The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine Vol 27 No 8

July 31, 2010

Shoulder pain is complex and difficult for even experienced clinicians to diagnose. This article reviews how to use history, simple physical tests, and imaging to distinguish rotator cuff disorders and osteoarthritis from osteonecrosis, adhesive capsulitis, labral tears, or acromioclavicular joint pathology.

July 31, 2010

anagement of low back pain (LBP) includes a variety of approaches. The clinician should involve patients in the discussion and encourage them to become active participants. Bed rest has many deleterious effects; remaining active is more effective for patients with acute or subacute LBP.

July 31, 2010

The most common secondary form of osteoporosis is corticosteroid-induced disease. Cases of endogenous corticosteroid excess are few compared with the large number produced by exogenous use of the drug for management of many diverse diseases.

July 29, 2010

Screening for osteoporosis should be conducted for all women 65 years and older and for younger women whose fracture risk is equal to or greater than that of a 65-year-old woman who has no additional risk factors, according to a US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation statement draft.

July 28, 2010

Close to one-third of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) differ from their physicians in their assessment of disease severity, according a University of California, San Francisco study. Researchers found that patients who have depressive symptoms or poor overall function disagree with their physicians in their evaluation of RA activity more frequently than those who do not.

July 27, 2010

Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) should not be performed in patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis (GHOA) who have an irreparable rotator cuff tear, and physicians should use perioperative mechanical or chemical venous thromboembolism prophylaxis for patients who have undergone shoulder arthroplasty.

July 26, 2010

Patients with sports injuries frequently go online seeking help in making medical decisions, but the quality of information they obtain about the most common sports medicine diagnoses varies widely, according to a recent study.

July 25, 2010

Meaningful improvement is common among patients who have or are at risk for osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee 30 months after initial assessment.

July 24, 2010

Abnormal synovial vascularization can be visualized by MR angiography (MRA) as early as 6 weeks after the start of inflammatory hand symptoms.

July 24, 2010

The risk of upper GI bleeding and perforation varies among NSAIDs at the doses frequently used in the general population.

July 24, 2010

The prevalence of several medical conditions, including cardiovascular, neurological, pulmonary, endocrine, GI, and psychological disorders, is higher in persons with primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) than in the general population.

July 24, 2010

The risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) is increased in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with the general population. ILD has a devastating effect on survival in patients with RA.

July 23, 2010

Physical activity performed at an early age results in sustained improvement in bone health evidenced by higher bone mineral content (BMC).

July 22, 2010

The article “Physical activity plan recommends new 'vital sign'” (The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine, June 2010, page 233) caught my attention. Traditionally, every medical student introduced to physical examination and diagnosis as part of his or her clinical experience has been taught that the vital signs should be the recording of a patient’s body temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and respiration, as well as the noting of body weight and height measurements.