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The "epidemic" of ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries leading to Tommy John surgeries has been the talk of the 2014 baseball season. The topic has been addressed constantly in the past few months. It has recently been a hot topic in New York as well as Yankee’s pitching ace, Masahiro Tanaka, who was coming from the lauded Japanese pitching system, has injured his UCL. My experience treating injuries in adolescent boys and young adults with sports injuries has led me to see this "epi...

Kobe Bryant has been officially shut down by the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the season. A remarkably durable player for most of his career, Kobe tore his left Achilles tendon last spring. He made a remarkably quick recovery for such a devastating injury. However, upon his return, he injured his left knee shortly after his mid-season debut. These are two major injuries for someone without a history of such. In my estimation, the Achilles injury was a direct cause for his subsequent k...

It never ceases to amaze me the level of pain a professional athlete is forced to endure. Granted they are compensated extremely well, but the turnaround from injury time that is expected requires pushing painfully through a fast paced and frequent physical therapy program. Camron Maybin, an outfielder for the San Diego Padres just ruptured his bicep tendon. A ruptured bicep tendon is when the bicep tendon, which attaches the biceps to the radial bone, is torn from the bone. The visual I give my...

As another storm approaches many of you are still dealing with the physical effects of previous shoveling injuries. There is always the significant cardiac cocern. Doing exertive work, especially with your arms, in a cold environment after being sedentary for prior weeks or months is a perfect storm for a heart attack. If you are over 35 years of age and feel pain in your pec region and/or down your left arm, assume the worst and go to the hospital. The most common injuries that I have seen this...

I am frequently told by my patients at their initial physical therapy visit that "my sciatica is acting up".  This is usually said pointing to any body part - hip, knee, shoulder, or back. Sciatica is also one of the most common diagnosis that we see from doctors as well.  Often times though, the injury or at least the pain is not coming from the sciatica.  What is sciatica? Briefly it is the sciatic nerve being compressed or irritated. This can happen from a disc pressing on it o...