When people experience a musculoskeletal injury, one that involves muscles or bone, recovery depends on many things ranging from the obvious (treatment) to the not-so-obvious (fear of movement causing pain). While most people who are injured at work are able to return to their position within a reasonable amount of time, up to 20 percent do not recover quickly and live with prolonged pain and disability, resulting in a delayed return to work.

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People who have ulnar neuropathy, compression of the nerve that passes through the elbow to the lower arm, must be diagnosed as quickly as possible in order to prevent long-term complications from the injury. Currently, there are seven independent tests used by doctors to diagnose ulnar neuropathy. It is known that just using one of these tests isn't enough for an accurate diagnosis, because patient history and other types of testing are also important parts of the puzzle.

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Many people have heard of carpal tunnel syndrome, where a nerve going through the wrist to the hand is compressed, causing pain and numbness. But, although ulnar neuropathy, pressure on the nerve in the elbow, is the second most common nerve entrapment problems after carpal tunnel, not many people know about it.

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Arthroscopic surgery, surgery where the doctor makes a few tiny incisions and uses long, narrow instruments to perform the surgery, is an increasingly popular option when it is possible. Shoulder surgery is one area where arthroscopic technique is frequently used. It is used often when a shoulder has been dislocated, leaving the joint unstable. Unfortunately, the surgery isn't always successful over the long-term and the shoulder may dislocate again.

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Health care, like most other things in life, has a cost attached to it. For people with low back pain, this cost can be significant. According to a recent study in the United States, costs from low back pain had increased from 52 billion dollars to 102 billion dollars - doubling in only seven years. If there were more people with back pain, this could be understandable, but the number of people experiencing low back pain has not doubled as the cost has.

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Complex regional pain syndrome is a little understood but very painful syndrome that can begin after a seemingly minor injury. What makes this syndrome even more puzzling is the allodynia, severe pain results from a relatively harmless action, such as brushing lightly against the affected limb. Because it is neuropathic, or nerve pain, it is particularly hard to treat.

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The Charnley hip replacement has been around since the 1960s, when it was pioneered as a low-friction hip replacement. Hip replacements (arthroplasties) are, in general, one of the most carefully watched and followed surgeries in the United States, including the Charnley replacement. The authors of this article wanted to update the results of hip replacement recipients 35 years or more after they received their replacement.

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Bone grafts, attaching bone to bone, are a frequently performed surgery in the United States. Many of them are autologous, where a piece of bone is taken from the person who is getting the bone graft (auto = self). When doctors take bone for an autologous graft, it is most often taken from the iliac crest, part of the pelvis.

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The verdict is in on the subject of meniscectomy (removal of the meniscus) -- don't do it unless it's absolutely necessary. And sometimes there is no way around it. But whenever possible, surgeons repair the damage and save as much of the natural meniscus (knee cartilage) as possible.

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Surgery for degenerative disc disease has traditionally been discectomy (removal of the disc) and spinal fusion. But with the new total disc replacement procedure, more patients are opting for this motion sparing technique. Fusion limits motion at the fused vertebral segments, whereas disc replacement tries to keep as much of the natural motion as possible. With either method, research has shown that total spinal motion is maintained, if not improved.

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