Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear

A very common injury to the knee is an ACL tear. The knee has four ligaments that help provide stability to the knee, and one of the ligaments is the ACL.
Athletes are generally more prone to having an ACL tear, although, it can happen to anyone. It's due to excessive force that is placed on the knee and sudden pivots causing excessive force.
Symptoms:
-giving of the knee
-hearing a "pop" when the injury occurs
-swelling of the knee joint
-pain
Testing for an ACL tear can include
-Lachman test
-pivot shift maneuver
other tests include x-rays and MRI to check the ligaments. Although, most people don't need a MRI to diagnose an ACL tear, it can often times be diagnosed clinically.
Treatment includes;
-generally surgery
-physical therapy.

Bankart Lesion

Bankart lesions occur when there is a tear or detachment of the labrum. When this injury occurs there is a lot of instability of the shoulder joint. This can be caused by a dislocation.
Symptoms include:
-repeat dislocation
-shoulder pain
-a catching sensation
-instabilit especially when the arm is placed behind their head.
Treatment includes:
-rest and physical therapy
-surgical repair of the labrum which is generally done arthroscopically.
Diagnosis can be made via MRI or CT with MRI being the better test.
This was very interesting to me because as I was listening to the lecture, I felt that you were describing my symptoms with the exception of the dislocation. I injured my shoulder and whenever I tried to put my arm behind my head I felt as if it was going to dislocate. This had been going on since February of this year, it is slowly getting better. Did not ever have an actual diagnosis because I did not go to the doctor.

Uterine Fibroids

Fibroids are non cancerous growths that occur in the uterus. Fibroid occur in about every 3-4 women.
Symptoms:
-pain
-leg pain
-constipation
-urinary incontinence
Testing includes:
-routine pelvic exam
-US,CT, or MRI with ultrasound being the better exam
Treatment includes:
-medication
-myomectomy
-hysterectomy

Pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is either chronic or acute, generally both the patient experiences severe pain.
Symptoms include:
acute - nausea and vomiting, rapid pulse, fever, tender abdomen.
chronic - all of the above and also including weight loss
Causes of pancreatitis include: alcohol abuse, genetic factors, abdominal trauma, increased levels of fats and calcium
Men are at more risk than women to develop pancreatitis and more often occurs in the black population.
Testing includes: blood work, CT, US
Treatment includes: alcohol control, medication for pain, dietary changes.

Aortic Dissection

When the inner layers of the aorta's wall split open it is called a dissection.
An acute dissection can cause chest pain which is sudden in nature.
It most often occurs in men between the ages of 50-55 for a proximal dissection and 60-70 years of age in a distal dissection.
Treatment:
-admission to the hospital
-meds to lower blood pressure and heart rate
-and in some cases surgery

Adding blog

I hope you see these blogs. I tried to email you two times to add my name to the blog list. So I just finally decided to go under the clinicals webblog to get to my procedures post.

Tethered Spinal Cord

Tethered spinal cord is a neurological condition in which the spinal cord is attached which limits the movement of the spinal cord within the spinal column. The spinal cord can be abnormally stretched which can cause neurological symptoms.
Symptoms in children include:
-leisons, hair patches, dimples, and fatty tumors on the lower back
-foot and spinal deformities
-low back pain
-scoliosis
-incontinence
Symptoms in undiagnosed adults include:
-motor and sensory problems
-loss of bowel control
-loss of bladder control
Imaging procedures include plain xrays, CT, and MRI, with MRI being the better imaging modality.
Treatment is generally surgical repair.