Sweet Symptomology

[medimarvels]

Core training

No one really likes core training, but we should do it! In the western world people have almost forgotten the importance of the core and how to walk with your core. We rely more on the hip muscles, the gluteal muscles.

With core training we can improve our gait. The stronger your core, the better you walk. You also don't crunch over. And you give the space for your hip muscles to do their job, to move the hip, not to stabilize your upper body.

If you're looking for a reason to do core training, your gait is reason enough!

[medimarvels]

Orthopedic operations

Did you know that in orthopedic operations they are extra attentive to hygiene? It is to the degree that the patients bed cannot come into the operation room. By almost any other specialty the bed can come into the room, ortho is special.

[medimarvels]

Small knee fact

If you have ever knew someone with unstable knee, you probably heard of ligament tears. We have 4 ligaments that support the knee. Todays fact is about the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, ACL, and Posterior Cruciate Ligament, PCL. Those ligaments form an X and keep the knee together against upward, downward and rotation movements.

Here comes the small fact:

PCL can actually heal itself! (if it's not a total tear)

Most people think that cruciate ligaments don't heal. We're exposed to that information. In the media we mostly hear about ACL injuries and how they don't heal, that operational placement of a new ligament is required. That is sad but true. But the same doesn't hold true for the PCL!

[medimarvels]

Weightless exercise

Ever wanted to run on clouds? I assume well! I'm not sure how it would precisely feel, but it must feels like weightless..

For many joint issues exercise is recommended. Especially age-related ones. The joints are with us through thick and thin for all these years absorbing all the shock, getting damaged and ending up painful and rigid.

One of the ways to make our joints happier is exercise. That way we can overcome the pain and rigidity. However we should go overboard make make the joint bear more and more weight.

Here comes weightless exercise in. For example swimming is practically weightless. Its good for your joints! Another one would be cycling for the hip/knee, although it might not be totally weightless at all times, if you sit down properly it is weightless.

Thus we don't need to go to a zero-gravity chamber to experience how weightless exercise would feel. Or be on the clouds.. Tho I'd agree that the first one sounds cooler than swimming, and as for the second one- hasn't that been our childhood wish?

[medimarvels]

3 times our weight

Maybe you wouldn't have imagined but weight turns out to be really important in orthopedics!

When explaining what the patient can expect during recovery process we also talk about how much weight can the joint take on. We could say things like "do not put weight on the joint", "only put 50% of your body weight, use crutches" and so on.

What was amusing to hear during such a conversation was, a doctor saying we carry trice our weight on a leg when walking. Just imagine carrying 2 more of you on your very own shoulders xd.

Our weight doesn't really change when we're walking but the forces applied to our legs and joints do change! At certain points of the gait cycle our supporting leg is experiencing and supporting a force that equals 3 times out body weight. That increased force is also due to our momentum, the impact of the ground when our leg strikes the ground and our own biomechanics which may amplify the forces.

Even walking is a mysterious thing for the curious minds!

[medimarvels]

Overweight

The third most successful surgery is knee replacement. A big however is of course the weight of the person willing the surgery. Like hip replacement most cases are due to osteoarthritis, which is worse by age and by weight.

Being overweight carries a lot of risks especially in surgery. The thing we are most afraid of is infection of the joint and the prosthetic implant we put in. BMI less than 35 is advised for almost all surgeries.

Sadly the growing problem of obesity causes a lot of health issues that need to be addressed. And some cannot be solved unless some weight is lost.

[medimarvels]

Top 2 most successful surgeries

I'm doing orthopedics. It's fun and... tiring.

The first days of internships go by so fast that at the end you shocked how fast the human brain can adapt to a new environment.

If I had to summarize it would be:

the first impressions, a new patient population, a new perspective into looking at patients' health and whole bunch of new people around you (doctors, nurses, assistants and more)

the dip - you realize you don't actually have an idea what's going on around you. You've sure heard almost all the terms mentioned, have no idea about the abbreviations, and you don't know your way around.. and the panic that follows (esp when the doctors ask you questions that you should know, it's on the tip of your tongue, but doesn't come out)

getting used to - somehow like it or not, your brain gets used to it. Actually faster than you'd expect. You get the feeling "I can get though this, it's not that bad." and maybe by the end of that same day "I can do this, this is actually good"

internalizing - doesn't happen the same way for everyone. However, it's basically when you start to get the feeling that you might actually like it, and would not mind doing it for 10-15 years or maybe more. Or the exact opposite you know that you hated every minute of if, but you're still glad you did it.

If you're still with me,

the most successful surgery is cataract surgery. It's highly effective with a succes rate above 95%. It's the surgery that lets people see the world again. It's easily done and not that costly. Furthermore it's short, doesn't take much time. Which makes it perfect to do also in developing countries.

what I didn't know, and what an orthopedic surgeon told me with sparkling eyes was that the second most successful surgery is hip replacement. The surgery that lets people walk again and not experience pain by every slight movement. It improves their quality of life substantially. I feel so happy when we can help people to that degree.

Most common reason for a hip replacement is osteoarthritis. That's when the cartilage that makes your bones slide over each other is worn off. Causing pain, stiffness and reduced mobility. Another common reason is hip fractures by elderly. Hip fractures when not treated lead to death in most cases. It is truly beautiful to be able to do something and try to make people happier for longer.

[medimarvels]

Hi from the medworld

Hey there to my dearest friends and tumblrs interested in med stories and health facts!

Upon struggling in internships, I came up with the idea of creating this blog. In hopes it would help me improve.. I hope it would be useful, funny and interesting to you too!

As many things fall under the patient-doctor privacy, forgive me if I'm too abstract. If you have questions, I'd love to hear them. And if someone finds contradicting information or information that is not up to date please inform me.

Have fun!