Tag: rotator cuff tear

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03/26/2016 #564: Knowns and Unknowns on the Brain

Dr. Brad Bellard joins Dr. Souryal for this Easter Weekend edition with special guest: sportscaster Dale Hansen. The doctors start off discussing the controversial link between CTE and football and other susceptibilities that may affect outcomes. Then a concerned mother of a 19 year old lacrosse player calls in. Her son had his first “mild” concussion and still has symptoms six weeks later. She wonders if he should play or not, now or after more time to heal? Hard to know! Later in the hour, Dale Hansen continues the conversation on the issues surrounding longterm brain trauma and the risks to football players in particular. Along the same lines, a father describes his daughter’s head injury during a softball game that led to a longer road to recovery than expected, and the unhelpful attitudes she encountered.

Inside Sports Medicine relies on great listeners asking great questions which leads to valuable conversations. A 40 year old basketball player suffered a complete rupture of his patellar tendon a year ago and asks when he can get back to full range.  A 32 year old has a herniated disc in his neck, already limits his activities, and is working through his options before considering surgery.  A golfer wonders how to tell if his shoulder injury is a rotator cuff tear – without going to a doctor, that is. Another caller asks why it is so difficult to do exercises that don’t use the ACL right after ACL surgery. A mechanic has started to notice some numbness or aching in his hands while working that could be arthritis.

Another hopping good show!

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06/15/15 #538: Let Us Entertain (and Inform) You

Dr. Scott Blumenthal, world-renowned spine surgeon, joins Dr. T.O. Souryal and his merry crew for this week’s sports medicine call-in show. The doctors discuss the psychology of sports, the many “two types” of people, why it takes so long to get discharged from a hospital, the pros and cons of long sleepless shifts for doctors in training, and more.

Vertigo may not be a primary complaint in sports medicine, but sure can complicate your game, as pro golfer Jason Day can attest. Dr. Neil Williams, Ear Nose and Throat specialist, shares his insights on the common sensation and symptom of vertigo.

The calls keep coming. In the first hour, a marathon runner and cyclist has sharp pains in his ankle/calf that could be a stress fracture or achilles injury, and a father asks for a clear explanation of chronic tendonitis or tendonosis.  The doctors question whether a “twisted hip” is the right or even a real diagnosis for one woman, and discuss whether regular use of an inversion table could be healthy for spines.

In the second hour, the conversation starts on the Hope or Hype of PRP and Stem Cell treatments, then an active lawyer has some longterm collarbone issues he attributes to asymmetry, and the son of an 89 year old with cervical stenosis has questions about surgery that aims relieve his Dad’s weakness and inability to walk. The next caller asks if treating his dislocated shoulder could have affected, or even cured, his digestive problems, and a 58 year old is weighing all his options on treating his knee troubles before the last resort: a knee replacement.

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03/14/15 – Episode 527: Rule #1- Listen to the Patient

Listen to this podcast if you want to know why Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish is out for the season and faces a long recovery after undergoing surgery on his arm. Today’s Sports Medicine 101 segment is all about Tommy John surgery, or UCL reconstruction, which was named after and first performed on former LA Dodgers pitcher Tommy John in 1974. Tommy John’s operation didn’t go perfectly, yet miraculously, he was able to resume his fantastic pitching career. Then Dr. Craig Garrison, director of Sports Medicine at the Texas Health Ben Hogan Center, walks us through the yearlong rehabilitation process for UCL reconstruction.

Time flies as Dr. Souryal gets to as many questions as he can in just two hours. Many queries on this episode tie in to a theme: go get the right diagnosis before trying procedures or surgery. The first question of the day comes in by text about right lower back pain that won’t go away, then a caller asks about where to go for his probable “winging scapula” and subsequently, the Doc’s Newfie gets a dog groomer!

The next caller still has pain after many knee procedures and is at a loss for his next step, while similarly, a concerned husband describes his wife’s frozen shoulder and continued lower arm pain after several treatments without a clear diagnosis. Other callers include a weightlifter with an AC joint injury, a 55 year old with pain in both shoulders that may be neurological, and a 38 year old man with knee pain who is advised to ask about other options before rushing into surgery. At the end of the show, a future kinesiologist and former baseball player has some shoulder pain, but only on occasion. What to do? You guessed it: go get a diagnosis!