Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) affects as many as one in 20 Americans. It occurs when the median nerve—the nerve that controls movement and sensation in the palm of the hand, thumb and fingers—is compressed as it travels through the carpal tunnel, a narrow passageway in the wrist formed by bones on the bottom and sides, […]
Most people diagnosed with “tennis elbow,” technically called lateral epicondylosis, probably did not develop this problem by playing tennis—although, of course, tennis players are frequent sufferers. The lateral epicondyle is the bony area on the outside of the elbow, and the “–osis” refers to tiny tears in the adjacent tendons that have been caused by […]
The technical name for “student’s elbow” is olecranon bursitis. The olecranon, the bony point of the elbow, is protected by a small sac of fluid called a bursa. Olecranon bursitis develops when an individual repeatedly leans on his or her elbow (as a student or draftsman might do when working at a desk) or when […]
One of the major advancements in sports medicine in the last 35 years, surgical repair of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) is named for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, the first person to successfully undergo the procedure in 1974. John returned to the mound two years later . This procedure, invented and pioneered by […]
