For about the last month the first joint (nearest the tip of my thumb) has been extremely sore. It is very stiff and difficult to bend. When I could bend it, there was a definite clicking sound. Sometimes it aches so bad that it wakes me up at night. Any suggestions on what I an do?

Please if someone could explain to me why groin pain aprox. 1-2 inches away from my penis has to do with arthritis of the hip joint? When I look at a view of the hip joint , the joint seems not very close. I'm a 43 year old male diagnosed with a "fair amount" of arthritis in both hips, and labural tears in both, the right side was cleaned out 8 years ago, and now I have been told not to bother doing the left.

hi i am a 47 year old man due to have this surgery in march 2009 i have had a dropped foot for the past 29 years has anybody had this procedure done and if so could you tell me about recovery and the results many thanks

I fell of my mountain bike 2 weeks ago with my left arm fully outstretched. As a result I have a fractured left radius. 2 days later, I undergone surgery. They placed a metal rod with 7 screws into my forearm to re-align my radius and get it growing into the right direction. My doctor said there is no need for casting since nothing out of the ordinary was found except for the fracture. He advised me to everyday, slowly stretch my arm fully to give it some sort of rehab as early as almost 2 weeks after my operation since no dislocation in the elbow was found on the post-surgery x-ray.

I was diagnosed with degenerative disk dease 5 years ago and have had 4 epidurals sence then..yesterday with my 4th one I was diagnosed with moderate to sever cervical spinal stenosis...I have 3 bulging disks and 1 herniated. out of those 4, I have 3 with tears in them. I'm extremely scared and not sure what to expect. Im only 40 years old..the only thing we can account it from is that I use to be a heavy equipment operator..no accidents..nothing else to account for it. If anyone knows of any home remedy, like where I might find a home use cervical deconpression system..please let me know.

Dear Distinguished eOrthopod members,

I am a 51 year old man. I am an electronic technician by trade. I fell about 5 feet or so back in 2006 and injured my Sacroiliac joint on the left side. When I wake up, I have very little pain. But when I start moving around the pain begins. The more I move around the more pain I feel. I must take frequent breaks and just sit or lay down. When the pain is present I feel it in my SI joint but also in my hip, down the inside of my thigh, along my calf, and very sharply on the pad of my left heal.

During high school (sophomore year) I sprained my AC joint, I was in a sling for about a week and then shortly returned back to play because I didn't have a lot of pain. However i developed a large knot in my back on the medial side of my right scapula, there was also tightness in my neck. For this I went to pt and they did STIM on my shoulder. This helped for a little bit but never really resolved the issue. I had back spasms and a continuous popping of my shoulder. My shoulder almost felt out of place until I would pop it.

My 19-year-old son has torn his ACL a second time (same knee) in about 2 years. Our orthopedist has recommended "redo" surgery and avoidance after surgery of the sports my son loves -- football, soccer, bball, skiing.

1. Is this our only recourse--surgery and avoiding contact sports? (I have read that the second surgery is not always as effective as the primary.)
2. If this is our best route, would a knee brace help protect the knee?
3. Would it be worth seeking a 2nd opinion?

As an aside, who answers the questions posted on this site?

I recently had surgery on myleft knee for acl reconstruction and mcl repair. It's been a month. I am recovering normally (I guess) as my physiotherepeist been telling me. My finencial situation and Job dose not allow too much time off from work, so I had to go back to work after 15 days of surgery. My sergon is aware of it and I am following all his special instructions (keeping brace on, use crutches, not bearing weight more then 30%). I am doing all my physiotherepy exersizes religiously. I still have pain and stiffness.
How long it will be before I can at least walk normally?

I saw another doctor about my hip fusion, probably the last doctor. His name was Doctor Walters in Flint, MI. He was great, very informative, and most importantly honest.
When Dr Walters walked into my room he said, " Well aren't you a special girl."
I wasn't sure what he meant but I had an idea.
Dr Walters continued to inform me that I have one of the best fusions he has ever seen.
Fused at a perfect angle, 45 degrees.
Fused by one of the best Orthopedic surgeons in the country, Dr Hensinger UofM Ann Arbor.
I function almost perfectly and walk with an almost unnoticable limp.