Author: drathanasiouortho

Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Hip Pain

Hip pain is a common complaint that can be caused by a wide variety of problems. 

The precise location of your hip pain can provide valuable information regarding the underlying cause.

-Problems within the hip joint itself tend to result in pain on the inside of your hip or your groin. 

-Hip pain on the outside of your hip, upper thigh or outer buttock is usually caused by problems with muscles, ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues that surround your hip joint.

-Hip pain can sometimes be caused by diseases and conditions in other areas of your body, such as your lower back. This type of pain is called referred pain.

Common causes of hip pain:

Arthritis 

Injuries

Pinched nerve 

Inflammation / Infection 

Limited blood flow 

-A cause of hip pain can be a labral tear. This is a rip in the ring of cartilage (called the labrum) that follows the outside rim of the socket of your hip joint. Along with cushioning your hip joint, your labrum acts like a rubber seal or gasket to help hold the ball at the top of your thighbone securely within your hip socket. Athletes and people who perform repetitive twisting movements are at higher risk of developing this problem. 

Treatment

Rest

Ice

Anti inflammatory medication 

Physiotherapy 

Injections 

Surgical intervention 

-Exercises to do at home if you suffer from hip pain

As always, please consult your doctor for any pain that is severe and lasts for more than a few days. 

hip
Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Knee arthroscopy

-It is a surgical technique that can diagnose and treat problems in the knee joint. During the procedure, a very small incision is done and a tiny camera — called an arthroscope — is inserted into the patient ‘s knee.


-Arthroscopy diagnoses several knee problems, such as a torn meniscus or a misaligned patella (kneecap). It can also repair the ligaments of the joint. There are limited risks to the procedure and the outlook is good for most patients. 


-The recovery time and prognosis will depend on the severity of the knee problem and the complexity of the required procedure. 
Most patients recover completely within a week and are able to resume all daily activities without pain.


Arthroscopic surgery can diagnose and treat knee injuries, including:
• torn anterior or posterior cruciate ligaments
• torn meniscus (the cartilage between the bones in the knee)
• patella that’s out of position
• pieces of torn cartilage that are loose in the joint
• removal of a Baker’s cyst
• fractures in the knee bones
• swollen synovium (the lining in the joint)


What Happens During a Knee Arthroscopy?


-The patient may choose the type of anesthesia he/she prefers:
• local (numbs the knee only)
• regional (numbs from the waist down)
• general (puts the patient completely to sleep)
If the patient is awake, he/she may be able to watch the procedure on a monitor!


The surgeon will begin by making two small incisions, or cuts, in the knee. Sterile salt water, or saline, will then pump in to expand the knee. This makes it easier for the surgeon to see inside the joint. The arthroscope enters one of the cuts and the surgeon will look around in the joint using the attached camera. The surgeon can see the images produced by the camera on the monitor in the operating room.
When the surgeon locates the problem in the knee, they may then insert small tools into the incisions to correct the issue. After the surgery, the surgeon drains the saline from the joint and closes the cuts with stitches.


What Are the Risks Associated with a Knee Arthroscopy?


-Knee arthroscopy is considered minimally invasive , as opposed to open knee surgery, so the risk of infection, bleeding or damage to the surrounding tissues is extremely rare.


What Is Recovery Like After a Knee Arthroscopy?


-For most people, the procedure takes less than an hour. The patient is able to go home on the same day after surgery.


The patient is given an exercise regimen to follow at home straight away and/or will be referred to physiotherapy.
The exercises are necessary to help restore the full range of motion of the knee and to strengthen the muscles. 


With the proper care, the outlook after having knee arthroscopy is excellent!
Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Let’s talk METs

One MET is the energy you spend sitting at rest — your resting or basal metabolic rate. So, an activity with a MET value of 4 means you’re exerting four times the energy than you would if you were sitting still.

A brisk walk at 3 or 4 miles per hour ( 5 km/h ) has a value of 4 METs. Jumping rope, which is a more vigorous activity, has a MET value of 12.3.

Classification of activities

  • Sedentary—Uses 1.5 or fewer METs. Examples are sitting, or lying down.
  • Light intensity—Uses 1.6-3.0 METs. Examples are walking at a leisurely pace or standing in line at the store.
  • Moderate intensity—Uses 3.0-6.0 METs. Examples are walking briskly, vacuuming, or raking leaves.
  • Vigorous intensity—Uses 6.0+ METs. Examples are walking very quickly, running, taking an aerobics class, or CrossFit training.

Current guidelines

The guidelines are recommending 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week at 3 METs and/or 75 minutes of activity at 6 METs. That can be translated into 450 MET-minutes per week, at any intensity higher than 3 MET. (MET-minutes are the MET value of an activity multiplied by the time you’re doing it, so 3 MET * 150 minutes = 450 MET-minutes; similarly 6 MET * 75 minutes = 450 MET-minutes.)

Please note that although 450 MET-minutes is “enough,” the “optimal” amount of exercise is around 900 METs.

How about the 10,000 steps?

10,000 is actually just a random number, but 10,000 steps is simple, memorable and measurable with a cheap pedometer.

What do I enjoy doing?

Studies suggest that you are likely to continue exercising if you really enjoy the activity, so decide what you like best and stick to it!

Remember: Anything is better than nothing!

Why exercise?

-It controls your weight

-Protects against chronic diseases

-Improves mood, concentration and overall brain function

-Boosts your energy levels

-Builds strong bones

-Improves balance and coordination

-Reduces anxiety and depression

-Promotes better sleep

Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Nerve block injections

What are nerve block injections?

They are anti-inflammatory and local anesthetic injections administered around the root of the nerves exiting the spinal canal.

What to expect during the procedure?

It is a quick and simple procedure, carried out in the OT under local anesthesia. We clean and sterilize the affected area and then use the ultrasound to accurately find the affected nerve root. Then the medication is administered and you are ready to go! No down time or any restrictions at all.

Who will benefit from nerve block injections?

Any patient who has persistent neck, upper back or lower back pain, diagnosed with disc bulge/hernia, or significant paresthesia of arms/legs.

Please call the hospital for appointment.

Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

HORSE RIDING

Is it cardio or strengthening exercise?



Horse riding is a great exercise that checks all the boxes, fun, outdoor, and strenuous. It strengthens your coremuscles, improves your balance, and provides a cardio workout when performed at higher intensity levels. Still, even light riding provides exercise, and it’s fun!

Unlike many sports, horse riding requires the athlete to remain as stable as possible, so the idea is to move as little as possible. That does not mean the muscles are not working! When we ride, there is tension in a muscle, but where there is limited movement at the joint, a certain type of muscle work occurs. This type of muscle work is known as isometric muscle activity. This type of muscle activity increases blood pressure and thus also heart rate, but not overall energy requirements such as demand for oxygen. This will explain why your heart rate elevates, perhaps as high as when you go out jogging, but doesn’t ‘feel the same’. 

Are you familiar with METs?

A MET is the metabolic equivalent of a task and measures how much energy is used during that movement, compared with being still. Sitting quietly is a 1 MET activity.

Horse riding is classified as 5.5 METs.

For comparison, other activities at or close to 5.5 METs include recreational badminton and playing golf if you walk the course, pulling your bag of clubs.

The METs change with your mount’s gait. Riding a horse at full gallop is a 7.3-MET activity, according to the compilation, similar in intensity to recreational roller blading or squash. The required exertion is a bit less than that if the horse is trotting, to 5.8 METs, and it falls drastically when riding a walking horse. That requires only 3.8 METs, the same as bowling.

Can I ride if my back hurts or if I have a disc bulge?

If you suffer from an acute injury or your pain is moderate to severe, it is recommended to avoid riding and seek medical advice on how to properly treat your back problem and safely return to riding.

Always wear your helmet and proper riding clothes/boots. Warm up and cool down as you would do with any other sport!

Happy Riding!

Categories
Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine

Osteoporosis

Most of us know that strength training (with free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands) can help build and maintain muscle mass and strength. What many of us don’t know is that strong muscles lead to strong bones. And strong bones can help minimize the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis.

A combination of age-related changes, inactivity, and inadequate nutrition conspire to gradually steal bone mass, at the rate of 1% per year after age 40. As bones grow more fragile and susceptible to fracture, they are more likely to break after even a minor fall or a far less obvious stress, such as bending over to tie a shoelace.

Osteoporosis should be a concern for all of us. An estimated eight million women and two million men in the United States have osteoporosis. It is now responsible for more than two million fractures each year, and experts expect that number will rise. Hip fractures are usually the most serious. Six out of 10 people who break a hip never fully regain their former level of independence. Even walking across a room without help may become impossible.

Numerous studies have shown that strength training can play a role in slowing bone loss, and several show it can even build bone. This is tremendously useful to help offset age-related declines in bone mass. Activities that put stress on bones can nudge bone-forming cells into action. That stress comes from the tugging and pushing on bone that occur during strength training (as well as weight-bearing aerobic exercises like walking or running). The result is stronger, denser bones.

And strength training, in particular, has bone benefits beyond those offered by aerobic weight-bearing exercise. It targets bones of the hips, spine, and wrists, which are the sites most likely to fracture. What’s more, resistance workouts — particularly those that include moves emphasizing power and balance — enhance strength and stability. That can boost confidence, encourage you to stay active, and reduce fractures another way — by cutting down on falls.