Dr. Bellard and Dr, Blumenthal is on the air today. They discuss Sunday’s Big Game and the halftime show. The Docs discuss the breakdown in communication with patients and doctors. The Docs talk with a caller about a toe, injury, gout, and arthritis. A caller ask about treating older patients’ sports injuries. The Doctors discuss the Nina O’Brien injury. They talk with the Tee Box.
A special episode in tribute to the passing of Muhammad Ali, three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer and civil rights champion as well as a conscientious objector and active humanitarian. Listeners call in to share their recollections of and admiration for The Greatest, while Dr. Souryal fields listeners’ sports medicine questions, from all over the map! Like – what is Turf Toe? A Farrier has a knee problem, a very tall fourteen year old has more than growing pains, an older gent has neck pain that isn’t going away, a caller shares a knee replacement success story, and another has gout that affects his activity.
In the second hour, we keep to honoring the extraordinary life of Muhammad Ali, and also answering a mixed bag of queries. Dr. Souryal explains the next steps for a woman who hurt her back doing Cross Fit, a 75 year old man asks what to do about shoulder pain that wakes him up at night and there is a reflux issue. A 59 year old oil field worker also has a shoulder issue, another caller with RA and a knee problem wants to know what to do while waiting for his specialist appointment that is weeks away, and a caller wonders why his lower arms go to sleep while he sleeps. Post-back surgery, a man is left in excruciating pain- what to do? A basketball player wonders how to manage a knuckle injury, and still play and the show ends with a random weird shoulder problem. Yep- this episode may be a mélange, a gallimaufry, a medley, or goulash. Still, it is a good one!
Regular guest and instigator of the Inside Sports Medicine Best College Fight Song competition, Dr. Scott Blumenthal joins Dr. Souryal today for some music, medicine, and for the first time ever: live-streaming hi-def hijinks! The votes are in for the final four of best college fight songs, and in the second hour listeners’ votes determine what song comes out on top.
The doctors take on Big City Bias and EOB in the Business of Medicine segment. Dr. B. recommends that for any elective surgery if you have the means to travel to a specialist, consider going to a bigger town, where the expertise, experience, and resources may be greater and better for you, the patient. Sometimes the Explanation of Benefits is inexplicable. Sports Medicine 101 covers arthritis or inflammation of a joint, the difference between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and the idea that arthritis is both a process and on a spectrum. At the end of the show, a Souryal Story brings home the importance of digging deep for the right diagnosis.
Callers’ questions start with a Sports Medicine Nugget: a dad asks if there is a better option than using an Endobutton in an ACL surgery for his 15 year old daughter who has a known metal allergy. As often happens, this question leads to more good questions and very good advice. Later, a soccer player may have a bruised rib or a cracked rib or something else altogether, a gout sufferer wants to get into shape and wonders what the best kind of exercise might be, another father calls in with his perspective on his daughter’s ACL recovery, a college baseball player throws hard and has some elbow pain that needs a solid diagnosis, and there’s a tricky trigger finger injury. Whew.
Daa daa daa, da-da da-da! And the winner is…listen and learn.
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman and double Super Bowl Champion Tony Casillas was not able to join us but we hope to have him on soon.
What can we say about shoulders? So, so much. Kobe Bryant’s injury is in the news while on this show listeners call in questions about their own shoulder injuries. Some good advice: don’t drive while in severe pain. Call 911 to get a ride to the emergency room! Dr. Souryal starts to explain the mechanics of these injuries in his Sports Medicine 101 segment. Appropriately, rotator cuff repair specialist and shoulder surgeon Dr. Richard Levy comes on in the second hour to detail diagnosis and the range of treatments available for rotator cuff injuries.
The questions keep coming by phone, text, or email and spark discussions on HIPAA and privacy for pro athletes, the difference between subluxation and dislocation, the differences between a strain or sprain and tear, and evaluating the subjective and objective level of disability a person may have after an injury. You can’t see pain!
