Healthy Diet and Exercise for the New Year

By Robert A. Kayal, MD, FAAOS

2012 brings feelings of hope and optimism, as well as a deluge of resolutions. Many people resolve to lose a few pounds, particularly after paying the price for holiday indulgence. While diet and exercise can indeed help you achieve your weight loss goals, Kayal Orthopaedic Center, your premier New Jersey orthopaedic surgical team, reminds you that healthy diet and exercise is the key to keeping yourself pain-free and in better condition.

Healthy Exercise Habits

According to the American Obesity Association, carrying more weight than is appropriate for your frame size can lead to musculoskeletal pain. Aerobic exercise can help you shed the pounds needed to take excess pressure off of your joints, but it’s important to employ healthy exercise habits. If you have never exercised before or if you have pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, consult your primary care provider before you begin a series of workouts.

Once you have the green light to work up a sweat, start slowly. Walking, jogging and simple stretching gets your body used to the increase in activity without the threat of muscle strains and sprains. Chronic pain in your hips, knees, back, feet or ankles may simply be your body’s way of telling you to slow down, but if your pain persists, be sure to contact your local NJ orthopaedic doctor for advice. “Working through the pain” can lead to more serious injury. As you become more physically fit, incrementally increase both your mileage and workout time to amp up your weight loss routine.

Begin a Healthy Diet

Exercise can increase your flexibility, contribute to joint health and help you work off holiday pounds, but following a healthy, year-round diet is another smart lifestyle change that protects you from obesity and chronic disease. As with exercising, be sure your intended dietary changes are appropriate for your individual state of health.

Vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients help you focus, improve your immunity and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time so you aren’t as tempted to snack. Remember to make healthy lifestyle changes, though—instead of adhering to unhealthy fad diets and unproven supplements. Slow and steady is just as crucial for healthy dieting as it is for exercising. Simple ways to ease into a healthy diet include:

Some of the most frequently of the most frequently occurring shoulder conditions treated by the Kayal Orthopaedic Center include:

• Drinking water instead of sugary juices and sodas
• Choosing brown rice and whole wheat pastas and bread products over white
• Crunching on nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables instead of fat-laden, salty snacks
• Including low-fat dairy products in your diet

A healthy lifestyle can help to keep your aching back or sore hips in check, but if you still experience pain, don’t let it become a habit. Contact Kayal Orthopedic Center today to discuss your symptoms. Happy New Year! May you experience health, fitness and happiness in 2012.

Managing Lower Back Pain

By Robert A. Kayal, MD, FAAOS 

Low back pain stemming from sciatica, spinal stenosis or other causes is a common debilitating condition. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), it is also the most prevalent cause of work-related disability. Lower back pain is not just uncomfortable, though. If left untreated, it can lead to potentially serious medical problems. Don’t put off having a qualified NJ orthopedic surgeon address your low back pain to determine its cause—and the best course of treatment for your symptoms.


SCIATICA: Sciatica is a type of low back pain found most commonly in adults between the ages of 30 and 50 years old. Sciatic pain can be chronic and tends to affect one or both legs as well as your back. Sciatica is the result of sciatic nerve compression. The affected nerve runs from the lower back, past the buttocks and down through each leg. Symptoms of sciatica can include:

• Long-lasting pain intensified by sitting
• Tingling, burning or numbness
• Weakness in the affected leg 

A herniated disc in the low back is a common cause for nerve compression. Bulging or herniated discs are often just a sign of aging, but can result from trauma such as a car accident. Sciatica that is related to disc problems can be treated non-surgically through rest, physical therapy and medication. In some cases, surgery is required to manipulate the disc into its proper position and provide pain relief. Expert NJ back surgeons can repair herniated discs and guide you in post-surgical rehabilitation exercises to strengthen core muscles. Stretching and exercises can alleviate and prevent low back pain in many people.

SPINAL STENOSIS: Another possible cause of low back pain is spinal stenosis. Your spinal cord is surrounded by a number of protective structures, including vertebrae, muscles and ligaments. Spinal stenosis is the narrowing of these structures; picture a tunnel that has suddenly grown smaller inside. The primary cause of this spinal stenosis is arthritis. During arthritis, the discs in your back lose fluid and harden. This reduces the diameter of the space surrounding your spinal cord while causing symptoms similar to sciatica. These include:

• Burning or tingling in the buttocks, thighs or lower back
• Weakness in the legs and feet
• Low back pain that increases upon standing or walking

The experts at Kayal Orthopaedic Center may suggest a variety of treatment options for spinal stenosis. All are designed to relieve your low back pain and to increase your daily level of function. Lumbar traction and other forms of physical therapy can manage your symptoms and decrease associated nerve compression. Anti-inflammatory medications reduce swelling around the spinal nerve, and may be taken orally or through a series of steroid injections. Alternative therapies such as acupuncture may also be beneficial to spinal stenosis patients, and your Kayal Orthopaedic specialist can provide information about these options.

Kayal Orthopaedic Center surgeons often perform laminectomy and fusion procedures to correct severe cases of spinal stenosis. During a laminectomy, your NJ back surgeon removes fragments of bone and soft tissues that are causing nerve pain. Back fusion permanently attaches two or more vertebrae together to create a stronger spinal structure. This may offer pain relief when alternative therapies have not been successful.

Don’t let low back pain interfere with work, family and activities! Call Kayal Orthopaedic Center today at 201-447-3880 to schedule an appointment with our NJ orthopedic specialists. Online appointment scheduling is also available through Sage Intergy Practice Portal: a convenient way to manage all of your orthopaedic healthcare needs.

Ask the Kayal Orthopaedic Center Expert:

By Robert A. Kayal, MD, FAAOS

UPPER EXTREMITY PAIN: FAQs ABOUT COMMON ELBOW INJURIES 

It’s no secret that, while exercise and recreation keep us healthy, they occasionally lead to nagging aches, injuries and musculoskeletal pain. When left unaddressed, these conditions may become chronic, requiring a long-term hiatus from offending activities. To prevent this, it’s important to discuss pain and immobility with a qualified NJ orthopedic expert.

Whether caused by (1) overuse, (2) wear and tear, (3) repetitive motion, or (4) sports and conditioning, a slow-healing elbow injury is frustrating and restrictive. Our orthopedic surgeons see a variety of elbow conditions, and two of the most prevalent are golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow. It is not unusual to see increasing elbow injuries during the NJ autumn, since the mild weather spurs enthusiasts to spend their time outdoors.

GOLFER’S ELBOW: Also known as medial epicondylitis, golfer’s elbow impacts patients who are overusing forearm muscles and tendons. The condition begins when microscopic tendon tears lead to ongoing inflammation and pain—which can come on gradually or quickly. Golfer’s elbow is typically caused by repetitive, improper technique in your golf swing, baseball pitch, racquet sport or weight training regimen. Pain may become worse as you grip a club or racquet, throw a ball, twist a doorknob or flex wrist to forearm.

Golfer’s elbow symptoms may include pain and soreness inside the elbow; stiffness when making a fist or straightening the arm; and numbness or tingling that radiates into the lower arm or hand. To diagnose this elbow condition, your orthopedic specialist will perform a thorough examination and discuss your activities/medical history.

After ruling out other damage using x-ray or MRI, our team may recommend rest, ice, physical therapy and brace immobilization. If symptoms persist, you may need one or more cortisone shots, in combination with rehab. In rare cases, surgery is recommended. Surgery for golfer’s elbow typically entails removing damaged tissue, shaving the bone and repairing or reattaching the tendon to take pressure off of the elbow joint.  

TENNIS ELBOW: Similar to golfer’s elbow, tennis elbow occurs when microtendon tears develop into pain and inflammation. This pain occurs on the exterior of the upper arm near the elbow, and is often caused by racquet sports. However, tennis elbow may also be caused by repetitive wrist twisting—as when using a screwdriver, painting a wall or moving a computer mouse.

Tennis elbow symptoms include worsening joint pain, weakening grasp, and discomfort that radiates from the outer elbow into the forearm and hand. Pain typically worsens when the wrist is bent backward, or while grasping something and straightening the elbow. Extreme stiffness may also prevent full arm extension.
  
To diagnose this elbow condition, your Kayal Orthopaedic surgeon will examine your arm, discuss your activity and medical history—and may recommend an x-ray to rule out other joint conditions. Like golfer’s elbow, the best treatments for tennis elbow include rest, ice, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory medications and immobilization. However, persistent or recurring tennis elbow may need surgical debriding, or “cleaning up” of damaged tissue. Your surgeon can also clean out scar tissue and repair/reattach the extensor tendon to take stress off of the elbow joint.

Are You Limited by Elbow Aches, Pains and Immobility? 

CALL THE KAYAL ORTHOPAEDIC CENTER TODAY!

If elbow pain, stiffness and numbness are preventing you from enjoying your favorite activities, it’s time to call our team of leading NJ orthopaedic surgeons. Our helpful staff can arrange an initial consultation, schedule elbow imaging and return you to the links, court or baseball diamond quickly and safely. Call 201-447-3880 today—or login online to request an appointment through our Sage Intergy Portal.