OSTEOPOROSIS
Published July 28, 2024 | 
Osteoporosis means “porous bone.” It is a major health threat for more than 20 million people in the United States, mostly older women. As the name suggests, it makes bones less dense and less solid. They become brittle and easy to break.
Osteoporosis is the leading cause of fractures among Americans over 45. In that age group, most fractures happen in the spine, wrist, ribs, and hip. Vertebrae-the bones of the spine-may develop networks of tiny cracks called crush or spinal compression fractures. Crush fractures can lead to back pain, loss of height, and the rounded upper back known as dowager’s hump. Any of these can be the first sign of osteoporosis. Continue reading
SPRAINS AND STRAINS
Published July 28, 2024 | A sprain or strain can happen any time-while you’re playing sports, working in the garden, even sleeping in an odd position. These injuries come on when you put sudden or prolonged stress on tissues near your joints.
A sprain is a tear or stretch in a ligament, the tough tissue band that connects the bones of a joint. Sprains are common in the ankles, knees, wrists, and fingers. A strain (also called a pulled muscle) is a tear or stretch in a muscle or a tendon, the chordlike tissue that connects muscles to bones and to other muscles. Strains often occur in the neck, back, thigh, and calf. Continue reading
Marfan’s syndrome
Published April 18, 2024 | Marfan’s syndrome is a disorder of the connective tissue in the body. It involves tissue in areas such as the eye, skeletal system and blood vessels. As your question implies, it’s an inherited disorder. Marfan’s is the result of a defective gene that controls the formation of a protein in connective tissue. The pattern of inheritance is called autosomal dominant, meaning that it can occur in either sex, and can be inherited from one parent who has the disorder. The disorder was first recognized by a French pediatrician, Antonin Marfan. Continue reading
Osgood-Schlatter
Published April 18, 2024 | Osgood-Schlatter disease is an orthopedic problem that commonly affects children between the ages of 11 and 14 years. It involves the leg just below the knee cap where the tendon inserts into a boney prominence, the tibial tubercle. It has been attributed to a problem with bone growth and development. However, recent evidence based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans suggests it may be a form of tendon inflammation. In any event, the symptoms are primarily pain in the affected area and swelling just below the knee cap. It may occur on both legs. Fortunately, the problem usually does not require extensive x-rays or other diagnostic tests and disappears later in adolescence without treatment. Pain may require that your nephew reduce strenuous physical activity but there is rarely any long-term discomfort or significant disability.
Osteoporosis
Published April 18, 2024 | Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which bones become thinner and more porous (see diagram 1). It is usually a painless disease until a bone breaks or fractures. Fractures are the most common result of osteoporosis. More than 1.5 million osteoporosis-related fractures occur each year in the United States, mostly in older women. These fractures are usually in the spine, hip and wrist.
What causes osteoporosis? Continue reading
What is a popliteal cyst
Published April 18, 2024 | A popliteal cyst, also known as a Baker’s cyst, is due to a collection of fluid from the knee joint (synovial fluid) in a thin, membranous sac behind the knee. It is not related to a blood clot.
It usually appears as a swelling that may increase with standing and cause discomfort behind the knee and into the upper calf, especially when the knee is flexed.
Pseudoclaudication
Published April 18, 2024 | Question:
I’ve been told based on an angiogram that I have pseudoclaudication. It has worsened to the point where I cannot walk more than one block without severe lower leg pain. Can you provide information on causes, treatment and prognosis? Continue reading
Spinal stenosis
Published April 18, 2024 | Stenosis is a medical term for narrowing. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that contains the spinal cord and spinal nerves within the vertebral column (spine). The condition usually involves the lower (lumbar) spine. The cause of the problem is often degenerative disease (osteoarthritis) of the vertebrae, although it may be related to a congenital defect. Continue reading