The most common and feared injury in sports like football, soccer, and basketball – where you're twisting and turning, accelerating and decelerating, jumping, pivoting, and changing direction – is the ACL injury. In short, the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) plays a critical role in stabilizing your knee joint. While any injury on the field or court is an unexpected accident, … Read More
Common Causes of Knee Pain
The knee joint is a very complex joint. It is a common cause of pain for all people of all ages. There are many causes of knee pain ranging from acute/traumatic injuries to chronic wear and tear of the joint. This article will briefly discuss some of the more common causes of knee pain that may require orthopedic evaluation. Ligamentous … Read More
3 Simple Solutions to Help Combat Chronic Pain
Chronic pain – the type of pain that can stay with us for months, years, and even decades – effects most Americans at some point in their lives. And chronic pain does not discriminate. Athletes, desk jockeys, and even stay-at-home parents can all experience this type of pain. For example, basketball players who are constantly lifting their arms overhead may … Read More
Don’t Shrug Off Shoulder Pain! – Alive & Well Presentation 10/12/16
Rotator cuff injuries don’t just happen to athletes. They’re a common – and potentially life-changing – problem for adults of all ages. A rotator cuff injury may start as a dull ache in your shoulder, but it can quickly progress into a painful, hard-to-heal problem affecting your sleep and limiting your daily activity. Join Spiro N. Papas, MD, UPMC Orthopaedic … Read More
Injured Olympian Helps Team Qualify For Team Competition & Becomes A Hero For His Country
25-year-old German Olympic gymnast, Andreas Toba, becomes a country's hero after tearing his ACL during the men's floor event, and then hours later completing his pommel horse event to help Germany advance to the next round! Even though Germany finished 7th in the team all-around and did not medal, this act of bravery will go in history and Toba will … Read More
Top 3 Summer Olympic Injuries Go To:
Did you know that 1 in 10 Olympians will get hurt during the games? According to a study at the University of Oslo in Norway, about three quarters of the injuries occur during some phase of competition and one quarter occur during warm-ups or on-site training. In addition, the study shows that Summer athletes tend to injury their legs, while … Read More
3 Precautions for Playing Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go is a new smart phone game that has taken the world by storm with tens of millions of users from around the globe playing on a daily basis. In short, it's an augmented reality game that allows you to look at your screen and see Pokémon hanging around in real life locations – from your backyard to Kennywood … Read More
4 Reasons Aging Athletes Are More Prone to Injury
No one enjoys the aging process – especially athletes! After all, athletes, no matter what age they are, enjoy getting out on the field, court, rink, etc. and playing the game they love so much. What's even worse for athletes, however, is the fact that our bodies begin to break down as we age, and this “break down” increases the … Read More
The Benefits of Minimally Invasive Techniques in Orthopedic Surgery
The first arthroscopy (a minimally invasive surgery technique we use to see inside a joint) was performed in the early 1900's. Since then, technological advances have allowed the medical community to create new and better minimally invasive techniques to help patients heal faster with less pain. Common arthroscopic surgeries are performed on the shoulder joint and knee joint, but those … Read More
Obesity and Total Joint Surgery
Obesity can pose many problems when it comes to orthopedic issues and orthopedic surgery. Not only can obesity worsen or accelerate the progression of many orthopedic conditions, such as arthritis, but obesity is also associated with an increase in surgical complications. Obesity is defined as a BMI (Body Mass Index) greater than 30 and extreme obesity is defined as a … Read More