Tag Archives: #orthopedics

Chronic Pain Conditions Among Women in the Military Health System

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PainRelief.com Interview with:
Andrew J. Schoenfeld, MD
Professor, Harvard Medical School
Orthopaedic Surgery
Brigham and Women’s Hospital 

PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: The impetus for this research stems from my time as the Director of the Medical Evaluation Board at Fort Bliss Texas during my time on active duty with the Army between 2009-13 and my time in Ann Arbor VA between 2013-15.  We wanted to understand the impact that repeated exposure to the high intensity deployment to combat theaters during 2006-2013  had on women active duty servicemembers and women civilian dependents of active duty servicemembers who were deploying

PainRelief.com: What are the main findings?

Response: Significant increases in the diagnosis of Chronic Pain conditions among women active duty service members as well as women civilian dependents who were affiliated with the military between 2006-13.

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Caution Should Be Taken with Hip Steroid Injections For Arthritis Pain Relief

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PainRelief.com Interview with:
Kanu M. Okike, MD
Orthopedic Surgeon
The Hawaii Permanente Medical Group

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Hip corticosteroid injections are a common treatment for osteoarthritis and other hip conditions.  Recently, isolated case reports have raised the question of whether hip corticosteroid injections could be associated with rapid progression of the arthritis process – a condition known as rapidly destructive hip disease (RDHD).

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Fusion vs Replacement for Pain Relief from Ankle Arthritis

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PainRelief.com Interview with:
Bruce J. Sangeorzan, M.D., Professor
Director, RR&D Center for Excellence in Limb Loss Prevention and Prosthetic Engineering
Veterans Affairs
University of Washington

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: We began a series of studies in the early 2000’s when ankle replacement was limited to a few centers like our own. We knew that ankle arthrodesis– or fusion—was an effective treatment for ankle arthritis. But ankle fusion is not appropriate for some people and it also results in loss of ankle motion. There were a growing number of ankle replacements being done but little was known about their effectiveness or how long they last.

We wanted to study whether replacement and fusion were comparable for pain relief and activity and wanted to know if maintaining motion of the ankle (by using a replacement) would have an advantage without additional risk. Three studies were done involving more than 800 patients from 6 centers.

This most recent study compared two groups of patients who had similar amount of pain and activity before treatment. All of the patients had already tried non -surgical solutions such as activity modification, bracing and injections with out improvement. One group had fusion of the ankle and the other had replacement of the ankle. Patients were questioned and examined four years or more after surgery and compared to their condition before treatment.

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