"Fracture Putty" Envisioned for Shattered Leg Bones

A biomedical engineering team is forming to develop what would be a revolutionary self-hardening putty made of bioactive nanoporous silicon that could be molded to any shape in order to repair crushed or shattered leg bones.Read more about "Fracture Putty" Envisioned for Shattered Leg Bones)

ACL Injuries with NFL Players | Orthopedics

If you're at all a sports fan, or an athlete yourself, you've probably heard of the anterior cruciate ligament. It's commonly injured. Now a new study shows what happens to NFL players who are sidelined by their acl's, and it's not good news... (Read more about ACL Injuries with NFL Players | Orthopedics)

Alternative to Knee Replacement

For 25 years Robert Reid kept active by practicing karate, playing football, softball, and basketball. But, his love for sports took a toll on his body. Robert developed arthritis in his knees and would need surgery.

Biological Materials Seen Ousting Joint Replacements

Joint replacements are a major dimension of the orthopedics specialty, but they may be replaced in about 15 years by biological products that stimulate tissue and bone growth, according to a leading prognosticator. "We will be a little in the... (Read more about Biological Materials Seen Ousting Joint Replacements)

Brochure Discusses Osteoporosis Drugs' Effect on Jawbone

Older dental patients should not stop taking osteoporosis medications over fear of developing a rare condition in which portions of the jawbone die, a new public-information brochure says.
   
Fear has been rising... (Read more about Brochure Discusses Osteoporosis Drugs' Effect on Jawbone)

Cartilage Transplants Help Repair Shoulder Joints

Doctors are finally beginning to use cartilage transplants to fix damaged shoulder joints instead of relying on arthroscopic surgery or impermanent implants to do the job. But only a few hospitals nationwide have taken up the practice. "For a... (Read more about Cartilage Transplants Help Repair Shoulder Joints)

Discovery Hints At the Immune System's Role in Bone Loss

A new study out of UCLA links high cholesterol and osteoporosis and identifies a new role that the body's immune cells play in bone loss. Published in the Journal Clinical Immunology, the research could lead to immune-based approaches for treating... (Read more about Discovery Hints At the Immune System's Role in Bone Loss)

Drug May Cut Bone Healing Time in Half

A drug that was cleared by the government as a treatment for osteoporosis has demonstrated an ability to help bone fractures in older people heal as quickly as in the young, by stimulating the activity and production of stem cells, according to a... (Read more about Drug May Cut Bone Healing Time in Half)

Drug May Extend Life of Arthritic Knees and Hips

An osteoporosis drug that is the first ever known to prevent cartilage loss following injury to a joint may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to research presented at the American Society for Bone and... (Read more about Drug May Extend Life of Arthritic Knees and Hips)

Elastic Man

We all want to be as flexible as we can be. But sometimes, even this can be too much of a good thing. There’s a relatively rare skeletal condition that cause people to be overly-flexible--and most who have it don’t know it, until bad things... (Read more about Elastic Man)

Getting Sun During Pregnancy May Strengthen Baby's Bones

When women get more sun during the last months of their pregnancies, their babies are likely to have stronger, healthier bones, a benefit that may last their whole lives, a recent study found. The study, conducted in Britain and reported in the... (Read more about Getting Sun During Pregnancy May Strengthen Baby's Bones)

Green Tea May Help Strengthen Bones

Green tea, one of the most popular drinks around the world, may benefit bone health, according to new research from Hong Kong. Researchers suggest it has the potential to help prevent and treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases suffered by... (Read more about Green Tea May Help Strengthen Bones)

High Dose Vitamin D Can Prevent Falls For Seniors Over 65

Elderly people taking a daily supplement of vitamin D at a dose of 700-1000 IU (international unit of measurement) reduce their risk of falling by 19%, according to a study published on bmj.com. Every year, one in three people over aged 65... (Read more about High Dose Vitamin D Can Prevent Falls For Seniors Over 65)

Hip Replacements Fail Due to Implant Irregularities, Infection

Contrary to conventional wisdom, total hip replacements fail just as much, if not more so, from implant dislocation or infection than from the wearing out of the bearing surface, according to recent research. While many thousands of people... (Read more about Hip Replacements Fail Due to Implant Irregularities, Infection)

Hormone Stimulates Bone Stem Cells, May Reverse Osteoporosis

A hormone naturally produced in the body seems to stimulate stem cells to promote bone growth, a recent study revealed. The findings may hold hope for developing new treatments for osteoporosis, a disorder in which the bones lose calcium and... (Read more about Hormone Stimulates Bone Stem Cells, May Reverse Osteoporosis)

How to Save Your Knees From Arthroscopic Surgery

If you have osteoarthritis of the knees, with all of the pain and loss of flexibility that entails, chances are your doctor has recommended arthroscopic surgery. This is a procedure in which the surgeon inserts a scope into the knee and cleans... (Read more about How to Save Your Knees From Arthroscopic Surgery)

Human Stem Cells Return Motor Function to Paralyzed Rats

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego report that experimental rats recovered from blood flow related paralysis after receiving grafts of human spinal stem cells. When damage occurs due to loss of blood flow to the spine's... (Read more about Human Stem Cells Return Motor Function to Paralyzed Rats)

Inhibiting a Protein Prevents Bone Loss

A new drug inhibits a protein necessary for the formation and function of cells that break down bone, a recent study showed, a development that may have important repercussions for the treatment of diseases that involve bone loss, such as... (Read more about Inhibiting a Protein Prevents Bone Loss)

Insight Into Faster Healing of Seniors' Broken Bones

As people age, bone healing becomes slower and poorer. But a new drug may provide hope of restoring to seniors the rapid bone healing of youth, according to a recent study.
   
The research, which is presented in the... (Read more about Insight Into Faster Healing of Seniors' Broken Bones)

Knee Cartilage Damage Raises Osteoarthritis Risk

A recent study of middle-aged and elderly patients showed that damage to the cushioning cartilage in the knee can often lead to osteoarthritis. The cartilage is known as the meniscus. Actually, there are two menisci, one on the inside of the knee... (Read more about Knee Cartilage Damage Raises Osteoarthritis Risk)

Long, Skinny Muscle Found Crucial to Healthy Spine

A pencil-thin, roughly 2-foot-long muscle running from the base to the top of the spine is composed of a novel "scaffolding" of fibers that strengthen and support the back, a recent research study has shown. "The multifidus muscle was formerly... (Read more about Long, Skinny Muscle Found Crucial to Healthy Spine)

MRI Excels at Detecting Wrist Ligament Tears

The most advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine is nearly as effective as going in surgically to detect tears in wrist ligaments, according to a recent study. The author of the paper in the American Journal of Roentgenology, Thomas... (Read more about MRI Excels at Detecting Wrist Ligament Tears)

Massage Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis

No one said getting old is all fun. After 40 or 50 or 60 years of walking, running, and playing sport, the knees start to wear down. Make no mistake, osteoarthritis is a serious condition. It limits what people can do, affects quality of life,... (Read more about Massage Therapy for Knee Osteoarthritis)

Metal-Particle Inflammation Causes Joint-Implant Failure

The very joint implants that bring pain relief and restore freedom of motion to patients’ extremities can be their own undoing, setting off a metal-induced immunological defense mechanism that causes the implants to loosen and fail,... (Read more about Metal-Particle Inflammation Causes Joint-Implant Failure)

Moderate Drinking Seems to Improve Bone Density

Drinking a glass or two of wine or beer a day appears to build bone density even better than calcium does, a recent study demonstrated – though drinking more, and consuming spirits instead of low-alcohol drinks, has the opposite... (Read more about Moderate Drinking Seems to Improve Bone Density)

Myths and Facts About Back Pain

While the common cold claims the most sick days among U.S. workers under age 45, lower back pain comes in a strong second, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In addition, it says, some 80 percent of adults are expected to... (Read more about Myths and Facts About Back Pain)

New Bone-Marrow-Cell Therapy Aids Spine Repair

Injecting a patient’s own bone-marrow stem cells into the spine using multiple routes helps to restore some function and quality of life to victims of spinal cord injury with no objectionable side effects, a recent study revealed.Read more about New Bone-Marrow-Cell Therapy Aids Spine Repair)

Orthopedic and Dental Implants Aided by New Coating

A newly developed electrochemical process for coating metal implants vastly improves their functionality, longevity, and integration into the body, according to research conducted at Tel Aviv University. The new process has the potential to... (Read more about Orthopedic and Dental Implants Aided by New Coating)

Osteoporosis Drug Danger

There is a growing number of cases of a disturbing complication to the bone building medications like fosamax. Those taking the drugs are at an increased risk of horrible breakdown of the jaw after dental procedures. This was first noticed... (Read more about Osteoporosis Drug Danger)

Plaster Casts Speed Sprain Recovery

    Contradicting long-standing traditional notions that sprained ankles can best be healed through tubular bandages and “walking it off,” a recent study showed that full-immobilization plaster casts work far better... (Read more about Plaster Casts Speed Sprain Recovery)

Saving Bone Cancer Patients' Limbs

Bone cancer is rare, but up till recently if it was diagnosed in a limb, it almost certainly meant an amputation. But that has changed with the advent of internal prosthetics that can replace the diseased bone. Surgeons can now reconstruct a... (Read more about Saving Bone Cancer Patients' Limbs)

Seatbelt Plus Airbag Use Reduces Spine Fractures

When seatbelts and airbags are used together, victims of motor-vehicle accidents suffer spine fractures at a 33 percent lower rate than those using neither device, a recent study has shown. And use of the two restraints in combination cuts the... (Read more about Seatbelt Plus Airbag Use Reduces Spine Fractures)

Seventy Percent of Children Low In Vitamin D

Seven out of ten children in the US have low levels of vitamin D, putting them at greater risk of eventually suffering from bone disease high blood pressure and other heart disease risk factors, according to research published in the online... (Read more about Seventy Percent of Children Low In Vitamin D)

Six Ways to Lower Hip-Fracture Rates

Adopting a set of aggressive guidelines to manage patients with osteoporosis, or “bone-thinning,” can lower hip-fracture rates by more than 37 percent, a recent study showed.
   
Fractures in hip bones made... (Read more about Six Ways to Lower Hip-Fracture Rates)

Source of Out-of-Control Bone Growth Discovered

A condition in which there is radically abnormal bone growth stems from bone-forming cells that line blood vessels deep within skeletal muscle tissue, not, as would have been expected, from muscle stem cells, according to a recent study. It... (Read more about Source of Out-of-Control Bone Growth Discovered)

Stem Cell Cartilage Offers Hope to Osteoarthritis Sufferers

Cartilage grown from stem cells in a laboratory may one day repair damaged knees, according to research from UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering. Lead author, Kyriacos Athanasiou and his team used adult stem cells from bone marrow and... (Read more about Stem Cell Cartilage Offers Hope to Osteoarthritis Sufferers)

Synthetic Bone May Assist Implant Surgery

British scientists have created a dissolvable ceramic bone substitute that, through a technique for building automobile catalytic converters, can be made highly porous so that natural bone cells can infiltrate it and use it as scaffolding for... (Read more about Synthetic Bone May Assist Implant Surgery)

The Shoulder and Its Many Sources of Pain

With all the extraordinary array of muscles, bones, ligaments and nerves that cluster in the shoulder, it's sometimes called the "spaghetti junction" of our bodies. And with this dizzying array of layered elements, it's not surprising that the... (Read more about The Shoulder and Its Many Sources of Pain)

Understanding Slipped Disc | Symptoms, Causes, Treatments

What is a Slipped Disc?

One of the most common injuries to the spine is slipped or a herniated disk. This condition may be extremely painful and may damage surrounding muscle and... (Read more about Understanding Slipped Disc | Symptoms, Causes, Treatments)

Waiting May Reduce Need for Back Surgery

New studies demonstrate that waiting may be the best alternative to back surgery. Approximately 1.5 million back surgeries are performed worldwide. These surgeries are performed to address painful problems associated with slipped or misaligned... (Read more about Waiting May Reduce Need for Back Surgery)

Weight Loss Can Help Reduce Chance of Knee Osteoarthritis

There's another good reason to lose even a moderate amount of weight: it could reduce your chance of developing knee osteoarthritis, according to data from a large ongoing study at the University of North Carolina. People who are overweight and... (Read more about Weight Loss Can Help Reduce Chance of Knee Osteoarthritis)

Young Athletes Avoid Injuries With Warm-up Routines

A simple set of new warm-up exercises provides young athletes considerable protection against season-ending knee injuries, according to a recent sports-medicine study. The findings, presented by scientists at the University of North Carolina at... (Read more about Young Athletes Avoid Injuries With Warm-up Routines)

Your First Visit

By Tauseef Ahmed, MD, FACP Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology / Hematology at New York Medical College Your tests have come back. The news is not good and your doctor refers you to a specialist. Oncologist, Orthopedist,... (Read more about Your First Visit)