Advancing Your Health

Children of all ages will benefit from participating in sports. Children can learn many life skills such as team work, time management, competition, conflict resolution as well help to improve social skills. While the benefits of exercising and participating in sports heavily outweigh the risks, it is very important to have every child undergo a pre – participation sports physical before beginning practice with that sport. Pre – participation exams are required for student-athletes who want to participate in middle school, high school or summer sports camps. The pre-participation exam checks for the following: • Identify any potential life-threatening conditions such as risk of sudden cardiac death. • Evaluate athlete for conditions that may need treatment prior to participation. • Identify any orthopedic conditions/concerns that may need physical therapy or other [...]

If you are a runner, you have probably heard someone you know say something about running and your health like “You can die of a heart attack if you run too much” or my favorite “If you run too much, you will need your knees replaced later in life”.  Running can be a very safe and healthy sport.  There are so many advantages of running - It makes you feel better, keeps you mentally and physically in shape and can even improve your social life.   Let’s debunk the myths others may have told you so you can feel confident you are enjoying the sport you love. Your heart and running Consistent running reduces your risk of heart disease. o Your increased heart rate from running for an extended period makes your heart stronger! o Running can help lower blood pressure by helping to maintain the elasticity of your arteries.  When you run, your arteries expand and [...]

Wrist fractures are the most common broken bone for people under 65 years old.  In fact, one out of every 6 fractures treated in the ER are wrist fractures!

Wrist Fracture Symptoms:

• Wrist Pain
• Swelling of or around the wrist
• Deformity of the wrist

Wrist Fracture Treatment

Treatment for a wrist fracture can vary on a case by case basis.  Some wrist fractures can be treated in a cast.  Physicians can reset the fracture and cast it and the bones can heal themselves.  There are cases though when a wrist fracture needs surgery.    Physicians take into consideration other factors to determine whether a patient needs surgery such as:

Governor Nathan Deal signed a youth concussion bill on Tuesday called the “Return to Play Act”.  This bill will place restrictions on when a young athlete can return to their sport after suffering a  head injury.  Emory Sports Medicine physician, Ken Mautner, MD was highly involved in helping to get the new legislation passed and was at the signing of the bill with Governor Deal.  Dr. Mautner is an expert in the area of sports concussions and is Co-chairman of the Georgia Concussion Coalition, a group whose sole intent is to promote education and awareness of youth concussion across Georgia. This bill will help coaches, parents and players make the right decisions for their athletes.  The bill requires public and private schools to provide information to parents on concussions and establish certain policies for dealing with student head injuries. Under the law, any [...]

The AJC Peachtree Road Race will be here before you know it! Whether you’re a beginning runner and wondering how to get started, or a seasoned pro and have been running for years, there always new things to learn about training, nutrition, attire, and even injury prevention. As a runner, training for peak performance is key. All levels of runners are welcome to join us on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 from 12 – 1:00 p.m. for an interactive online Q & A on healthy running. The chat will span a wide array of running related topics - so join us and bring your hardest running questions! I will be available to answer questions to help you best prepare for AJC Peachtree Road Race, your first 5k or a marathon PR. If you are interested in learning more about running benefits, prevention, and tips, register for the live chat now. Spread the word about our online runner’s chat to your [...]

Bone and soft tissue sarcomas are rare conditions that affect approximately 13,000 people each year. In the US, 10,000 are diagnosed with soft tissue sarcomas and approximately 3,000 are diagnosed with bone sarcomas, of which 1,000 are osteosarcomas.

The most common type of sarcoma that develops in the bone is called an osteosarcoma while sarcomas that develop in the connective tissue are called soft tissue sarcomas. Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in soft tissues like fat, muscle, nerves, fibrous tissues, blood vessels, or deep skin tissues. The rarity of sarcomas means most doctors seldom see one, which explains why patients are often referred to specialty hospitals where experienced surgeons utilize limb-sparing (no amputation) surgery whenever possible.

Understanding Osteosarcomas

Osteosarcomas are aggressive malignant bone tumors and are the most common type of bone

Doug House is an Emory Spine Center patient who had a large spinal tumor. Doug was in pain for over 10 years and had several problems performing basic daily activities including walking, sleeping, and controlling his bladder. He thought he would live the rest of his life unable to perform basic life functions. Doug was referred to our team at the Emory Spine Center and now is back to his old self and able to enjoy life again. Watch Doug’s incredible story in the video below and learn more from Emory physicians Dr. Gerald (Rusty) Rodts and Dr. Daniel Refai on what makes spinal tumor treatment at Emory different. [...]

It is reality now! Physicians at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine are among a select group of physicians around the country to offer a unique procedure using stem cell injections to relieve osteoarthritis (OA) pain. During the procedure, the physician extracts stem cell blood from the bone marrow in a patient’s hip and then injects the stem cells directly into the patient’s damaged joint. The stem cells are from the patient’s own body so the risk of rejection is very low. Hear first hand from Dr. Mautner and one of our patients how this new treatment option is helping relieve pain from Osteoarthritis:
About Ken Mautner, MD Ken Mautner, MD is an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. Mautner started practicing at Emory in 2004 after completing a fellowship in Primary Care Sports [...]

Dr. Spero Karas

University of Louisville basketball player Kevin Ware sustained a bad injury while playing in an Elite 8 basketball game on Sunday. He quickly was taken to the hospital for surgery and was up on crutches on Monday!

Emory Sports Medicine physician Spero Karas, MD says Kevin’s prognosis should be good. Karas has treated similar fractures in his tenure at the Emory Sports Medicine Center. He anticipates Kevin could be healed in six - nine months if he doesn’t face any complications and starts rehabilitation immediately.

Watch Dr. Karas’ interview with CNN

Fredricka Whitfield talks to Dr. Spero Karas, about Kevin Ware's gruesome leg break and his rehabilitation.

Watch another interview with CBS

About Dr. Spero Karas Dr. Karas is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Emory University and the Head Team Physician for the Atlanta

Thank you for joining me for the live chat on ACL injuries last week!  We had some excellent questions. One participant asked a key question about young females and ACL injuries and I would like to expand on my response to this important subject. There are a growing number of  female athletes who are tearing their ACLs.  In fact, young female athletes (under 20 years old) are four to eight times more likely than males to injure their ACL.  Even though extensive research has been done on the reasons why this could happen, we are not exactly sure why females tend to injure their ACL easier. Luckily, if a young woman injures her ACL  we are able to get most athletes back to their previous level of play due to advances in arthroscopic surgery and specialized physical therapy. Full recovery may take about eight to 10 months but important to note, is in rehabilitation, [...]