Opioid-Free Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair.

Rotator cuff repair is known to cause significant pain, and therefore opioids are often prescribed postoperatively. The United States is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic, and prescription opioids are considered a gateway drug to opioid abuse and addiction. Orthopedic surgeons are looking for alternative means to control pain.

Web-Based Self-Directed Exercise Program Is Cost-Effective Compared to Formal Physical Therapy After Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Background: Web-based physical therapy (WBPT) is a potential means to reduce costs following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Although outcomes data support the use of self-directed therapy after TKA, there is a paucity of literature evaluating its cost-effectiveness. This study aimed to determine utilization trends of either outpatient physical therapy (OPPT) or WBPT after TKA, assess the outcomes of patients based on their use of WBPT, OPPT, or both, and evaluate OPPT costs based on the amount of WBPT used.

Alk2 regulates early chondrogenic fate in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva heterotopic endochondral ossification.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is a critical regulator of cartilage differentiation and endochondral ossification. Gain-of-function mutations in ALK2, a type I BMP receptor, cause the debilitating disorder fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) and result in progressive heterotopic (extraskeletal) endochondral ossification within soft connective tissues. Here, we used murine mesenchymal progenitor cells to investigate the contribution of Alk2 during chondrogenic differentiation and heterotopic endochondral ossification (HEO).