Orthopedic Care Tips & Advices

  Although arthroscopic surgery is minimally invasive, it is still performed in an operating room. Depending on the type of procedure, you may have local anesthesia to numb the area, or general anesthesia, where you sleep during the surgery. Surgery is usually done through small incisions to insert an arthroscope into the affected joint. The arthroscope is a pencil-sized surgical instrument with a camera that is projected onto a monitor in the operating room. This allows your surgeon to see the damaged area. To perform the surgery, additional instruments, such as lasers, are inserted through separate small incisions. Once the procedure is complete, your incisions are closed with sterile stitches or strips. You can usually come out of recovery in 1 to 2 hours with care instructions. What are the advantages of arthroscopic surgery? Because arthroscopic procedures are performed through small incisions, arthroscopic surgery can get you back to your favorite activities quickly, with mi...

What are hammer toes? Hammer fingers are a painful deformity of your second, third or fourth finger. The condition causes your toe or several fingers to contract upward and permanently bend in the middle joint. The end of the toe or fingers flexes downward and creates a shape that vaguely resembles a hammer. What causes hammer toes? Hammer toes are caused by imbalances in the strength of themuscles of the lower leg and foot. Your muscles work in pairs to straighten and bend the toes. If your toe bends and stays in the same position for a period of time, then your muscles tense and become unable to stretch. It is believed that poorly fitting and high-heeled shoes play an important role in the development of hammer toes, as they can push the lower toes to a bent position that eventually causes the muscles of the toes Feet are unable to straighten the finger, even when there is no shoe confinement. It is also believed that arthritis, injuries and bunions cause hammer t...