So as a fellowship-trained shoulder and elbow specialist, I take care of a broad range of shoulder pathologies. I see young athletes that have shoulder problems from maybe throwing or being otherwise competitive in athletics.
I see people that are in their middle ages that sometimes have labral problems or rotator cuff tears, and we take care of a lot of those patients and are able to uniquely treat each one of them with a customized solution that will usually get them back to performing the activities that they enjoy.
When I see a new patient, we’re able to diagnose the problem typically in one visit by a range of maneuvers and physical exams that we’ll provide. And then also, frankly, I enjoy talking to my patients and getting to know them and understanding the history and what got them to this point. We will do some imaging with some basic x-rays. Occasionally we have to get an MRI or a CT scan, but frankly, I’m confident that oftentimes we don’t need to spend the extra time and money on those imaging modalities.
Arthritis is a common problem for people. As we all get a little older, we get a touch of arthritis, and for some people that can be debilitating. So for me, seeing a patient with arthritis is an opportunity for me to get people back to their quality of life and regain their momentum with the activities that they enjoy.
My number one priority is that we pursue all non-operative treatments first. We offer a broad range of options from anti-inflammatory medications. We have physical therapy, which is a mainstay for a lot of shoulder pathology. We look at injections that can help alleviate the pain, bring down inflammation, and really allow you to excel in terms of your recovery. We also have options for biologic treatments, such as PRP, and these oftentimes allow patients to have a last line of defense prior to needing to look at surgical intervention.
In the event that surgery is necessary, we have a wealth of options that allows us to treat patients uniquely and find the right solution for them. We talk through that process and we come up with the right solution for you, whether that may be a labral repair, or a rotator cuff repair, or perhaps a shoulder replacement.
