What's the one joint injury that keeps getting reinjured? If you're guilty of being an over zealous athlete, have thrown way too many pitches in baseball seasons, you know it's the rotator cuff. In addition to excessive activity, the issue can also be a result of weak tendon tissue.
Doctors are now using a number of new techniques to improve results after rotator cuff surgery. These include a double row of sutures, instead of a single row and the development of new materials that promote tissue growth and heaing and can be absorbed into the body.
The rotator cuff is a complex network of muscles and tendons that keep the shoulder in place and enables the arm to move and rotate. According to yesterday's article in the Wall St. Journal, ther are between 3 million and 4 million patients who see a doctor annually for rotator cuff issues. Although a strain to the roator cuff can be healed with therapy and medications, once it's torn, the only option is surgery.
To minimize or avoid any risks or complications associated with surgery, researchers are developing new materials such as silk-based implants that support damaged tissues as they heal. Another development uses the patient's own blood to create a material of chewing gum-like consistency that is sutured into the site where torn tendons are reatteched to bones.
It may be a few years before these advances are in wide use, in the meantime, sports medicine specialists are focusing on reducing the number of retears by educating patients on the importance of proper rehabilitation. Patients who don't follow the prescribed process for physical therapy or hastily return to their previous level of activity increase the risk for re-injury.
You athletes know who you are and this really is important and if you've had a rotator cuff injury, listen to your sports medicine specialist.
For the complete WSJ article, http://online.wsj.com/article/the_informed_patient.html
