Department of Orthopedics News and Stories

Patient description: 44-year-old female had previously underwent a laminectomy for a disc herniation. Patient presented with new onset of bilateral radicular leg pain without an antecedent history of trauma. Initial radiographic imaging showed laminectomy defect with degeneration at L4-5 and L5-S1. She initially underwent non-operative care, including PT/OT, steroid dose pack, and home stretching exercises. Pain continued and an MRI was ordered which showed significant foraminal stenosis at L5-S1 with facet arthropathy and significant disc degeneration. At the L3-4 and L4-5 levels, she was found to have facet arthropathy with disc height and foraminal collapse and further lateral recess/foraminal stenosis.  

BOULDER, Colo. - In this video from the International Extreme Sports Medicine Congress, Sherrie L. Ballantine-Talmadge, DO, discussed sport-specific return to play protocols for extreme sports athletes.

“What we have found throughout the years is that – even with diagnosis as well as treatment – we had to make it sport-specific. These athletes developed early brain mapping so that they could spin, twist and turn in a different way than a football player or a soccer player,” she said. “The goal of today was to have people think and take the next step and understand there [are] differences in the way that you [rehabilitate] athletes after concussion, and that you are going to get the best outcome with a sport-specific return.”

A 29-year-old non-smoking man with a BMI of 37 kg/m² and history of bipolar disease sustained a right subtrochanteric femur fracture and pseudoaneurysm of his right proximal femoral artery after a gunshot in December 2016.

Flips and perfect finishes initially made Biles a role model to so many. However, her latest decisions, prioritizing mental health on the world’s center stage at the Olympics is something sports medicine doctors hope young athletes can learn from.