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…)
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.
What Are the Symptoms of a Torn ACL?
Your ACL is one of the main ligaments in your knee. Ligaments hold joints together and allow the joints to move properly. This gives enough stretch for mobility but enough strength and toughness to hold joints secure. If you’ve torn your ACL, you may have heard or felt a popping sensation in your knee when it occurred. It often happens in sports where you might be stopping quickly, turning, or placing significant force on your knees. Your knee might swell up, feel unstable, and be too painful to walk on. All of these are signs that you might have torn your ACL. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, don’t wait to talk to a doctor. ACL injuries are serious and need to be looked at immediately in order to facilitate the best outcome. A torn ACL almost always requires surgery unless you are an elderly patient with little mobility. In that case it might be better to not risk surgery. Otherwise, surgery is necessary to restore stability and range of motion in the knee.
How to Prevent a Torn ACL
A torn ACL is usually caused during a fitness activity that places stress on the knee. Activities like sudden slowing or stopping and changing direction, pivoting with a foot planted firmly on the ground, landing a jump improperly, or getting hit directly on the knee are all common causes of a torn ACL. You can’t always avoid these motions during sports or physical fitness, so be aware of the risks and make sure you train properly. Also listen to your body and slow down or take a break if your knees are feeling too stressed. Women are also at higher risk than men for experiencing a torn ACL while performing the same activity. If you’re a woman, focus on strengthening your hamstrings and training properly for landing jumps.
What Happens After Surgery?
If you’ve torn your ACL and had to have surgery, be sure that you listen carefully to your doctors instructions for post-op recovery. You may need physical therapy to help restore range of motion. You’ll also need to ease back into your regular physical activity or participation in sports. Patients who’ve had ACL surgery are at greater risk for osteoarthritis in the knee, which may require joint replacement surgery down the road. The severity of your ACL tear as well as what kind of stress and activity is placed on the joint afterwards will determine the likelihood of needing a joint replacement.
To set up an appointment to talk about torn ACL or joint replacement, visit www.se-ortho.com.
Spinal Fusion Surgery for Chronic Back Pain
Most adults suffer from back pain. Don’t let your back pain keep you from working or doing the things you enjoy. Visit a spine care doctor. Tests can determine the cause of your pain. Your doctor will discuss a plan of treatment. Conservative means can be tried, but if you can’t get relief from your chronic pain, your doctor may recommend spinal fusion surgery. From diagnosis to recovery, you can get excellent spine care in Jacksonville, FL. (more…)
4 Things You Didn’t Know about Osteoporosis
You’ve probably heard of osteoporosis. Maybe you even try to get enough calcium in your diet to avoid osteoporosis as you age. There’s a lot more to preventing osteoporosis and understanding it than simply trying to up your calcium intake. Here are four important things you probably didn’t know about osteoporosis. (more…)
An Insight on Shoulder Arthroscopy
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…)
Preventing Golf Injuries: 5 Tips to Consider
Like most sports, golf is a fun activity that people like to indulge in. It may involve fewer activities, but the injuries are inevitable. Majority of people think that golf is a soft sport, but it has both negative and positive impacts on your body. Many golf injuries are a result of long hours swinging the ball while standing in a particular position. It causes several injuries such as lower back pain, wrist or elbow pain to mention a few. Even though the orthopedic clinic in Jacksonville, FL, offers the best treatment, you should learn the various ways of preventing golf injuries. Outlined are five tips to consider while playing golf to avoid injuries. (more…)
Important Things You Should Know about Sciatica
Millions of people experience back pain each year. In fact, studies show that around 80% of the American population will experience back pain at some point during their life. At Southeast Orthopedic Specialists we want to help you understand and treat your back pain. Living with back pain can negatively impact almost all aspects of your life including work, family life, hobbies, and more. We have spine care experts that focus on individualized treatment that will increase your function and decrease your pain. Our team of highly qualified orthopedic experts focuses on both surgical and non-surgical spine treatments so that you can receive exactly what you need, whether that’s physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, or surgery. We’ve seen all kinds of causes for back pain, but one we see frequently is sciatica.
Your sciatic nerve is the longest in your body, starting in your lower back and running down through your hips, buttocks, legs, and feet. As you can imagine, when pressure is placed on this nerve it can cause severe pain in your lower back and down through your lower extremities. Pressure is usually caused by a herniated disk in the spine that pushes against the nerve.
Sciatica will often get better on its own as the swelling in the disk goes down and pressure on the nerve is released. It may take a few weeks, but pain can be managed with over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. If the pain worsens, lasts longer than a few weeks, or is severe enough that over-the-counter medications can’t manage it, then talk to your doctor about your options. Prescription medications, steroid injections, acupuncture, or physical therapy might also help reduce or eliminate your pain.
For more information about sciatica and back pain, visit www.se-ortho.com or set up a consultation with one of our orthopedic experts.
Signs You May Need a Joint Revision Surgery
Total hip and knee replacement surgeries are probably more common than you think. In fact, patients with the need for joint replacement surgery are becoming younger. With more replacement surgeries being performed on younger patients, the need for possible joint revision surgery increases. Hip and knee replacements are generally good for 10-20 years, but with life expediencies lengthening and younger patients getting replacements, this means that it’s very possible that the replacement might wear out. If this happens to you, you’ll want the best orthopedic surgeons in Jacksonville, FL, to evaluate your situation and perform joint revision surgery if necessary. If you’ve had an orthopedic joint replacement, here are some reasons that you might need joint revision surgery. (more…)
Demystifying Myths about Physical Therapy
A study conducted by the American Pain Association revealed that physical therapy is safer, less costly, and more effective than prescription drugs for treating chronic pain. Another study showed that when physical therapy is used as the initial treatment for a back injury, it takes less time and costs less to mend the injury to get back into a normal routine. Despite the positive results that can be achieved through physical therapy, there are myths that may prevent people from seeking this type of treatment for injuries and rehabilitation.
Myth #1: Physical Therapy Requires a Doctor’s Order.
A physician’s referral isn’t required to set up an appointment with a physical therapist. Some states, such as Florida, are considered “direct access” states, meaning you can make an appointment and receive treatment from a physical therapist for 30 days without a referral. Some physical therapists may be employed in an orthopedic specialist’s office, and the doctor can make a direct referral to the physical therapist if your insurance requires it.
Myth #2: Physical Therapy is Painful.
Physical therapists work within a patient’s pain threshold. The injury itself is often painful, and sometimes a patient does feel discomfort in early physical therapy sessions. However, the goal of physical therapy is to heal the injury in order to relieve the pain and improve movement so that the patient can return to normal activity as soon as possible.
Myth #3: Any Healthcare Professional Can Do Physical Therapy.
Physical therapists are licensed, trained professionals. Only those with a license can administer physical therapy services.
Southeast Orthopedic Services provides physical therapy and orthopedic evaluations and treatments to Northeast Florida as well as Southern Georgia. With more than 47 healthcare providers performing orthopedic, chiropractic, and physical therapy services in 6 different convenient locations, pain relief and improved mobility are only a short drive away. Emergency orthopedic care is available on-site, along with state-of-the-art testing and diagnostic services. Southeast Orthopedic Services also offers a physical therapy department providing a full range of orthopedic manual physical therapy for a wide range of rehabilitative treatments. Services include regenerative stem cell and bone marrow grafts to treat osteoarthritis, muscle or tendon tears, and lumbar disc disease. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit the Southeast Orthopedic Services website.
Partial vs Total Knee Replacement: Learn the Difference
The human body is an amazing machine. The musculoskeletal system gives your body form, stability, and mobility. This system, made up of bones, muscles, ligaments, joints, cartilage, and other connective tissues, is truly exceptional. Joints like your knees work endlessly each day for years. While your body can withstand a lot of wear, injury, arthritis, and other issues can cause serious joint damage. If the damage is serious enough, you may need a full or partial joint replacement. If you think you’ll need joint replacement surgery in Jacksonville, FL, you might want to know the difference between a partial and a total knee replacement. (more…)
Checklist to Follow before Hip Replacement Surgery
As people get older or suffer injuries, hip replacement surgery can become inevitable. While it might sound scary, especially for someone who has never had surgery before, it’s a remarkably safe procedure. Patients often experience fantastic results and are immensely pleased with their increased mobility and comfort. But that doesn’t mean that you should ever approach surgery blindly. (more…)
