Sports & Health
Understanding Pain During Rehabilitation
Many people understandably think:
“If it hurts, I must be damaging something.”
Pain is more complex than that. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.
What Do X-Rays and MRIs Really Tell Us?
Imagine being told after an X-ray or MRI:
“That must be why I hurt.”
Sometimes the structural finding is highly relevant. Imaging is essential for identifying and characterizing many important conditions, including fractures, dislocations, tumors, infections, significant tissue injuries, and other structural pathology.
Evidence vs Clinical Experience
The rise of evidence-based healthcare has transformed medicine and rehabilitation.
Clinicians are expected to read research, use clinical practice guidelines, and choose interventions supported by scientific evidence. That is a major improvement over relying solely on tradition or opinion.
Is Asymmetry Bad?
The human body may look symmetrical from the outside, but biologically, the right and left sides are not identical. Functional laterality and asymmetry occur throughout human biology, including the nervous system, and should not automatically be viewed as errors.
Ankle Osteoarthritis in Athletes
When most people hear the term osteoarthritis, they think of age-related “wear and tear.” The ankle is somewhat different. Approximately 70% to 90% of ankle osteoarthritis is associated with previous trauma.