Shoulder
Non-operative treatment for labrum tears proven to be just as effective as surgery
Superior labrum anterior posterior (SLAP) tears, which can be extremely painful and debilitating injuries, occur most frequently in athletes who participate in overhead sports such as baseball, tennis and swimming. Treatment options are typically reserved to surgical intervention or the non-operative route of physical therapy and medication, though research is minimal on the latter. To better establish an understanding of the non-surgical option, a case series was performed and the results showed that treatment without surgery provided outcomes that were very similar to those from surgical intervention, suggesting that surgery is not always necessary.
Shoulder muscles with pendulum exercises and light activities during rotator cuff rehab
Tears and other injuries to the rotator cuff are seen in a variety of sports and usually occur due to the stress that repetitive throwing motion puts on the shoulder. Some studies claim that 75% of patients who repair large rotator cuff tears will go on to re-tear their rotator cuff in the future, meaning proper rehab is extremely important. One study sought to get a better understanding of activities that could be harmful to a healing shoulder, and found that the commonly prescribed pendulum exercises, when done incorrectly, as well as drinking out of a water bottle, could have a detrimental effect on shoulder rehab and should be performed with caution.
The effects of exercise intervention on elite swimmers posture
Swimmers who compete at a competitive level rotate their shoulders an average of 16,000 times a week, a motion that over time can have serious complications and lead to sidelining injuries. Consequently, some studies show that as many as 47% of collegiate swimmers report pain, or swimmer's shoulder, for three weeks or more at some point in their career. Exercise interventions aimed at strengthening weak muscles and stretching tight ones are believed to alleviate pain and reduce the risk for injury, and to better understand the potential benefits of such an intervention, a study was performed on a group of Division I collegiate swimmers.
An investigation of physical therapy intervention for adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)
Adhesive capsulitis, also known as frozen shoulder, is a condition defined by pain, stiffness and a reduced range of motion and can have long-term implications if left untreated. The amount of research on nonsurgical treatments such as physical therapy for the disorder is extremely small, prompting a group to conduct an extensive randomized control trial that evaluated the effectiveness of specific therapy interventions. Certain interventions were shown to be beneficial while others proved more likely to impede rehabilitation rather than help it.
Innovative developments on the horizon for rotator cuff injuries
The rotator cuff, a network of tendons and muscles in the shoulder that enable shoulder movement, remains one of the more commonly-injured areas of the body, with 3 to 4 million Americans visiting physicians yearly for cuff-related issues. Injuries may occur due to repetitive use--usually in sports like tennis, football or baseball--and can also stem from bone spurs or the aging process. While minor injuries to the rotator cuff are typically treated with physical therapy or anti-inflammatory medications alone, tears of any significant degree require surgery.
Carrying the world upon their shoulders: Handbags and their weight