Orthopaedic Viewpoints & Orthopaedic Debates | Orthogate Professionals

After an intense workout or even a long day doing chores, it’s normal to experience sore muscles. In most cases, muscle soreness goes away after a day or two. However, if you’ve got lingering soreness, it might be tempting to take an over-the-counter analgesic like ibuprofen. While these medications are fine on occasion, it’s also important to look for other, natural ways to relieve your pain. Long-term use of over-the-counter painkillers can lead to disorders like intestinal permeability that hinder your body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Before you reach for ibuprofen or another painkiller, try one of these five natural alternatives to speed up your muscle recovery.

Orthopedic Surgeons Negotiate Your Network Contracts for Higher Reimbursements. BillingParadise is hosting a webinar on contract negotiation strategies. Hosted by popular credentialing and contract negotiation expert Michele Graham on 10.1.2018. Register now.

Being diagnosed with a chronic pain condition can change a person’s life. This type of pain--defined as lasting longer than 3-6 months--can be the result of many different factors, such as injury, arthritis, or a condition like fibromyalgia, but the effects are similar in many cases: they make life harder. You may find it more difficult to do basic household chores or to find the energy to exercise; it may be harder to concentrate at work or school, and you may be more at risk for depression and anxiety.

By now everyone already knows how to avoid spinal injury. Use your knees when lifting heavy objects. Sit up straight at your desk. Exercise more. But if these techniques are so universally understood, then how come spinal injuries are still one of the most common conditions that send patients to their doctors? Let’s investigate by looking as some of the lesser known everyday bad habits people develop, which can aggravate these demobilizing traumas.

Many people suffer from an almost unbearable pain in one or both of their heels at some point. The most common culprit is known as plantar fasciitis, and in reality, it is much more common than many people realize. This particular ligament located on the bottom of the feet is the real culprit behind the pain that millions of people each and every day suffer from.

Osteoporosis is commonly associated with women, and indeed, this bone loss condition does affect some 200 million women around the world every year. But almost 40 percent of these victims are men, and male osteoporosis diagnosis are expected to climb a stunning 310 percent by 2050.

So, over the next several decades, bone health among all their patients over 60 will become an increasingly large priority for most orthopedic professionals. There are a number of ways to enhance bone health for this age group, and nearly all of them simply involve educating the patient as to their availability and empowering the patient to take advantage of these chances.

When an injury or other condition places internal pressure on the sciatic nerve, a large nerve which runs from the lower back down the back of each leg, it can result in tingling, weakness, numbness, discomfort, and even pain. Some patients may actually incur damage to the nerve itself, not just pressure, either from an injury like a pelvic fracture or slipped disk, or a foreign body like the growth of a tumor.

Are patients taking their prescription medicines just as the doctor ordered? Turns out, chances are high they are not.

A 2011 report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings estimated that a shocking 50% of patients with chronic illness don’t take their medicines as prescribed. Long-term pharmacotherapy plays a significant role in helping combat disease, reduce health resource consumption, and lower hospitalization and mortality risk, however, the benefits of this type of medical intervention are largely missed due to poor medicine adherence.

Treating a patient for a foot or leg injury? Being unable to bear weight due to a sprained or broken ankle, foot injury, knee or lower leg issue, or because a patient is recovering from surgery, often requires a prescription for crutches from the doctor.

An estimated 7+ million people use crutches every year for short and longer term mobility issues, making them one of, if not the most, prescribed orthotic aid. Rates of crutch injuries aren’t well quantified, but a 2014 systematic literature review revealed that over 70% of crutch complications develop from the use of axillary crutches.