An Athlete’s Guide to Managing Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative arthritis, is the most common form of arthritis that results in the breakdown of cartilage. People who overwork their joints or have experienced a joint injury in the past have a greater risk of suffering from osteoarthritis. Its resulting pain and inflammation can become a deterrent in performing your daily activities. 

Obesity and joint injury are the most common factors that result in osteoarthritis. Other factors such as old age, family history and bone deformities can also lead to osteoarthritis. Young and athletic individuals spend more time in occupational and recreational activities and so they are more susceptible to get injuries that lead to this condition. Many athletes deal with stress and anxiety and often encounter thoughts like what they should do and whether they should continue with sports or not.  

High prevalence of Osteoarthritis in Athletes

Athletes and young individuals are most likely to suffer from joint degeneration that damages the articular cartilage. Repetitive impact and loading (use) can affect the normal functioning of the articular cartilage. Sports like football, soccer, hockey and rugby can cause blunt trauma to the joints and lead to more joint damage. The prevalence of osteoarthritis of knees and hips are higher in athletes as compared to non-athletes. 

Athletes are more likely to endure joint injuries as compared to average individuals. However, delayed diagnosis can further lead to joint instability and degeneration of articular cartilage. It is recommended that you must seek treatment sooner rather than later.  

Joint Pain Specialists at our North Yonkers

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Many individuals with osteoarthritis have few or no symptoms. The main symptom is pain, but not in every case. The pain varies depending on every individual. The diagnosis can get delayed in athletes and young individuals as they regard pain and aches as part of playing sports. An athlete’s desire to return to sports stops him from paying much heed or even complaining about the pain. Stiffness in the joints of fingers, knees, hips and spine, especially in the morning, is a common symptom of osteoarthritis. Other symptoms include crunching or grating sounds when joints are flexed or swelling and loss of flexibility. When the cartilage wears away completely, the bones rub against each other and cause more pain. 

Seek Treatment

Consult our SpecialistNew York Spine & Sport Rehabilitation PC has the leading Knee Pain Specialist Doctor in North Bronx and Joint Pain Specialists at our North Yonkers location. Avoid delaying treatment and seek timely care!

Exercise – Exercise will help to improve muscle strength, blood circulation and reduce pain. Exercising keeps the remaining cartilage healthy. However, you could make your symptoms more pronounced if you continue to put heavy loads on the joints. Losing excess weight is an effective way to manage osteoarthritis.

2. Take sufficient rest – Avoiding long periods of rest will make your joints stiffer. Take rest to avoid overworking of joints. 

3. Physical Therapy – Physical therapy can work as your first line of defence against osteoarthritis. It involves a tailored program of exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles supporting the arthritic joint. A professional physical therapist helps to improve your joint function. Overusing your joints can worsen their health, but not using them at all can weaken them. It’s important to strike a balance and keep your joints moving so that they remain healthy. Physical therapy can help you to maintain this balance. It is a great way to reduce the pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints.

What is Kyphoplasty and How Can it Help with Pain?

Are you suffering from back pain and are finding it difficult to move freely? Do you have a compression fracture or a break in one of your vertebrae? And are you looking for a minimally invasive solution?

We have a solution at NYSS. Kyphoplasty is an elective pain interventional procedure performed by Dr Sireen Gopal and his colleagues at NYSS. It is designed to treat patients suffering from painful vertebral compression fractures, and in most cases for osteoporosis in the elderly.

Kyphoplasty is minimally invasive, requires no surgical incision, and can be performed under local or mild to moderate monitored anesthesia, as an inpatient or outpatient procedure.

The duration of the procedure is usually between 30 to 45 minutes. When performed for the right indication and patient, it is a procedure providing significant pain relief and improvement of physical & mental functions for our patients.

Why Kyphoplasty?

• Reduces or eliminates back pain
• Prevents further collapse of the fracture, thus avoiding an increase in spinal     deformity and progression of postural problems
• Restores normal spinal alignment, thus improving the posture and function
• The patient is allowed to get out of bed and walk as soon as he or she is awake.
• Typically, patients are discharged from the hospital the next day itself.
• Majority of patients require no strong pain medications after 3 to 4 days of surgery.
• Limits or avoids ER visits and hospital admission

How is Kyphoplasty Performed?

• The patient lies on his/her belly on the procedure table, sedated with local anesthesia
• Through two tiny skin openings in the back (each opening about 1/6 or an inch long) specialized tubes are inserted directly into the fractured vertebra. This is done under guidance with a specialized X-ray imaging to allow precise placement.
• Through each tube, a special balloon is inserted into the collapsed vertebra. Once the balloons are in place, they are sequentially inflated with a liquid under X-ray guidance with the goal of re-establishing the original height of the collapsed vertebra.
• The balloons are then deflated, leaving an empty cavity within the bone that has now been expanded.
• At this stage, highly viscous bone cement is inserted into the vertebra through both tubes under X-ray guidance to assure the cement is not leaking out of the vertebra. The cement hardens within minutes.

Physical therapy, when needed for strengthening of the spinal muscles, can usually be safely initiated within two weeks following the Kyphoplasty procedure.

Who Can Benefit From Kyphoplasty?

Anyone who is suffering from painful, chronic back pain caused by vertebral compression fracture or osteoporosis can benefit from Kyphoplasty. A range of diagnostic tests may be performed to verify the presence of vertebral fractures. A successful Kyphoplasty procedure can restore structural integrity of the spine and also restore lost height from weakened vertebrae.

Leading Spine Specialists in New York

If you or a loved one is struggling with back pain, hunched posture or a shrinking height, you might benefit from the minimally invasive Kyphoplasty procedure. New York Spine & Sport is a leader in Kyphoplasty procedures in the Bronx, Westchester, and midtown Manhattan. Contact Dr. Sireen Gopal and his team at NYSS to learn more.

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Why Choose a Spine Specialist?

Are you suffering from chronic back or neck pain? We are pretty sure your first thought might be, “Why don’t I go see my family doctor for it?”

General practitioners can help you with a variety of ailments, including some basic types of back pains or other pains, however, most doctors are taught to look for a particular problem and only treat them in a way before they run out of options for your health. But, this isn’t feasible for patients who have already tried what their general practitioners have recommended or people who cope with chronic pain on a regular basis.

With so many people suffering from back pain and a hundred ways to treat these problems, isn’t it always the best to approach a spine specialist than a general practitioner?

Here’s what you will get.

A Huge Variety of Treatment Options based on your Condition

When you decide to choose a spine specialist that can help you with anything ranging from fractured vertebrae to finding herniated disc or sciatica pain relief, you are choosing a person who can provide you a solution to every problem.

A general doctor will be limited to providing you oral medicines, steroids or a referral to a therapist when it comes to treating back pain. While this may be okay as a “band-aid” treatment or as an occasional flare up for a pulled muscle, it is not really acceptable for chronic back pain and other advanced pain conditions.

A spine specialist has more experience, specific tools and various injections and minimally invasive procedures that can help you get a permanent solution to your problem.

Experience and Specialized Knowledge

Alongwith having a huge variety of tools and treatment options available for patients, a patient with chronic back pain can rest assured that a spine specialist has the specific knowledge to completely eradicate their pain from the root. With specialized knowledge of the spine, they also have extensive education in the field and carry insights into many conditions due to years of experience in the field. This extensive experience or knowledge comes in handy when your pain is more than just an episode of strain or sprain.

Continuity of Care

Working with a spine specialist can help you with providing continuity of care for your chronic pain concern. A general doctor/ practitioner can be a good choice to turn for a normal strain or sprain in your back or when you are sick, but if you want to get rid of your chronic pain from the root and wish to get a permanent solution to the problem, choosing a spine specialist is a good option. By choosing a specific spine specialist, your medical record will be known by just one doctor instead of having to bounce back to many doctors. This ensures that nothing is missed out during your treatment and you don’t have to bounce to multiple doctors.

At New York Spine & Sports, we specialize in the spine. Our physical therapists and spine specialists can work on cases directly related to your spine concerns and work hard to help you find a relief from chronic pain. With many locations to choose from, it is easy to finally get the care you deserve from professionals that have extensive years of experience in treating patients with a huge variety of back pain problems. For back pain, sciatica and so many other problems, choose the New York Spine & Sports for help!

Physical Therapy: How is it Effective in Treating Neck Pain & Pinched Nerve?

Pinched nerve, also known as compressed nerve, is a medical condition wherein pressure on one or more nerves results in pain in various parts of the body, mainly the neck. This is majorly caused by extensive periods of constant motion or due to remaining static in a single position for a long time. Moreover, pinched nerve can also be caused due to spinal conditions such as herniated discs.

If pinched nerves are not timely treated, they may lead to pain, swelling and can hamper the nerve’s functionality. There are many ways to treat this condition, but physical therapy has proven to be one of the most effective ones.

Physical Therapy vs. Other Methods – The Effectiveness Factor

A physical therapist suggests a tailored physical therapy routine depending on the patient’s condition: mainly age, weight and overall health. This treatment is the more effective than other non-surgical methods like drugs or steroidal injections because it brings effective pain relief within a short span.

It strengthens the muscles of the affected area, thus, helping patients achieve better flexibility and mobility. Stronger muscles prevents injuries in future and also enhances your posture and coordination. Physical therapy creates a routine that is designed to meet the patient’s need and capabilities.

On the other hand, Medications/ injections cannot achieve such long term benefits. What is more, being a non-invasive treatment, physical therapy needs no hospitalization and lesser recovery time as compared to surgeries. This makes physical therapy one of the most cost-effective treatments for treating neck pain and pinched nerve.

Physical Therapy vs. Other Methods: The Safety Factor

Not every patient suffering from neck pain and pinched nerve is considered suitable for surgery. There are many factors such as age and general health of the patient that defines the suitability criteria. Sometimes, the patients with spinal conditions cannot be given certain medicines because of existing, underlying conditions or certain drugs they might already be taking.

However, physical therapy doesn’t depend on any of these factors. A therapy regime created by a qualified therapist after completely analysing your situation and needs is absolutely safe and brings on no side effects. A physical therapist works along with medications to treat a pinched nerve. Moreover, a personalized plan is designed for every patient that determines the duration and the number of sessions required.

Are you still wondering if you have symptoms pertaining to neck pain and pinched nerve? Schedule an appointment with New York Spine & Sports Rehabilitation today! Our spine specialists are few of the top orthopedic professionals in the field, with experience in both research and practice. We are a team of friendly therapists that are dedicated to providing you with all the answers you are looking for. For more information, get in touch with us now!

4 Ways to Ease Your Back Pain While You are at Work

According to research, an average American spends about 12 hours a day sitting down, with maximum hours being spent at work. Sitting for long hours is connected to many health issues, including a greater risk of illness like heart diseases and diabetes.

It also causes back and neck pain. While most of us cannot avoid working and sitting at a desk, there are ways to ease the pain while you are at work along with some back pain relief treatment in New York

• Transform your Desk Setup – Researches show that standing at work can go a long way towards combatting neck and back pain. About 54% of back and neck pain reduces for workers that switch to a standing desk. There are devices that can change your current desk into a sit-stand version, allowing you to stand for some part of the day and sit whenever you need a break.
• Use an Ergonomic Chair – If you are going to sit long hours at work, it is crucial to consider swapping out your regular chair for one that is ergonomically corre Ergonomic chairs are set at an angle that forces you to sit straight up, preventing slouching or leaning forward which might cause back pain.
• Don’t Sit Constantly–Getting up from your desk and walking every 45 minutes can help you avoid muscle strain. This can reduce the stress placed on particular muscle groups and enhance blood flow to areas that need it.
• Stretch Out–Simple stretches can help with minimizing pain and stiffness that may arise from inactivity. For instance, bending down to touch your toes stretches your hamstrings, which lowers the stress on your lower back. Moving your head from side to side and up and down can help reduce the pain.

Comprehensive Back Pain Relief Treatment in New York

Minor changes in your daily routine can go a long way towards reducing pain. However, if you are not experiencing relief, it is important to seek medical condition immediately. The physical therapists at New York Spine and Sports Rehabilitation will work with you to determine the best plan for your symptoms and help you live an active life again.

Call us today or visit our website to schedule an appointment.