The doctors talk to Jerry about his knee injury and torn meniscus. They talked to Jeff about his son’s growth plate issue. Rusty called in about cramping in his legs. Paul asked about the pain in his wrist.
Who are you? Who, who, who, who? Who are the current global athletes or which sports names are recognized around the world by people of all ages? Global spine surgeon Dr. Scott Blumenthal joins Dr. Souryal and his crew to ponder this, sports medicine, current events, “Souryal-isms”, eponyms, drug naming, and more.
The queries start with a 60 year old who wants to know how to start to get back in shape after having no regular exercise for a while. Then a 50 year old long distance runner may have a meniscus rather than an MCL injury but wants to know if he can run on it while it heals, a basketball player with a healed MCL injury now has some hip trouble, and a biker/runner has no pain but a funny bone-on-bone feeling at times.
A Souryal Story about a patient who refused to pay his co-pay leads into The Business of Medicine segment about understanding insurance and provider policies. Then the questions continue from a dirt bike rider with some arm pain three years after an injury, a soldier who has a complicated “tics and fleas” issue that needs diagnoses, a retiree has disc problems and radiating pain, a father asking how long his son’s Osgood-Schlatter pain may last, and the final caller describes the shoulder instability that runs strong his family, but there may be ways the next generation can avoid this curse.
Shall we dance, or digress? We have about 15 million topics to get to today, give or take, on this bonus live Inside Sports Medicine episode. MRI’s are featured but there is talk of arch supports, pinched nerves, spine procedures, repetitive motion injuries, and so on. Top spine specialists Dr. Scott Blumenthal and Dr. Mel Manning, as well as PT specialist Dr. Craig Garrison join Dr. Souryal for this unscripted and freewheeling show.
Sports Medicine 101 is about the value of first, second, and even third opinions. Elbow injuries are on the rise and Dr. Garrison explains the mechanics of protecting the shoulder at the expense of the elbow, and changes in movement patterns that affect young players, especially. There are advantages to mixing it up.
Callers’ questions start with a young pitcher’s knee pain, then an inconclusive MRI reading on a bicep bump leads to a discussion on how not all MRI’s are the same. Questions keep rolling in in by voice and text: a woman with numbness in legs after lumbar fusion surgery may have transition syndrome, an active 60 year old with multiple shoulder and knee surgeries behind him keeps going despite cartilage loss, a patient considering a three-level disc replacement calls for advice, a soccer player’s quad injury is discussed, and a “gripping” injury might be tennis elbow, or golf elbow.
We could use at least another hour for a show like this!
Remember that! Dr. Souryal and his talented crew start with a discussion of who likes who for the Big Dance. You can clap and tap along to the college fight songs played between segments. Dr. Scott Blumenthal, world-class spinal surgeon, is once again welcomed as guest.
Our first caller wants to know why his strained abdominal muscle from power lifting keeps coming back after two years, another weight-lifter asks if the cortisone shot he had for his bursitis/bone spurs/tendonitis in his shoulder is a quick fix or permanent solution, and a returning caller asks what the reason for an elbow tendon surgery could be. Later, several questions concern conditions in teen athletes, including a pop in the knee, resistance in the hips, and a pulled hamstring.
Sports Medicine 101 covers fractures of the fifth metatarsal, which is the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe. When it breaks, you can’t predict which fractures are going to heal fine, which may require a screw, and which just won’t heal with a screw or bone graft, either.
Health insurance companies don’t make it easy to understand what coverage patients are getting and what financial obligation they will have, especially out-of-network or with hefty deductibles. In the Business of Sports Medicine segment, both the Doc and Dr. Scott have stories to share about canceling recent surgeries due to misunderstandings about coverage. Between appeals and fine print, a lot of time and resources are wasted, which leads some very good doctors and surgeons to no longer take insurance at all.
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