The joints in your body are what give you your mobility. Nature designed them to withstand a lot of wear and tear, but even nature couldn’t make joints and ligaments indestructible. Your knee receives a lot of stress on a daily basis, and its design is built for that, but the knee is also a common joint to need joint replacement in Jacksonville, FL, or ligament surgeries because of trauma or excessive wear. People who participate in high impact sports or who have physically demanding jobs are often at higher risk for knee injuries. A torn ACL is a common injury for sports players and almost always needs corrective surgery. Here are some warning signs that you might have a torn ACL. (more…)

Shoulder arthroscopy is an option for individuals who suffer from shoulder disorders such as labral tears and rotator cuff tears. This is a surgical procedure that is conducted to diagnose, visualize, and treat a number of issues within the shoulder joint and in the area surrounding the rotator cuff. Shoulder arthroscopy enables orthopedic surgeons in Jacksonville, FL to place a fiber optic camera inside of your shoulder joint. Doctors will be able to get a visual of all the components in the shoulder. With this method, medical professionals are able to perform numerous procedures without cutting open the shoulder. Here’s an insight on shoulder arthroscopy.  (more…)

One of the most important things to understand about the pain you may be experiencing after orthopedic surgery is that this doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything wrong. In truth, postoperative pain is a normal part of the body’s own healing process – but at the same time, this doesn’t mean that you will be forced to grin and bear it.

In fact, there are a wide range of pain management options available to orthopedic patients that are certainly worth exploring with your primary care specialist.

The Advantages of Regional Anesthesia

One of the most common pain management options for orthopedic patients involves the careful use of regional anesthesia. This typically involves a conduction block at the site of your surgery, or anywhere along the path between the surgical site and your spinal cord. There are a number of recent examples in particular that suggest the injection of anesthetic into joint spaces can dramatically reduce the amount of postoperative pain that a patient may be feeling. This is an option that is definitely worth discussing with your orthopedic surgeon before your procedure.

Get Your Expectations in Order

Additionally, it is critical that you understand as much about the pain management process as possible in order to adequately set your expectations for the road ahead. By far, the first few days after your surgery are going to be the worst – but take comfort in knowing that the pain will improve on a daily basis. Your body needs time to heal and you need to do whatever you can to support that. This is why the experts at The Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons agree that oftentimes the best pain reliever you have access to is peace of mind.

If you’d like to find out more information about the various treatment options available to Jacksonville orthopedic patients with acute pain, or if you’d just like to get answers to any other important questions you may have, please don’t delay – contact the Board Certified physicians at Southeast Orthopedic Specialists today.

You are having ankle surgery and the doctor says you must be non-weight bearing on the affected ankle afterward, but what does that mean?

What is Non-Weight Bearing

The term non-weight bearing means you must avoid putting any of your body weight on the ankle for a designated amount of time. How does one remain non-weight bearing after surgery?

Why Being Non-Weight Bearing Matters?

When a physician puts in a non-weight bearing order it is because there is no way to know how much weight your foot or ankle can tolerate without causing damage. For this reason, non-weight bearing includes even allowing the foot to touch the ground.

How to Stay Non-Weight Bearing?

It might sound impossible but it is easier to manage than you might think. The trick is to have the right tools to help you get around without letting the foot touch the ground. The most common approach is to use crutches. If opting for crutches, make sure a medical professional provides instructions on how to use them. They must be properly adjusted to avoid putting stress on your arms and shoulders. Other options include:

Knee Scooter

A knee scooter looks like a bicycle but instead of a seat, it has a knee pad. You put your knee on the affected side on the pad and then use the other foot to push yourself forward. Your ankle and foot are safely tucked behind you to prevent any weight bearing. Like a bike, the scooter has brakes and handlebars to help you control your movement.

Seated Scooter

Just like the knee scooter but you sit on the seat instead of resting your knee on it. There are both manual and electric seated scooters available. The manual you push using the good leg and the electric are driven by a motor.

If you want to try either scooter, they are available for you to rent or buy.

Contact Orthopedic Specialists

It is not easy to remain non-weight bearing after surgery but it is important. If you ignore the doctor’s instructions, you might cause damage that you will need further surgery to fix it.

When you purchase a health insurance plan, it’s common to assume that the costs and benefits of the plan are fixed. But because of the way that many insurers limit spending, the time of year when you visit the doctor has an enormous impact on the value you get from your plan. Typically, this means that the more care you receive toward the end of the year, the more you will get for your premiums. Thus as the holidays approach, consider the following:

Going Beyond Your Deductible

If you already reached your deductible, now is the time to stock up on medical goods and services. Obtain all the medicines, devices and other products you’ll have to buy during the year, provided that they’ll last long enough for you to use them. The more you buy now, the less you’ll have to spend later. 

Obtaining All Gratuitous Services

Many health plans provide services that do not contribute to your deductible, especially diagnostic and consultation ones. Get these before the year’s end. Even though they won’t directly save you money next year, they increase your odds of finding health issues early. If you do find such a problem, you can begin treatment before your deductible resets, reducing or even eliminating the cost of overcoming it.

Examining Your FSA

FSAs, or flexible spending accounts, allow you to shield a certain amount of money from taxes by earmarking it for health expenses. Check to see how much money you have left in this account, as well as how much of it you can roll over. It may be worth spending what’s left before the year is out.

Southeast Orthopedic Specialists accepts insurance from Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, BeechStreet, CareFirst and a myriad of other providers. For more information on making the most of your medical care in Northeast Florida, visit our website today.

Physical therapy is crucial for ensuring the complete success of orthopedic surgery. After a surgery, your body needs to heal and it must be trained to regain function in the affected area. This is why our physical therapy specialists are committed to working alongside our surgeons to effectively treat everyone who walks through our door.

The Importance of Orthopedic Surgeons and Physical Therapists Working Together

Every condition is unique, and every surgical procedure is unique as well. Therefore, it is essential for the physical therapy that a person undergoes post-operation to be specifically tailored to their individual condition and procedure.

In order to ensure that they are developing the most effective physical therapy routine possible, our physical therapists work closely alongside our orthopedic surgeons to better understand the patient’s condition, the procedure that was performed and its outcome. Rather than taking a cookie-cutter approach to physical therapy, our therapists will design a physical therapy plan that is tailored specifically to you. Because of this, the surgical procedures at Southeast Orthopedic Specialists and the physical therapy that follows them are able to be much more effective at treating and healing a range of orthopedic conditions. This combined with the expertise of the physical therapists at Southeast Orthopedic Specialists allows us to provide exceptional care to each of our patients.

Enhancing Patient Outcomes Through Effective Physical Therapy

At Southeast Orthopedic Specialists, our approach to physical therapy is uniquely designed to enhance patient outcomes and dramatically improve the chances of success. If you would like to discover more about physical therapy at Southeast Orthopedic Specialists, we invite you to learn more about the physical therapists working at our physical therapy facility in Jacksonville FL today.