Category Archives: Upper Body

Clipping the Wings of a Winged Scapula

Sometimes your shoulder may hurt when you reach up to a high shelf, or it may feel weak when you dig in the garden. Perhaps your upper back feels uncomfortable when it presses against the back of your chair. These can be symptoms of scapular winging, a condition distinguished by the unusual appearance of the […]

Take the Weight off Your Shoulders

The shoulder is a complicated joint. It moves very freely, unlike a knee or elbow, because it has less bony stability. Instead, the surrounding muscles provide stability. Those muscles must be strong to help prevent injury—but injuries do happen. One of the most common shoulder injuries is impingement syndrome. The supraspinatus muscle, part of the […]

Laying Down a New Surface on Your Shoulder

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that occurs when cartilage that cushions the joint wears down, causing pain and swelling as the ends of two bones rub together. Although you may be more familiar with arthritis in the knee and hip, it can also affect the shoulder. Although most of us know someone who has […]

Put Your Shoulder Separation Back Together

The shoulder, with the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body, is also one of the most complicated structures in the body. (The shoulder actually includes four different joints.) Because of the shoulder’s wide range of motion, complications may arise when it can’t move around freely or when the complex system of […]

Put Your Finger on Flexor Tendon Recovery

Flexor tendon surgery involves the tendons in charge of bending the fingers or thumbs into the palm of your hand. These tendons let you grip a pencil and hold a fork and knife. That is why your hand must be allowed to heal properly after flexor tendon surgery. The awkward-looking splint you have to wear […]

Keep the Tingle Out of Your Arm

One of the main nerves in the arm, the ulnar nerve runs from the neck to the hand. At various points along this path, the nerve can become irritated or compressed, causing tingling in the elbow, wrist, hand or fingers. If you experience tingling in your pinky and ring finger or weakness in your hand […]

Back in the Swing After Shoulder Replacement

Can you resume playing golf after total shoulder replacement surgery? The answer may well be yes. To replace the shoulder, a ball-and-socket joint, the surgeon inserts a metal prosthesis to replace the “ball” (the end of the humerus) and resurfaces the inside of the “socket” (glenoid cavity) with high-density polyethylene. Any nearby bone spurs are […]

Get Rid of That Headache

Headaches come in many forms—from migraine to tension to neuralgia—and most of us have suffered from a headache in the course of our lives. While headaches can have a variety of causes, often the cause is not severe, and simple lifestyle changes can frequently make a difference. The most common type of headache is a […]

How To Heal A Humerus Fracture Without Surgery

Understanding Humerus Fractures Fracturing the bone of your upper arm—medically known as a humerus fracture—can be a painful and frightening experience, especially because the most common cause of this type of fracture is a bad fall. It may seem like a severe enough break to require surgery, but, in reality, most humerus fractures can be […]

Tobacco Use and Shoulder Surgery

Smoking is linked to heart disease, stroke and several forms of cancer, but its effects on orthopedic surgery outcomes are less widely known. If you are scheduled for rotator cuff or labral surgery, chances are that your physician has emphasized the importance of not smoking before the surgery. This will not only improve your overall […]