Many healthy joints in the body, most commonly in the knee, present with joint noise called crepitus during range of motion testing. Crepitus can be an auditory cracking or popping sound or a sensation of grating in a joint. More concerning than joint noise is an associated sharp pain in the joint or associated locking,...
The evidence and momentum continue to build for seeing a Physical Therapist first for patients with low back pain. Physical Therapists have continually been shown to be clinically and cost effective providers for low back pain conditions. This approach, direct access to Physical Therapy, has been utilized by large hospital systems and Fortune 500 companies...
Aging occurs in all of our body systems including the spine. Similar to wrinkles and grey hair, the spine will demonstrate age related changes including disk bulges, herniations, facet and ligament changes, as well as, degeneration around age 30. Interestingly, we find a high percentage of these changes in people with and without neck pain. Thus,...
MRI testing of the shoulder is no different than testing in other body regions. Pathologies such as bursa changes, tendinopathies, labral and rotator cuff tears are very common in asymptomatic populations and tend to increase with an individual’s age. Many of these MRI findings do not contribute to a patient’s current symptoms and may be...
Our prior posts on tendon injuries have described the structural changes that take place with chronic symptomatic tendinopathies. The disorganization of tendon fibers and the body’s attempts to heal the injured tendon are best viewed on ultrasound or MRI imaging. MRI is a very sensitive tool, but lacks specificity meaning a positive finding may or...
Is a picture really worth 1000 words? As our technology continues to improve MRI and CT scanners have become more proficient at finding changes in our spines. This higher imaging quality comes with a cost in that many of these positive findings like “bulging discs”, arthritis, “pinched nerves” and the frightening-sounding “degenerative disc disease” can...