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Inside this issue:

Editor:
Leslie Fossey

Senior Editor:
Heather Hill

Managing Editor:
Lindsay Klinck

Associate Editor:
Kelley Bowman

Creative Director:
Todd Hagler

Senior Designer:
Rob Curran

Sooner or later, it happens to everyone. While weeding the garden, taking a walk, or picking something up off the floor, you suddenly feel a stab of pain. The pain is either abrupt and agonizing, or it comes and goes for many years, flaring up at unpredictable moments.

Pain in the muscles, joints, and nerves strikes virtually everyone. Fortunately, the best courses of action for such problems are usually simple and do not involve surgery.

“It is amazing what we can do to help people without performing surgery,” says Azalea Orthopedics physician Jerry Schwarzbach, MD. As a trained physiatrist, Dr. Schwarzbach says, “It’s enjoyable and fulfilling to have people come in with intense pain and to help them feel better within a few visits using only exercise, medication, and/or injections.”

Treatment varies depending on whether the problem is related to arthritis, tendonitis (inflammation due to overuse), or nerve problems. “Physicians at Azalea carefully review each patient’s symptoms and perform thorough examinations. A nerve conduction study may be ordered to determine if the problem is related to a nerve. If so, physicians then determine which nerve is affected, at what location, and how severe the problem is. For example, with carpal tunnel, nerve involvement could originate in the hand or in the neck,” says Dr. Schwarzbach.

Exercise and Motion

The best pain remedy is targeted stretching and/or strengthening exercises. Often these exercises need to be very specific in order for patients to achieve desired results.

Changing the way you perform daily activities is another alternative your physician may suggest. For example, Dr. Schwarzbach teaches patients how to lift or move arms, legs, and hands better so they do not stress the injured area.

Medications

Anti-inflammatory medications and muscle relaxers can be prescribed to reduce symptoms. For severe pain, steroid injections deliver relief directly to the area of inflammation. For example, this might include the knee, shoulder, or spine. These injections stimulate healing and reduce swelling without the side effects of oral drugs.

Another option for people with pain is a patch that delivers painkillers, which are absorbed through the skin directly into the problem area. For knee pain, the BioniCare^® Knee Device, which delivers mild electrical stimulation, has proven effective in many patients (see On Bended Knee article).

Injuries that cause constant pain or prevent normal activity are discouraging, often depressing. Fortunately, physicians have more tools available than ever to get you moving again. By sticking to a regular, easy-to-follow program that includes medication and therapy, most patients can focus less on hurting and more on enjoying life again.

Jerry Schwarzbach, MD, is a specialist in restoring physical function and assessing and rehabilitating back, neck, muscle, joint, and nerve problems that result from disease or injury. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed his specialty training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Wouldn’t we all like stronger joints, improved muscle tone and motion, and a more fulfilling life? A treatment plan that consists of physical and occupational therapy can minimize and eliminate pain, delaying the need for surgery or making it unnecessary altogether.

Physical therapy:

• decreases pain and increases mobility.
• involves a targeted exercise program designed to strengthen specific, often deep and hard-to-access muscles.
• lends support and enables the problem area to rest and heal.
• retrains the body to move in a way that is less damaging.

Occupational therapy is a specialized therapy of the upper extremities, particularly the hand. The hand, wrist, and fingers have numerous joints that allow great dexterity, but an injury or surgery can lead to significant pain and/or dysfunction, necessitating special care for complete recovery.

Azalea Orthopedics offers both physical and occupational therapy to patients, including a full range of rehabilitation equipment and a swimming pool for water-based therapy. “A lot of the machines used in physical therapy are similar to what you might find in a gym, but we make sure patients exercise in a way that helps rather than aggravates the problem,” says Kim Foreman, MD, an orthopedic surgeon with Azalea Orthopedics. “Physical therapy has evolved greatly over the years. Whereas people used to think of it as something you did after major surgery, these days it includes new treatment methods and can relieve minor as well as major aches and pains.”

Kim Foreman, MD, specializes in orthopedic surgery with an emphasis in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery. He received his medical degree from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Lubbock and served his residency in orthopedic surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He also completed a fellowship at San Diego Knee and Sports Medicine Clinic in California.