Our Blog
The North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists blog provides the latest information on orthopaedic conditions, injuries and procedures.
Featured Articles
Certified Hand Therapy 101
As a subset of occupational therapy, hand therapy plays a significant role in treating and improving patient outcomes related to acute and chronic conditions of the hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder. At North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists, our Certified Hand Therapists (CHTs) are board-certified in occupational therapy with an added qualification in Hand Therapy. Working with a CHT can have several benefits, including:
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Pediatric Injuries & Outdoor Activities
With summer in full swing and children taking advantage of more time to participate in sports-related or other outdoor activities, it’s essential to be mindful of injury prevention while encouraging their interest in activities that don’t involve screen time! The fact is, accidents can happen practically anywhere – on a swing set in your backyard, riding a skateboard in a park or biking on a neighborhood designated path.
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Reconstruction of ACL Tear- What You Can Expect
Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears are one of the most common types of knee injuries. The ACL is a ligament that crosses the inside of the knee, connecting the femur to the tibia while offering stability to the joint. Tears often need to be reconstructed surgically to restore knee stability and strength. Before surgery, many patients go through physical therapy to prepare for a successful recovery. If you are in need of an ACL reconstruction, here's a look at what you can expect from the procedure and your recovery.
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Diagnosing & Managing Arthritis
Arthritis represents a wide variety of joint inflammation diseases. Patients most often have chronic Arthritis in their wrists, hands, and fingers, experiencing flares of inflammation, soreness or stiffness affecting the joints. As we recently wrapped up Bone & Joint Action Week, this is an excellent opportunity to bring awareness to the most common categories of Arthritis, proactive methods for pain prevention and available treatment solutions.
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What is Runner’s Knee (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome)
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), often referred to as runner's knee due to its prevalence among runners, is characterized by a dull pain that occurs around or behind the kneecap. While it's common among runners, it can affect anyone participating in an activity that requires repeated knee flexion, such as jumping, walking, or even biking. Here's a closer look at this common knee problem, the causes, common symptoms, how it's treated, and some helpful prevention tips.
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Top 5 Common Knee Injuries
The knee joint is a large, complex joint that connects the tibia to the femur. It absorbs an incredible amount of pressure and impact from routine, daily activities like walking or going up a flight of stairs. Since the knee joint is so complex, it is susceptible to injury, and any knee injury should be taken seriously. While many knee injuries are easily treated with conservative measures such as physical therapy and bracing, more severe injuries may require the skill of an orthopaedic surgeon.
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Dr. Ahmed to Cover US Olympic Team
Dr. Sonya Ahmed, a board-certified and fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon and Partner at the Nilssen Orthopedics Ankle and Foot Center, is proud to announce that she will provide orthopaedic and sports medicine coverage for the US Olympic Team at the ANOC World Beach Games Qatar 2019. The Games, which were originally slated to take place in San Diego, CA, will run from October 12-16 in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Ahmed is excited about the opportunity to once again provide team coverage on behalf of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
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Ultrasound Use in Sports Medicine
Musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging offers orthopaedic patients safe, painless, and real-time imaging, without any harmful ionizing radiation or the need for uncomfortable positioning. As the first sports medicine physician in the region to utilize ultrasound for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, Dr. Josh Hackel’s commitment to innovation has improved the accessibility of care for his patients.
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Selecting the Right Shoes
Footwear serves several useful functions, including protecting our feet, cushioning our body weight, providing comfort and, of course, adding a fashionable element to our wardrobe choices. However, selecting the proper footwear can also make a difference in your overall foot health. As you consider those fun new kicks, we encourage you to be mindful of how the correct type of shoe can help you avoid injuring or further exacerbating existing foot and ankle conditions. Specifically, ill-fitting shoes can be painful and cause issues like bunions, hammertoes, plantar fasciitis, Lisfranc injuries and more.
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Treating Ankle Arthritis
May is National Arthritis Awareness Month, and of the more than 100 forms of this painful condition, many can affect the ankle. In fact, almost half of people in their 60s and 70s have arthritis of the foot and/or ankle, but not all of them have symptoms.
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10 Questions to Ask Your Personal Injury Specialist
Orthopedic injuries can cause pain that lasts a lifetime. While many people associate orthopedics injuries with old age or contact sports, they are just as often caused by traumatic injuries resulting from car wrecks and on-the-job accidents. Accidents can cause a variety of orthopedic injuries, ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening. While you may seem fine in the immediate aftermath, the surge of adrenaline generated by your body during an accident can actually cover up serious but invisible injuries. These hidden injuries can surface in the days or weeks following an accident, and, if left untreated, they can lead to years of pain and suffering.
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Orthopedic Specialist vs. ER
Personal injury is a legal term for any injury to the body or mind of an individual, as opposed to damage to property. Personal injury claims result from accidents that are the result of negligence or reckless conduct and are one of the most common legal complaints filed today. If you have been injured in an accident–at work, on the road, or otherwise–you should immediately seek medical treatment, even if you believe you are not injured. Some injuries can take days or weeks to manifest and can cause lifelong pain and suffering if left untreated.
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3 Reasons to Shop MRI Pricing
While a consumer may drive out of his or her way to save a few dollars on a tank of gas, many people disregard comparison shopping for their health services: Most likely because they do not realize that they could save a substantial amount of money by shopping around.
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Choosing an Ankle and Foot Center
The biggest goal of an ankle and foot center is to restore your foot health and prevent complications that could worsen the condition of your feet. Here at North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists, we aim to analyze and solve foot issues using a multi-disciplinary medical treatment approach. The patient-focused ankle and foot team treats your condition through technology, research, science, and personalized care.
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Ankle Replacement or Fusion Surgery
The ankle is the location where the fibula, tibia (lower leg) and talus (top of the foot) meet, which is why the medical term for the ankle is ‘the tibiotalar joint.’ As with all joints, as time passes, the ankle receives its share of wear and tear. If an individual has weak bones and/or tendons or worn down cartilage in the ankle, the risk of an injury increases. At North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists, we offer a variety of treatments to address ankle pain. The severity of an injury or condition determines whether non-surgical treatment or surgical intervention is recommended. In fact, some of our patients only require a pair of supportive shoes and/or an ankle brace to find relief.
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Os Trigonum: What You Need to Know
Do you have recurring ankle pain, especially when walking or extending your ankle or heel? You might be among the roughly 10% of people with an extra or “accessory” foot bone called the os trigonum.
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Achilles Tendinitis Treatments
The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body, and it serves a very important purpose. It connects the gastrocnemius and soleus – the two primary calf muscles – to the back of the heel bone. When too much stress is placed on the Achilles tendon, also known as the heel cord, it tightens and becomes overworked. As a result, it can become inflamed, a condition that is known as Achilles tendinitis.
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Tips to Prevent Running Injuries
Many of the common running injuries occur because of overtraining, overuse, a biomechanical flaw in body motion and structure, improper shoes, or a combination of all of them. While you should always apply common sense when running, below are five practical running injury prevention tips you can put in place on your next run this fall.
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Midfoot Pain & Navicular Fracture
Because of its location in the midsection of the foot, sandwiched between the long bones of the midfoot (called the metatarsals) and the heel bones, the navicular bone is a common site of fractures, especially among athletes. In the vast majority of cases, these fractures or breaks are stress fractures, overuse injuries caused by repetitive stress on the midfoot area. Runners, jumpers, dancers and other athletes are especially prone to these injuries, but they can occur in other people as well, especially among those who have reduced flexion in their feet which results in additional stress being placed on the arch and midfoot region.
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What is a Sprained Foot?
A foot sprain occurs when the bands of fibrous tissue connecting the bones to each other inside the joint tear. These tough bands are referred to as ligaments.
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Can you dislocate your foot?
It is possible to dislocate the bones within the midfoot joint complex (aka Lisfranc joint) of the foot. This joint complex consists of the ligaments and bones that connect the forefoot to the midfoot. Lisfranc injuries include strains and tears to the ligament itself in addition to bone dislocations and fractures.
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Ankle Replacement Alternatives
The pain and limited mobility caused by ankle arthritis can make daily life challenging and negatively affecting an individual’s overall quality of life. In addition, this limited mobility and frequent pain often lead to anxiety and depression. At North Florida Bone & Joint, we are dedicated to improving our patients’ quality of life by addressing their symptoms using conservative treatments and, when necessary, surgical intervention.
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The Benefits of Orthotics
Orthotic devices may be prescribed to correct biomechanical foot issues and heal chronic foot problems. Custom-tailored orthotic devices fit perfectly inside the shoe. Due to the ability of orthotic inserts to redistribute stress, individuals who participate in sports, including professional athletes, frequently use orthotics to ease foot pain while they perform.
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3 Reasons to See an Orthopedic Specialist After an Accident
Being involved in an accident can be a very stressful and traumatic experience. For many people, it will be one of the worst days of their lives. It doesn’t take a major accident to break bones, dislocate joints, or damage the vital soft tissue structures of the musculoskeletal system. Accidents can cause a variety of orthopedic injuries, ranging in severity from mild to life-threatening. While you may seem fine in the immediate aftermath, the surge of adrenaline generated by your body during an accident can actually cover up serious but invisible injuries. These hidden injuries can surface in the days or weeks following an accident, and, if left untreated, they can lead to years of pain and suffering.
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Orthopedic Laser Therapy 5 Facts
The United States is currently fighting an opioid epidemic on a scale never before seen in the history of our nation. Billions of dollars have been spent in an attempt to mediate the devastating effects of the rampant overuse of prescription opioids, including fighting the heroin addictions that often arise when prescription pills become too expensive for addicted patients. In the last two years, impacted states like Ohio and West Virginia have banded together to sue the large pharmaceutical companies that profited off of the sale of opioids even after knowing about their damaging side effects, mirroring the legal strategies that took down Big Tobacco in the 1990s. The resulting settlements have ranged from hundreds of millions to many billions of dollars, and there are more to come. In fact, plaintiffs recently rejected one of the largest settlement offers to date after investigators revealed that the Sackler family, owners of Perdue Pharma, one of the largest profiteers of the opioid crisis, transferred $10 billion out of the company and into overseas accounts as pressure began to mount on the company and its role in perpetuating the devastation.
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Orthopedic Surgeon vs. Podiatrist
The foot is comprised of 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 ligaments, tendons, and muscles, the feet and ankles are a part of the human skeletal system that is very complex. Because of this, it can take years of education, training, and practice to become a medical expert in this field. It’s essential to understand the difference between an orthopedic surgeon and a podiatrist when you are looking for foot and ankle surgery and care.
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Symptoms of Ankle Arthritis
While stiffness and pain may increase with age, this can also be a classic sign of osteoarthritis. Swelling, pain, and deformity can keep you from normal daily activities if left untreated. Here is more information to help you identify symptoms and understand how it can affect your foot and ankle.
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How to Prevent Achilles Tendinitis
Running is an excellent way to work out the body and clear the mind, but despite the pros, there is one con that many runners can identify with – a painful Achilles tendon.
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Total Shoulder Replacement Myths
In recent years, advances in medical technology have debunked preconceived notions about total shoulder replacement. Dr. Chris O'Grady, an experienced and skilled Board Certified Orthopedic Surgeon, compiled 5 common myths about total shoulder replacement below.
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Total Shoulder Replacement Recovery: What to Expect
A full recovery from a total shoulder replacement surgery takes patience, time and hard work. By knowing what to expect following surgery, a successful recovery is more likely. Individuals who are experiencing pain due to degenerative arthritis or who have injured their shoulder should consider a total shoulder replacement with Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Christopher O’Grady.
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What is Mallet Finger?
A mallet finger is a disruption of the terminal extensor tendon at the tip of the finger, where the tendon attaches to the bone. Although it used to be known as a "baseball finger," this injury can happen to anyone when an unyielding object (like a ball) hits the tip of a finger forcing it to bend further than it is intended to go. Often the injury is caused by something innocuous, like tucking a bed sheet in or hitting the hand on a door. In some cases, the tendon pulls off with a fragment of bone from the distal phalanx. The long, ring and small fingers are most likely to be injured. Below we discuss the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of this common condition.
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How to Choose an Orthopedic Surgeon for Your Knee Replacement
Choosing the right orthopaedic surgeon is essential to ensure your surgery is a success. A knee replacement is the opportunity to reclaim your active lifestyle, so selecting a quality surgeon who is experienced with this procedure is crucial. Not only do you want an orthopaedic surgeon who has a history of successful knee replacements, but also someone you feel comfortable with asking questions and voicing concerns along the way. Here are some guidelines to follow when selecting an orthopaedic surgeon.
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