Avoid Heat Illness in Athletes.

2011 Texas Football-Concussion article

Listen to the audio from the interview below…
Methodist Minute – Safer Skiing

Knee pain can be related to age, inflammation along growth plates, stress fractures, or even weight issues.

Listen to the audio from the interview below…
Play this “Methodist Minute” audio.

A simple procedure that is completed right in the office, PRP requires drawing blood from the patient and placing it in a centrifuge machine, which separates the patient’s platelets from their blood. Fifteen minutes later, the platelets are injected back into the site of the patient’s injury. The platelets accelerate the healing of injured tissues.

Listen to the audio from the interview below…
PRP Interview on 610

A relatively new procedure, called viscosupplementation, injects a preparation of hyaluronic acid into the knee joint. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in the synovial (joint) fluid. It acts as a lubricant to enable bones to move smoothly over each other and as a shock absorber for joint loads.

People with osteoarthritis (“wear-and-tear” arthritis) have a lower-than-normal concentration of hyaluronic acid in their joints. Viscosupplementation may be a therapeutic option for individuals with osteoarthritis of the knee.

Read more about Viscosupplementation Treatment for Arthritis on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) website.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin are chemicals that the joint cartilage can use as a building block to try to maintain the cartilage’s health. There is also some evidence that the substances act as anti inflammatories. Overall, they seem to be fairly safe and most commercial preparations provide comparable efficacy. Of note, the ideal dosages of Glucosamine and Chondroitin are unknown.

Points of interest and caution:

1. Improvement in symptoms may not be seen for a few months. It requires a steady intake in order for these substances to be effective. This can be somewhat expensive during this trial period when you are unsure if it will actually work.
2. Glucosamine is derived from the shells of shellfish. If you are allergic to shellfish, you should be cautious using preparations containing Glucosamine. However, to my knowledge, there have been no reports of allergic reactions.
3. Chondroitin comes from the cartilage of cows, steers, and bulls. It is theoretically possible that diseases such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease could be transmitted. I emphasize that this has never occurred, but since the supplement industry is not under the supervision of the FDA, it is poorly regulated and quality control is unpredictable.
4. If you have diabetes, you should monitor your blood glucose levels more closely when using Glucosamine. It has been shown to affect insulin resistance.
5. Chondroitin can cause bleeding in people who already have bleeding disorders or those that take blood-thinning medications such as Coumadin or heparin preparations.

Overall, these preparations seem to be extremely safe. Disease transmission has never been reported.

Read more about Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) website.

For more information on throwing injuries please visit: ThrowingInjuries.com

Astros fans have seen Doug Brocail pitch many times from the mound. But last May, he made a play for first that took him off the mound for months.

“When I hit the bag there was a popping sound and I was in excruciating pain,” said Brocail.

At the time, the smallest movements were difficult for Brocail.

“He couldn’t straighten his leg all the way, he couldn’t walk,” said physical therapist Matt Holland.

Brocail had pulled his hamstring from the bone.

“Doug ruptured the hamstring on his landing leg, which is extremely dependent on hamstring strength for a professional pitcher,” said Dr. David Lintner, an orthopedic surgeon at the Methodist Center for Sports Medicine and the Astros’ team physician.

Surgery would have ended Brocail’s season, so Lintner suggested a new treatment called Platelet Rich Plasma Injections, or PRP.

PRP requires drawing blood from the patient and placing it in a centrifuge machine, which separates the patient’s platelets from their blood. Fifteen minutes later, the platelets are injected back into the site of the patient’s injury. The platelets accelerate the healing process.

“It takes an injury that may take three or four weeks to resolve and helps it settle down to a week to 10 days,” said Lintner.

Click here to read the full article on KHOU.com.