4/18/15 – #532: There’s more than one way to skin a cat
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!