Category Archives: Mythbusters
Prof. Nick London reflects on one study which gained lots of media attention recently. Cloudy with a chance of pain. If you’ve been an orthopaedic surgeon for any length of time (and it’s fair to say I’ve been doing this a while) you’ll have lost count of the number of people who tell you theirContinue Reading
Does glucosamine work?
Glucosamine and chondroitin are sold as a way of slowing the deterioration of cartilage and relieving osteoarthritis pain. But do they really work? Jon Smith looks at the evidence. Walk into any health store or supermarket and in amongst the vitamins and minerals you’ll find glucosamine and chondroitin. They’ve been around for a couple ofContinue Reading
What’s the issue with a diagnosis of runner’s knee? Jim Newman explains. Runner’s knee is a condition lots of people get, and which you see most often in young women. You don’t have to be a runner to get it. In fact, often the activity levels seem to bear little relation to who has theContinue Reading
YKC’s Jim Newman considers the question… I’ve lost count of the numbers of knee conditions described by one journal or another as “silent epidemics” but here’s another one, and in this case the description might just be justified. Meniscal root tears are common in patients in their 40s and 50s who have very early signsContinue Reading
If you have osteoporosis or osteopenia can you still have a knee replacement? And if so, how will your condition affect the way your knee surgeon carries out the operation? Yorkshire Knee Clinic’s Dave Duffy explains. Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bones. It is preceded by osteopenia, a gradual decrease in bone density thatContinue Reading
Prof. Nick London argues that context was sorely lacking from a recent report used by the Daily Mail. A recent Daily Mail article on the ‘WORST hip and knee replacements’ (capitalisation most definitely the Mail’s) understandably caused concern amongst patients and prompted an urgent combined response from the British Orthopaedic Association, the British Hip SocietyContinue Reading
Why taking up a new sport post-knee replacement surgery might not be the best course of action. Patient: “Doctor, will I be able to play the piano after my knee replacement operation?” Surgeon: “Yes you will.” Patient: “That’s odd because I couldn’t play it before.” If I had a pound for each time I’d heardContinue Reading
Fresh from his latest fell run, Yorkshire Knee Clinic’s Jon Smith explains why running isn’t so hard on the knees after all. Osteoarthritis is a painful and debilitating condition. It happens when the cartilage within the knee wears away, leaving bone to rub on bone. And if I asked 100 people about the everyday thingsContinue Reading
Can you really have a knee replacement operation and be home the same day? Yorkshire Knee Clinic’s Jon Smith explains why, in the case of partial knee replacements, the answer is often ‘yes’. We’ve referenced the US healthcare system many times in these pages, often in relation to insightful research and studies; occasionally for theContinue Reading
In the latest in our season on the emerging technology in knee surgery, Prof. Nick London cuts through the marketing to explore the decisions that really are critical to the success of your knee surgery. Do a quick Google search of the latest news surrounding total or partial knee replacements and you could be forgivenContinue Reading
