
After a knee replacement, there’s no place like home for your physical therapy — or at least home may be just as good a place as a clinic to do your exercises.
In a new study, knee replacement patients who followed a six-week, monitored exercise program at home showed similar progress to those who were in regular outpatient rehabilitation programs.
Frequent BMD tests unnecessary for postmenopausal women with good scores
Source: Healio
Postmenopausal women not diagnosed for osteoporosis on an initial bone mineral density test are unlikely to sustain a major osteoporotic fracture or to reap any benefit from repeat screening before age 65 years, according to research published in Menopause.
“This longitudinal study found that, among postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 years without osteoporosis on their first BMD test, less than 1% experienced a hip or clinical vertebral fracture and less than 3% experienced a major osteoporotic fracture by 7 years,” the researchers wrote.
Frequent BMD tests unnecessary for postmenopausal women with good scores
Source: Healio
Postmenopausal women not diagnosed for osteoporosis on an initial bone mineral density test are unlikely to sustain a major osteoporotic fracture or to reap any benefit from repeat screening before age 65 years, according to research published in Menopause.
“This longitudinal study found that, among postmenopausal women aged 50 to 64 years without osteoporosis on their first BMD test, less than 1% experienced a hip or clinical vertebral fracture and less than 3% experienced a major osteoporotic fracture by 7 years,” the researchers wrote.
Overuse injuries becoming more common in young athletes
Source : Science Daily
From Little League players injuring their elbow ligaments to soccer and basketball players tearing their ACLs, sports injuries related to overuse are becoming more common in younger athletes.
Dr. Matthew Silvis, medical director for primary care sports medicine at Penn State Hershey, says specialization is a big reason why.
"It has been a kind of societal thing that kids are specializing in one sport at the exclusion of others at a younger age," he says. "The specialization is often driven by parents who believe that their child has to start early and stay serious in order to get a scholarship or be the best."
Picture emerges of how kids get head injuries
Source : Science Daily
A study in which more than 43,000 children were evaluated for head trauma offers an unprecedented picture of how children most frequently suffer head injuries, report physicians. The findings also indicate how often such incidents result in significant brain injuries, computerized tomography (CT) scans to assess head injuries, and neurosurgery to treat them.
Intra-articular tranexamic acid benefitted TKA patients without increased risk of DVT, PE
Source : Healio
Among patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty, intra-articular tranexamic acid significantly reduced total blood loss, drainage, reduction of hemoglobin and the need for transfusion without increasing the incidence of deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, making it safe and efficacious, according to study results.
Through a search of various databases for relevant randomized, controlled trials, researchers included seven studies comprising 622 patients. The researchers calculated mean difference in total blood loss, risk ratio for transfusion and complication rate in the tranexamic acid-treated group vs. the placebo group.
Bilateral TKA staged at 1-week intervals deemed safe alternative in select patients
Source : Healio
For patients with advanced degenerative disease and deformities of both knees who desire a single rehabilitation period, staging total knee arthroplasty in each knee a week apart is a safe alternative, particularly for patients with medical comorbidities precluding a simultaneous operation, according to study results.
Researchers compared a consecutive series of 234 patients who underwent either a simultaneous or staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to a matched-control group of unilateral TKA.
Divergent trends seen in meniscal and cartilage injuries between primary and revision ACL repair
Source : Healio
In a community-based sample, the prevalence of articular cartilage injury increased between primary and revision ACL repair, whereas the prevalence of meniscal injury decreased, according to recent study findings.
Researchers studied 261 patients who underwent both primary and revision ACL reconstruction (ACLR) between February 2005 and September 2011 via community-based registry. Patient data (sex, age, race and BMI), procedure characteristics and descriptive statistics (medians, interquartile ranges, frequencies and proportions) were the metrics used for evaluation.
Overall, 256 patients required revision ACLR due to instability, and the remaining five were due to infection.Cartilage injuries nearly doubled (14.9% to 31.8%) from primary to revision ACLR, whereas meniscal tears decreased overall from 54.8% at primary ACLR to 43.7% at revision. This trend was also reflected in lateral meniscus tears (32.2% at primary, 18.4% at revision), though medial meniscus tears were observed to be the same (32.6%) at both primary and revision ACLR, according to the researchers.
A 70.8% prevalence of meniscus tear in revision was observed in patients who had meniscus fixation during primary ACLR.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.