Orthopedic Conditions

The Multifidus Muscle and Spine Pain – Cause and Effect

The multifidus muscle is the most important stabilizer of your spine, but one that most patients and physicians have never studied. There are now hundreds of research studies confirming that when this little muscle goes south, all heck breaks loose in the neck and back. The multifidis is easy to spot on the average MRI…read more

Hip Labrum Surgery Complications: Making the Hip Unstable…

This week while practicing down in Grand Cayman I evaluated a professional ballerina from Germany who regrettably is having issues with recovery due to hip labrum surgery complications. In her case, she was diagnosed with CAM and pincer impingement and since having these bone spurs removed has never been able to get back to high level…read more

Hip Impingement Causes: Is Instability the Culprit?

What is Hip FAI?  Are there Hip Impingement causes that I can address, or is FAI inevitable? These are common questions patients ask themselves. The answer may be that your hip has been unstable for many years and those bone spurs that your surgeon wants to whack out may be all that’s protecting your hip joint!…read more

Are Rotator Cuff Tears a Stem Cell Problem?

Your rotator cuff has stem cells and gets sick when the number of those stem cells wane. That seems to be what a few different studies are telling us including a new one out last month from stem cell pioneer Phillpe Hernigou. The obvious implication being that to make the rotator cuff healthy, you need…read more

How to Read Your Own Hip MRI Video!

An empowered patient gets better quicker-that’s what I’ve observed over the years. One of the biggest medical “black holes” for patients is their MRI. They have a report that might as well be written in Greek and they have an MRI CD whose images look like a cross between their body and the surface of…read more

Neck and Thumb Pain: A Doctor’s Personal Story

Are neck and thumb pain connected? Can a nerve in your neck cause hand arthritis? In the early summer, I had a pinched nerve in my neck and shortly thereafter, on the hand that was getting numb, evidence of early arthritis appeared in that thumb joint. Believe it or not, these two things are quite…read more

Orthopedic Stem Cell Research: Is There Enough?

(Click here for a larger view) While stem cells are clearly gaining ground in orthopedics, there are still some physicians and many scientists that argue that there just isn’t enough research yet for physicians to use this therapy in patients. Since I’ve been following the research since 2005 and watching it develop, I have a…read more

The Side Effects of Lumbar Radiofrequency Can Be Worse Than the Relief

On this page: What is lumbar radiofrequency? What are the side effects of lumbar radiofrequency? Radiofrequency lesioning is a common treatment for chronic back and neck pain. However, the side effects of lumbar radiofrequency may be worse than the relief it supplies. Let me explain. What Is Lumbar Radiofrequency? Radiofrquency (RF) treatments for low back…read more