Dr. Orvis Hugh Chitwood, M.D.

There are a few simple things that may have caused the persistent mass. You could have developed a small hematoma. There would be a granulomatous reaction which is seen sometimes in foreign body reactions. Essentially the body reacts with inflammatory cells that cause the mass effect. A less likely cause would be an abscess from infection If it remains painful and doesn’t resolve then it might be possible to excise the painful lesion. Your Orthopaedic surgeon should be able to give you the best options

I let my patients drive as soon as they aren’t taking narcotic pain medication. Keep in mind that hands on top of the wheel activate the rotator cuff primarily but not so on the lower part of the wheel. You have to keep safety in mind regardless!!

It depends on the break and how hard you work to push the other pain to get the motion back. I have had patients with horrible injuries get all their motion back and some with minimal injthat lost motion permanently. It’s all about motivation as well as anatomy

Most fractures do not require surgery to heal correctly but they all need protection. Often times players may return to their sport in a protective padded cast. It has to be stayed to evaluate the need for surgery and should ideally be done as soon as reasonably possible

All tears can be treated in a variety of ways. Most need early therapy for range of motion as well as to help with pain and swelling. Depending on the age and activity level of the patient there may be a need for early surgical reconstruction but it isn’t an absolute! There are some people who have ack deficient knees who have very little or no instability symptoms and may not require surgery. In younger or very active patients who have symptomatic instability the reconstruction is indicated. There has never been any demonstration that shows that ack reconstruction stops the occurrence of arthritis in the injured knee but it does reduce the incidence of major meniscal tears in the first five years. There are many ways to reconstruct the act and non have been truly proven to be superior over another. It has more to do with surgeon comfort with a particular technique and a heat deal to do with patient compliance with therapy postoperatively

In general the pain of rheumatoid arthritis is treated with medication. Surgery is the last option for the treatment of pain associated with RA. It is used only when medicine has failed and must have realistic goals set by the patient and surgeon. Surgery is used to improve function as well as help pain which has failed other treatment modalities

Like most things, surgery is the last option. Conservative measures like therapy and injections can help with pain and instability in many cases. When this fails then surgery for most problems related to instability, labral tears and rotator cuff problems are quite successful.

While there are many variables that would push one toward surgery for a disc issue, the best course of treatment is decided as a team with the physician and the patient as equal partners. A second opinion is always a good idea. In general, physical therapy, epidural steroids, oral medications and time can help and should be tried before surgery; but, there are cases where a patient has a particular problem that will not improve with these modalities and is only responsive to surgical intervention. Surgery as a primary course of treatment may also be indicated to stop ongoing nerve damage and dysfunction. In these cases therapy will only delay definitive treatment and cast the patient more money.

This is probably due to a muscular strain. Try spending extra time stretching and build up your pace slowly.

While ACL reconstructions are very popular, the truth is that the incidence of arthritis has not been shown to decrease in those who undergo the surgery compared to those who don't. It is felt by most surgeons that the time to onset of degenerative changes may be delayed by reconstruction and there is solid evidence that individuals who have ACL tears have a dramatically increased risk of sustaining a major meniscal tear within 5 years, if the instability isn't corrected. There is very good evidence that the loss of a majority of a meniscus is devastating to a knee joint, therefore; most of us feel the symptomatic ACT deficient knee is probably better off being stabilized surgically than not, especially in a younger patient.