Shoulder Labrum Surgery Alternative For Faster Recovery

Shoulder surgery recovery can be a nightmare. Pain, months spent in a pillow immobilizer, and months more of rehab. Plus, what many patients don’t know, is that research has shown that surgery for a torn shoulder labrum isn’t all that successful.1,2 Here’s the story of one of our patients who chose to have stem cell…read more

Lateral Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow) – Why There’s Absolutely No Need for Surgery

What is Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis)? Lateral epicondylitis is the medical term used for tennis elbow which is a painful condition caused by damage or tears in the tendon (common extensor tendon) that attaches the forearm muscle (extensor muscle) to the outside of the elbow bone. Patients suffering from a severe case of tennis elbow…read more

Why Your Head Feels Heavy

On this page: What holds the head on? How do you know if you have these problems? How do you treat heaviness of the head? Picture your head as a bowling ball balanced on the end of a stick (the spine). There are muscles at the top of the neck as well as in the…read more

The Serious Long-Term Effects of ACL Reconstruction Surgery

On this page: Long-term effects of ACL reconstruction surgery Nerve interaction with ligaments like the ACL Research on the ACL and the gamma loop We tend to take for granted that our bodies are finely tuned machines and complex neural circuitry allows them to do the amazing things we’re designed to do. A 2011 study…read more

Is ACL Surgery a Second Hit to the Joint Cartilage?

I’ve blogged before on the idea that we now have high-level evidence that suggests ACL surgery itself is harming the joint. While at the Havemeyer Symposium (think tank) at CSU, one of the physician-scientists presented an interesting slide that supports this idea. Let me explain. The Prior Research As I have reported previously, data from…read more

Is the ITB Connected to the Lateral Meniscus?

You would think that in the early 21st century we would have figured out everything there is to know about the human knee, but you would be wrong. In fact, it was just a few years ago that the anterior lateral ligament was discovered. How is that possible? Because physicians and anatomists have a hard…read more

UCL Treatment Failures and the Difference Between Surgical and Interventional Orthopedics

Last week an article was published in the LA Times about some high-profile failures of stem cell UCL treatment and the subsequent need for Tommy John surgery. I read the piece and chuckled a bit because I knew why these cases likely failed. Let me explain. What Is the UCL? The UCL is a ligament that…read more

Outside Ankle Pain? What Could Be Wrong?

Outside ankle pain is common. So what’s here that could be causing your pain? How should this be diagnosed? Let’s dive in. What’s Here? There are few things that can cause outside ankle pain. First, this is where the peroneus brevis and longus tendons live, so small tears in those ligaments or degeneration (tendinopathy) can…read more