Tag: san diego orthopedic surgery

How to Prevent Skateboarding Injuries

Skateboarding is very popular among children and teenagers. But since it is an extreme sport, it is practically impossible to prevent an injury from happening. According to OrthoInfo, skateboarding-related injuries accounted for more than 78,000 visits to the emergency room among children and adolescents in 2011.

You can lessen the risk of your child getting an injury by constantly reminding him or her to take safety precautions. Here are some of the things to remind your kid once he or she is about to go skateboarding:

Wear protective gear.

Yes, wearing a helmet is very important, but other parts of the body need to be protected as well. Using protective equipment such as knee and elbow pads, wrist guards, and slip-resistant shoes will reduce fractures, sprains, and bruising as well as prevent gravel burns if your child falls from the skateboard.

Invest in a high-quality skateboard.

The skateboard your child is using should be in a great condition and age-appropriate. It also needs to be checked before every ride to see if there are any loose parts or cracked wheels.

Skate in a controlled environment.

Know where your child is going to skate. Skate parks are the safest places to skate because they are far from pedestrians and vehicle traffic. On the other hand, tell your kid to avoid homemade ramps and crowded places when going skating. Advise your kid to inspect the riding terrain first and to avoid skateboarding in rough or uneven surfaces.

Know your limits.

Advise your child not to ride beyond his or her abilities. Your child might be tempted to try out tricks that they have seen from watching the pros. Advise them against doing advanced skating tricks outside of their skill level without mastering the basics first.

In the event of a skateboarding injury, I highly encourage you to consult with a San Diego orthopedic surgeon to ensure the safety of your child.

Yes, There is Such a Thing as ‘Growing Pains’

The term ‘growing pains’ is not just an expression. What many parents do not know is that this is an actual medical condition experienced by pediatric and adolescent patients.

Growing pains usually happens to children who are experiencing rapid growth. These pains happen in two phases: during early childhood for children between the ages of 3 to 5, and during pre-puberty for children between the ages of 8 to 12.

These growing pains are often experienced by children in their calves, thighs, and knees. They often happen during late afternoons and early evenings, and are typically localized. Most experts attribute them to muscular tiredness, especially if the child has exerted a lot of physical activities for the day.

How to Treat Growing Pains

Since this is a non-traumatic injury, treatment can be done at home by icing and gently massaging the affected area, as well as taking anti-inflammatory drugs and having plenty of rest. The achiness and pain will usually go away overnight.

To prevent this from happening again, I would suggest that you encourage your child to take part in various sports. This way, all the muscle groups in your kid’s body will be given a workout, instead of overstraining the same muscles day in and day out.

When to Seek Professional Treatment

Although ‘growing pains’ are quite common among children, they should not be completely disregarded. If your child’s ‘growing pains’ do not subside and continue to worsen, or if the muscles seem to be overly tender, consider making an appointment with a San Diego pediatric orthopedic doctor.

If these aches and pains remain untreated, they could worsen and lead to a more serious injury. Drop by my clinic to determine if what your kid has is just growing pains, or if it is something else entirely.

Preventing Kids’ Sports Injuries This Spring

Now that spring is here and summer not too far behind, most young people are out there in the sunshine, indulging in their favorite pastimes. And with April being National Youth Sports Safety Month, we need to ensure the safety of our kids when playing sports.

The first few weeks of spring are usually a busy time for us at the clinic because a lot of children get injured at this time of the year. As a San Diego orthopedic surgeon, I’d like to offer some tips that you can implement to prevent sports injuries:

Pre-participation physical examination

Undergoing a PPE will help identify if your kid has a pre-existing medical condition that you may not be aware of, and may affect their ability to play.

Warm-ups and cool-downs

Make sure that your kid sets aside enough time to warm-up before practice and game sessions, and that they get to cool down after. Doing so minimizes the risk of muscle strain and other soft tissue injuries.

Right sporting equipment

Check if the equipment is the right fit and still in great condition. If your child is using an old equipment, it may be time for an upgrade. Many advances have been made in the field of sports equipment which not only improves performance, but prevents injury.

Right transition

If your child has not been playing a lot during winter, it is best that they don’t return to their previous level of exertion right away. Make sure to pace them when playing.

This is especially important if your kid is making the jump from middle school to high school, where the practices can be a lot more demanding than what your kid is normally used to.

If your child does get injured from a sporting event, check for any symptoms that continue to persist. At this point, it is best to consult a pediatric orthopedic to get the right diagnosis and the best treatment.

Prevent Repetitive Stress Injuries with Dr. Holland

As one of the premier orthopedic surgeons in San Diego, I put a lot of focus on prevention. Many of my patients are world-class athletes and soldiers, but many more are office workers, teachers, musicians, and parents. These low-impact jobs can nonetheless have a high impact on the joints, tendons, muscles, and bones they use every day.

We are coming up on International Repetitive Stress Injury Awareness Day, a worldwide event designed to focus attention on these slow-moving but deeply damaging injuries. The event raises awareness for injuries of the neck, back, hands, elbows, shoulders, and wrists. Basically any body part that can be hurt by overuse in an unnatural or stressful position.

The most basic and important thing you can do to prevent RSIs is to create better working conditions: proper posture and support for office drones, and better lifting and gripping protocols for manual laborers. Also, rest:

Prevention of RSIs should focus on eliminating repetitive work through job design which may involve mechanizing certain tasks. In addition, jobs should be structured so that workers can rotate between different tasks, using different muscles groups.

The San Diego Orthopedic Surgery Center offers superior treatment for RSIs and their precursors. Better help is just a phone call away. Call us and prevent a life-altering repetitive stress injury today.

Treating Elbow Pain in San Diego

Treating elbow pain begins with a proper diagnosis.

Elbow pain can take many forms, and arise from a wide array of causes. Issues such as bursitis, sprain and arthritis may be difficult to distinguish from one another, and even harder to resolve. When you visit an experienced orthopedic specialist, you’ll receive a full workup, and your doctor will take a personal health history to provide definitive answers.

Treating elbow pain can be as simple as ice and rest, or as involved as a surgical procedure. The surest way to move toward a successful outcome is to discuss your options with your specialist, and to ask as many questions as you can about the pros, cons, and lasting effects of each choice. When it’s time to relieve that elbow pain for good, you should be in secure in the knowledge that you understand your options and have designed a realistic plan for recovery.

I can help. Contact the San Diego orthopedic surgery offices to schedule your consultation today.

Watch for Shoulder Pain in Young Athletes

In my San Diego orthopedic surgery practice, I see a lot of younger patients who come in with shoulder pain and elbow pain. Although a few of these cases are attributable to disease or injury, the majority are due to repetitive strain from pitching, throwing, weightlifting, or some other athletic-related activity.

When soreness grows progressively intense, permanent injury may not be far behind. That’s why I counsel parents and coaches to limit the number of reps and the frequency of hard workouts young people perform whenever possible. There is no substitute for rest and gentle exercise when recovering from chronic pain. As this article explains:

The shoulder joint can also be affected when developing a bursitis. There are other sports that contribute to the shoulder rotator cuff injuries, including swimming, tennis and weightlifting, all of which can cause a shoulder impingement or tendonitis.

Shoulder pain in young athletes can quickly graduate to chronic pain within a few years. To minimize long term damage and extend sports careers for decades to come, I urge you to see an orthopedic shoulder pain specialist in San Diego.

Diagnosing Elbow Pain and Shoulder Pain in San Diego

One of my jobs as an expert in orthopedic surgery is to work with athletes to understand the source of their pain. Pain is a natural byproduct of playing hard, of course, and most people expect a little soreness after a particularly rigorous day on the field, court or pitch.

But how can you tell when typical soreness has graduated to something that may require a medical or surgical intervention?

This article address this fundamental question, exploring the sources of each pain type to help patients better assess when they may have a significant problem on their hands. Money quote:

Pain that does not go away with rest is not normal. Pain that begins to affect your function outside of sports, such as walking or sleeping, is not normal. Pain that is constant or increasing over time and does not go away is not normal. Pain that does not improve with treatment may be something to be concerned about. Pain that requires increasing amounts of pain medication over time is not normal, and you should consider seeing a physician. Pain that begins to wake you from your sleep is also a concern, especially if it increases over time.

The good news is that every pain has a cause, and every cause can be addressed through a combination of medical care and surgical intervention. My San Diego orthopedic surgery practice offers excellent care for elbow pain, shoulder pain, and knee pain, as well as holistic care for your entire active lifestyle.

To learn more or set up an appointment, reach out to the pain experts today.

Labral Tears and Shoulder Pain

At AOSM, we assist patients with a wide variety of shoulder injuries and shoulder pain. Typically when we write about these injuries, we list the most common culprits and assure you that they can be resolved surgically if necessary. But sometimes I like to drill down and take a closer look at a single shoulder injury, offering a guide to how it happens and how it may improve.

Labral tears are some of the most frequent injuries in sports. When someone falls on an arm and overextends a shoulder, or catches herself in a sudden overhead reaching motion, a tear may result in the tissue surrounding the shoulder socket. This page includes some basic symptoms you’ll want to watch out for, including:

  • Pain, usually with overhead activities
  • Catching, locking, popping, or grinding
  • Occasional night pain or pain with daily activities
  • A sense of instability in the shoulder
  • Decreased range of motion
  • Loss of strength

Labral tears are revealed through CT or MRI scans, and may require surgery if the trauma is too great to recover on its own. Arthroscopic shoulder surgery is the preferred means of correcting the tear, typically through removing the torn flap and repairing any tendons which have grown unstable.

It is a familiar procedure which comes with a high success rate: many patients are able to return to their normal lives within a few months. My San Diego orthopedic surgery practice specializes in labral tear surgery and a variety of cutting edge interventions for chronic shoulder pain. To learn more, please call or write us today.