Therapeutic Ultrasound for the Shoulder: Is there evidence?

THERAPEUTIC ULTRASOUND IN THE TREATMENT OF SHOULDER CONDITIONS: IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE?  Perhaps one of the most grossly overused and potentially misrepresented modalities used on patients is ultrasound.  Unfortunately, many of my PT colleagues use this a ton and the chiropractic community abuses it as well.  Little evidence supports its use.  The FDA has approved [...]

Slap Tears: What are they and what to do?

So I realized that I have missed mentioning a key injury in the shoulder, particularly in overhead athletes. Interestingly, we’ve only known about what this injury actually is since the early 80’s. SLAP stands for Superior Labrum Anterior-Posterior. You may recall (if you’ve read my other posts) that the shoulder is like a golf ball [...]

Interesting rotator cuff study, hot off the press!!

One of the more hotly contested topics in orthopedics is whether or not to repair a rotator cuff tear in the older population. Some people manage just fine without having a repair. It is generally accepted that with each passing decade of life, repair of the rotator cuff becomes increasingly difficult. Furthermore, many studies have [...]

To repair or not to repair the rotator cuff?

To repair or not to repair:  Case study on a rotator cuff tear in an elderly male  I recently had a case where an elderly gentleman (late 60’s, early 70’s) had a confirmed rotator cuff tear on MRI but managed just fine with physical therapy.  This man tore his cuff while fly fishing.  He tripped [...]