Basic bone science

Basic knowledge in bone science in a simple and nice way. This is the presentation I prepared for my internship in the Orthopedics and Traumatology department of the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam.

Paralysed man walks again after cell transplant

A paralysed man has been able to walk again after a pioneering therapy that involved transplanting cells from his nasal cavity into his spinal cord.

Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down in a knife attack in 2010, can now walk using a frame.

The treatment, a world first, was carried out by surgeons in Poland in collaboration with scientists in London.

Read the rest on bbc.news.

Are you using protein powder supplements?

"These so called 'dietary supplements' are not considered to be a food or a drug in most countries and therefore the contents and purity of these products is NOT tested or closely regulated by national governments. Clearly, the burden of safeguarding athleticism and public health against contaminated dietary supplements for building muscle in athletes has been placed on the individual." 

I recently came across some very interesting articles about the use of protein powder supplements. I suggest you read them before deciding to put them in your dietary/training program:

1. Here are the average amounts of metals we found in three servings of these protein drinks - ConsumerReport.org

2. Hazards of heavy metal contamination - OxfordJournals.org

3. Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, believes that the FDA's oversight under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act is inadequate to ensure that protein drinks and other dietary supplements are consistently low in steroids heavy metals and other contaminants -

ConsumerReport.org

4. Many dietary supplements are contaminated with steroid-like chemicals that cause a 'positive' doping test and that are not known to be safe - The University of Texas

5. Why Steroids Are Bad for You -  WebMD

Apart from the possible negative effects of these supplements, there is an important reason I, personally, do not use them: it is more fun and a greater challenge for me to test my limits with what I have and what my body can do and without any "external" help ;-)

2 cases with a complete proximal hamstrings rupture

Tomorrow I am going to follow an operation for a patient that had a complete rupture of his proximal hamstrings - left and right side.

Here is some very useful information for anyone that is interested:

1. Hamstring Muscle Injuries - OrthInfo
2. Hamstring Injuries - Orthobullets
3. Case study: Two patients with a complete proximal rupture of the hamstring

Your genes are not your medical destiny

With relatively uncommon exception, that is the rule established by ground-breaking research published over recent years, and nicely illustrated by a 2008 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That rule could, and perhaps should, remake the way you play the game of life.

Read more here.

Stop doing crunches and start training your body..!

Who needs a gym when there’s the living room floor? Bodyweight exercises are a simple, effective way to improve balance, flexibility, and strength without machinery or extra equipment. From legs and shoulders to chest and abs, we’ve covered every part of the body that can get stronger with body resistance alone.

Is it time to put electrophysical agents back in the physical therapy toolbox?

It’s time to smash the myths about electrophysical agents (EPAs) and put them back in the physical therapy toolbox where they belong. That will be the message from one of the profession’s leading names in EPA research, in an agenda-setting session at the WCPT Congress in May.

Here is also another beatiful website on electrotherapy.