Therapy and Rehabilitation for Upper Extremity Injuries in Athletes.

The approach to rehabilitation of upper extremity injuries in athletes differs from traditional rehabilitation protocols. In general, athletes have higher functional demands and wish to return to competitive sport in a timely manner. Comprehensive rehabilitation must therefore be balanced with a timely and safe return to sport.

Triangular fibrocartilage complex injuries in the elite athlete.

Injuries to the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) in athletes can be caused by acute trauma, chronic repetitive loading, or a combination of both. Regardless of cause, the management of TFCC injuries in the high-performance athlete is often different from the basic tenets applied to the general population. The diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation regimen should be individualized and sport-specific in athletes, taking into consideration the priorities and needs of the athlete while striking a balance between healing, return to play, and long-term well-being.

Omental free-tissue transfer for coverage of complex upper extremity and hand defects--the forgotten flap.

Free omental tissue transfer is a versatile reconstructive option for trunk, head and neck, and extremity reconstruction. Its utility is due to the length and caliber of the vascular pedicle and the malleability and surface area of the flap. We report our experience with omental free flap coverage of complex upper-extremity defects.

A comparison of combined arthroscopic triangular fibrocartilage complex debridement and arthroscopic wafer distal ulna resection versus arthroscopic triangular fibrocartilage complex debridement and ulnar shortening osteotomy for ulnocarpal abutment syndrome.

Purpose: Treatment of ulnocarpal abutment (UAS) syndrome involves decompression of the pressure and impingement, or abutment of the ulnocarpal articulation. Debridement of triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears alone in the patient with UAS may have a failure rate of as much as 25% to 30%. Ulnar shortening osteotomy (USO) can be an effective treatment of failed TFCC debridement.

The value of Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy in predicting postoperative osteomyelitis in grade IV pressure ulcer patients.

We present a retrospective review of 108 patients with spinal cord injury who underwent reconstruction of grade IV pressure ulcers between 1989 and 1994. Complications of reconstruction secondary to undetected osteomyelitis, namely, deep abscess and sinus tract formation, and their effect on hospital course after the flap reconstruction were quantitatively evaluated. Specifically, this study assesses whether the use of Jamshidi core needle bone biopsy allows for the accurate diagnosis, and therefore treatment, of osteomyelitis before pressure ulcer closure.