Shoulder Labral Tear Surgery: Pros and Cons (And Hidden Shoulder Instability)

I evaluated a patient this week who shows off the warts of our modern orthopedic care system; he was diagnosed with a shoulder labral tear and offered surgery. Why? His shoulder labral tear was the bright, shiny object, and nobody ever asked how he got the tear in the first place. As he considered shoulder labral…
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Can A Torn Rotator Cuff Heal On Its Own Without Surgery?

Are you wondering, “Can a torn rotator cuff heal on its own without surgery?” This and others are common questions asked by many of the 40,000 patients each year that opt for surgery to repair their torn rotator cuff. The answers to these queries contribute to a patient’s decision on whether to have surgery, but…
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If You Have a Hip Labrum Tear, You May Also Have a Shoulder Labrum Tear?

Labral tears are always something that freak patients out. Why? Just the concept of something torn in your hip or shoulder is disconcerting. However, now a new study shows that if you have a tear in your hip labrum, you’re more likely to have one in your shoulder. Let’s dig in. Understanding Labrum Tears and…
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Shoulder Dislocation Surgery Pros and Cons?

What are the shoulder dislocation surgery pros and cons? If you’ve dislocated your shoulder and you see a surgeon, most will argue that you need surgery to fix the bone trauma, labrum, and ligaments. However, do you really need this procedure? Here we’ll explore all of your options as well as newer nonsurgical orthobiologic options.…
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Shoulder Decompression Surgery No Better than Fake Surgery

This has been a bad decade for orthopedic surgery. Heck, it’s been a bad two decades. Why? Study after study shows that these invasive procedures are often no better than fake or sham procedures in helping patients reduce pain and increase function. The latest entry in that now long list is shoulder decompression surgery. Defining…
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Should You Get Shoulder Surgery? A Surgeon Weighs In…

If you read this blog, you know that I often write about what I experience on a day-to-day basis. After all, it’s hard to do this six days a week if you’re not passionate about what you write about. This morning I’d like to share my experiences yesterday with an orthopedic shoulder surgeon who was…
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Does Rotator Cuff Surgery Work?

Does rotator cuff surgery work? You would think that because this has become a standard of care for nonhealing rotator cuff tears that we would have loads of high-level research showing this procedure is effective. However, we really don’t have that research. In fact, we have studies showing that this approach of sewing up a…
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Treating Rotator Cuff Tears with Stem Cells, Not Surgery

I love treating shoulder rotator cuff tears with precise injections of real stem cells. This patient was a weightlifter with a high-grade tear who wanted to avoid surgery and get back to powerlifting. He just sent us a video of his progress, lifting more weight without surgery than most can ever dream of benching! Let’s…
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