san diego orthopedic surgeon

Smart Tips for Elbow Pain

As an orthopedic specialist and sports medicine expert, many of the people I see in my practice are already in pain, injured, or suffering from diminished movement. In other words: it’s too late to prevent the problem.

Yet prevention is always preferable to treatment for bone and joint pain, which is why, from time to time, I like to pass along resources such as this one.

The page includes a few handy tips to prevent pain altogether. Although it is targeted at active individuals who like to work out, the biomechanical principles are widely applicable. You can use these tips no matter how often you hit the gym.

Along with some good advice about avoiding the bench press is this:

Tightened up wrists, elbows and shoulders can be very risky and can cause a tear in the soft tissues that make up their joints. . . .One simple way to avoid this to fully stretch your elbows and bend the front side of your hand towards yourself and then repeat the exercise by bending your hands in the opposite direction.

If you want help for elbow pain from one of the nation’s top sports medicine specialists, call Dr. William Holland to learn more today.

Good News for Elbow Pain

Pain treatment has always been something of a mystery in American medicine; some patients respond well to painkillers, while others suffer with chronic pain for years at a time.

Part of the issue has been our diagnostic tools: it’s not unusual for imaging to tell one story, while functional testing may tell another. All of which is prelude to this promising announcement, which suggests we are making some important progress in our ability to understand and treat specific types of elbow pain:

For medial elbow pain, the combination of stress ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography is associated with improved specificity, sensitivity, and diagnostic accuracy compared with either modality alone, according to a study published in the June issue of Radiology.

In other words, when we look at pain through two accurate lenses at once, we can often develop a more accurate diagnosis, leading to more individualized and effective care.

If you have been experiencing elbow pain in San Diego and want to work with the best orthopedist for pain of the shoulder, elbow hand and wrist, please don’t wait. Contact Dr. Bill Holland for an expert workup today.

http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/radiol.2015151256
http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/63896

How Much Does Knee Surgery Cost?

We live in a world where the actual costs of many medical procedures get hidden behind insurance copays and complex accounting. But many patients rightly want to know what their orthopedic surgery procedures actually cost – both for the system, and for their own pocketbooks.

There is little consistency in the fees charged for comparable orthopedic surgeries as you travel from place to place. This damning article includes some eye-opening discrepancies that cannot be explained through property values or practice size alone:

At my San Diego orthopedic practice, we make every effort to keep our prices reasonable and to serve our patients well within their means, for knee surgery, shoulder surgery, elbow surgery, and pediatric orthopedic care. To schedule your own rational diagnosis with the best orthopedic surgeon in San Diego, start here.

Using the Web to zero in on any medical specialist can be fraught and confusing, especially if you are looking for a San Diego orthopedic surgeon. The medical Web is a poorly organized mix of research and reviews, and too many people rely on cold information friend without surveying all their options first.

There is a better way, beyond reviews and recommendations, to locate an expert orthopedic surgeon: check the transcript. More specifically, look at each candidate’s bona fides – education, fellowships and faculty positions – to get a good overview of the most qualified and respected individuals in each field.

For instance:

Dr. Holland is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is a member of the California Medical Society as well as the San Diego County Medical Society, and has performed research in the fields of sports medicine and pediatric orthopaedics, and presented papers at a number of national and international meetings.

As an orthopedic expert, I focus on ailments including knee pain, elbow pain, shoulder pain, and a variety of pediatric orthopedic symptoms – all specialties born out my many years of training.

If you’d like to work with one of the best regarded orthopedic surgeons in Southern California, and the credentials suit what you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact my offices today.

When to See a San Diego Orthopedic Surgeon

Anyone who has ever dealt with chronic pain knows it can hard to assess when the treatment should escalate. After all, we’ve gotten pretty good at managing chronic pain with therapy, steroids and painkillers. But each of these approaches has serious limitations: in the case of drugs, for instance, there are very real dangers to maintaining a high dose of powerful narcotics.

Orthopedic surgery is the next logical step for most patients. Unlike ongoing medication designed to manage the pain, surgery gets at the root of the problem, relieving the primary issue. If damage to your muscle, cartilage or tendons has become so advanced that the body can no longer heal itself, then it’s time for orthopedic surgery.

As a San Diego orthopedic surgeon, I see many patients complaining of shoulder pain, elbow pain, hand and wrist pain, or knee pain. Each of these may be caused in turn by any of several dozen causes, from arthritis to cancer. The only way to know for sure where the is to conduct a full diagnostic assessment here in the office.

If your chronic pain has graduated to something you can no longer simply manage, it’s time to visit an orthopedic surgeon. Call Dr. William Holland to get a full evaluation today.

Better Treatment for Shoulder Injuries

Shoulder injuries can be notoriously complicated to rehab, especially when the injury involves multiple musculoskeletal systems. It is no wonder that an entire industry has cropped up to handle therapy and rehabilitation for injuries such as these, as shoulder recovery can be an exacting science.

Now some medical researchers believe they may have found a better way: robot rehab. A new line of exoskeleton systems designed to learn and repeat specific motions has proven a boon to some patients i physical therapy for shoulder pain:

According to the main researcher, Cecilia García Cena, simulating the skeletal system is not enough to develop this exoskeleton, it is needed to incorporate both the kinematics and dynamics of a complete model that takes into account the skeletal system, muscles, tendons and ligaments. All these elements are included in the new intelligent robotic system.

Time will tell if this system is versatile enough for different injuries, or whether it proves safe in larger trials. Still, this announcement is a harbinger of the time when physical therapy can be done in the home, safely and alone.

If your shoulder pain won’t go away and your robot steward has the day off, please contact the San Diego orthopedic offices of Dr. William Holland.

Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon in San Diego

Pediatric orthopedic surgery is a different animal from adult orthopedic surgery. Beyond the fact that adults possess many emotional skills that children do not, there is also the fact that operating on a growing body presents a unique set of challenges.

Bones that are extending and ligaments that are stretching require a level of care and expertise that adult anatomy does not. Pediatric surgery is primarily interested not just in how to heal, but in how to help patients grow without undue pain or inhibited movement. Pediatric orthopedic surgeons must therefore consider not just the clear present, but the hazy future as well.

As a San Diego orthopedic surgeon, I take great care with my younger patients, walking kids and their parents through every step of each procedure. Whether your child has suffered a knee injury, shoulder injury, or elbow/wrist injury, my staff and I take the time to communicate the best options and set every family on a path toward effective recovery.

If your child has suffered an injury that requires expert pediatric surgical care in San Diego, please contact my offices here today.

Do I Need Orthopedic Knee Surgery?

“Do I need orthopedic knee surgery” is a question many athletes and active people have asked in the wake of a traumatic injury such as a bang, twist or hyperextension. Although this is a question with no easy answers, we know a few ways that may help you gauge the severity of what you’re up against and make an educated guess.

Generally speaking, a fracture will require knee surgery to repair the damage and ensure a proper course of recovery. The plan gets a bit murkier when it comes to soft tissue injuries, however, including the dreaded ACL tear. Depending on the position and severity of the injury, many of these cases will require some form of arthroscopic knee surgery to restore full function as well.

Further injuries such as meniscal tears, ligament injuries and torn tendon can go either way depending on the gravity of the injury and the lifestyle of the patient. As a general rule, it is wise to find a San Diego orthopedic surgeon who can examine the injury and help you determine a proper course of action about what to do next.

My orthopedic surgery offices include the very latest technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of knee pain and knee injuries in San Diego. If you have wondered whether orthopedic knee surgery is right for you, please feel free to contact me today and set up a detailed consultation.

Ask a San Diego Orthopedic Surgeon: How to Beat Shoulder Pain?

One of the most common questions we hear from patients is a simple one: How can I relieve chronic shoulder pain? Below, we have included a few short answers which might be helpful.

1. The first answer is also the easiest: rest. Many shoulder symptoms happen because of stress or strain to the tendons and ligaments of the shoulder. Your body’s natural healing processes should kick in if given a chance, so try taking several days off of heavy exercise and lifting, and icing the shoulder when it becomes inflamed.

2. Analgesics. Injuries such as rotator cuff disorders and tears, as well as shoulder instability and frozen shoulder, tend to produce acute pain that isn’t helping you get better. There is no shame in seeking out painkillers for this issue, either in the form of NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, or prescription pain medications. Of course, these tend to be stopgap approaches; read on for a more permanent fix.

3. Steroids. Corticosteroids can quickly relieve severe pain, but there’s a catch: many tissues in the body react adversely to too many steroid injections over time. Again, these powerful medication represent an effective treatment for severe pain, but hardly a long-term fix. For that you need…

4. Shoulder surgery. If you have experienced shoulder pain that persists for weeks or months, it is time to speak with a San Diego orthopedic surgeon about some options for lasting recovery. Depending on the injury and your needs, your surgeon can tailor a course of arthroscopic surgery and recovery that may help you beat back the pain for good.

If you cannot bear the chronic shoulder pain any longer, we can help. Contact San Diego’s shoulder surgery experts here to get started today.

Exercising Through the Pain: An Orthopedic Surgeon’s Perspective

The old advice about resting up after an injury has largely been discarded by now, replaced by a more robust set of guidelines designed to maintain flexibility and bone mass. No longer do athletes spend a few months convalescing after a knee or shoulder injury; in many cases they are back to rehab and exercise within a matter of days.

But every injury has its own origins, and sometimes the worst mistake you can make is to go too fast too soon. Comprehensive advice is needed for active people who want to stay strong without injuring themselves. This article provides a nice start.

Along with some good exercise recommendations for the knee, back and wrist, it includes this sane paragraph on what to do when you are experiencing chronic shoulder pain:

“Concentrate on upper back and scapula exercises,” says Edmond Cleeman, a surgeon at Manhattan Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group who specializes in knees and shoulders. “Most concentrate on just chest and arms. Upper back muscles are critical as they control the scapula—which is part of the shoulder! So: Do machine rows, single arm dumbbell rows, reverse flys, TRX, and avoid pull-ups—they can aggravate the shoulder.”

And if you want an even more complete treatment and recovery plan for shoulder pain in San Diego? Contact my offices here.