Orthopedics

Navigating your orthopedic surgery residency after Match Day

Education

March 20, 2026

For students matching into orthopedic surgery, Match Day is both an achievement and an invitation. I matched 36 years ago. I still remember the anxiety of not knowing where on my list I would match. Orthopedic surgery was exclusive then. It still is. Recent analyses show that orthopedic surgery offered 916 residency positions across 218 programs in 2024, with a 74.3 percent match rate for U.S. allopathic seniors. That is …

Herniated disc recovery: a physician’s personal journey

Eric Dessner, MD

Conditions

March 16, 2026

Anyone that has suffered a herniated disc knows that the road to recovery can feel like a spiritual journey. The searing pain can be so extreme that it leads us to prayer. We may even question the very design of the human body. Why would an all-powerful, wholly good Creator of the Universe endow man with the capacity to experience so much agony? To fear the electric jolt caused by …

Medical relevance and evolution: Why physicians must reinvent themselves

Adam Bitterman, DO

Physician

March 11, 2026

Medicine is a field defined by constant evolution. Advances in technology, groundbreaking research, and shifting patient expectations continually reshape the landscape of health care. As physicians, we are entrusted with providing excellent care. But we must also ensure that our knowledge, skills, and approaches remain at the forefront of this ever-changing environment. Staying up to date isn’t just a professional obligation, but a necessity to remain effective and relevant in …

Treating your bone density like a retirement account [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 28, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Orthopedic surgeon Yoshihiro Katsuura, medical student Mark Polemidiotis, and premedical student Cyrus Nasr discuss their article, “Why young people need to care about bone health now.” Yoshihiro, Mark, and Cyrus explain that …

Why young people need to care about bone health now

Surgical Fitness Research Pod & Yoshihiro Katsuura, MD

Conditions

November 13, 2025

We all know high blood pressure and cholesterol can kill, but what about low bone mineral density? Bones are composed of calcium and phosphate, which is their mineral content. Bones low in calcium are said to have low bone mineral density, which can result in a condition known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis develops over a lifetime and is impacted by your peak bone mass as a youth. Thus, most osteoporotic problems …

Why physicians should embrace the role of performance coaches in health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

October 6, 2025

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Orthopedic surgeon Michael Day discusses his article “Why it’s time for doctors to become performance coaches.” Michael explains why public trust in U.S. health care is declining and how patients are increasingly …

Health care is having its Yahoo moment

Kevin J. Campbell, MD

Physician

October 3, 2025

In the late 1990s, Yahoo dominated the internet by organizing websites. Human editors manually reviewed, categorized, and arranged them into a hierarchical directory, essentially a digital Yellow Pages. This worked while the web was small, but the approach couldn’t scale. Google took a radically different path. Instead of relying on human judgment, they built algorithms to crawl, index, and rank pages based on links and relevance. This allowed them to …

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Health care is having its Yahoo moment

The link between chronic back pain and depression

Shabeena Hirani, DNP, APRN

Conditions

August 9, 2025

When a patient walks into an orthopedic spine clinic, most providers are focused on one thing: the back. But after over a decade of caring for patients with chronic pain, I noticed something deeper lurking behind the disc herniation and spinal stenosis: depression. And it was not being addressed.

That is why I launched a quality-improvement (QI) project focused on integrating depression screening into the routine evaluation of orthopedic spine patients. …

JFK warned us about physical fitness. Sixty years later, we’re still not listening.

Alexandre Bourcier, MD

Conditions

May 24, 2025

“We are under-exercised as a nation; we look instead of play; we ride instead of walk.”
—John F. Kennedy, Sports Illustrated, 1960

In 1960, then-President-elect John F. Kennedy issued a striking warning: Americans were becoming physically unfit, and this trend threatened not just individual health, but the vitality of the nation itself. He saw physical activity as foundational to our strength—not just as a people, but as a country. Over sixty years …

The hidden cost of delaying back surgery

Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD

Conditions

May 15, 2025

Spinal surgery patients frequently present to me after multiple years of managing their chronic back pain through physical therapy, injections, medications, and alternative treatment methods. Patients arrive at my office already worn out physically and emotionally drained from frustration about their chronic condition. What increases my concern is that irreversible damage has already resulted in many cases, which could have been reduced or prevented through earlier surgical treatment.

I recommend starting …

Why it’s time for doctors to become performance coaches

Michael Day, MD

Physician

May 4, 2025

The American public has lost its faith in the traditional U.S. health care system. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White’s statement is representative: “Do not talk to a doctor about your general health.”

This is not a fringe sentiment.

A 2022 survey of 4,208 adults in the U.S. revealed that only 54 percent of respondents placed “a great deal” of trust in doctors as sources of information.

I have patients who tell …

The future of orthopedic care: Embracing the ASC-urgent care model

Alejandro Badia, MD

Physician

December 6, 2024

The landscape of orthopedic care is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rising health care costs, patient demand for convenience, and the increasing popularity of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). As an orthopedic surgeon dedicated to advancing minimally invasive techniques and maximizing patient outcomes, I believe the key to navigating this evolving landscape lies in prioritizing patient access to the appropriate clinician via seamless care delivery. Simply put, “the right clinician …

A night of stars: Finding solace in the vastness of the sea

Michael J. Collins, MD

Physician

August 14, 2024

An excerpt from The Shieling.

The sun had set an hour earlier, but the light in the western sky lingered, as if nature itself couldn’t bear the thought of ending such a beautiful day. David stood on the shore, waiting until the last bit of light had faded away leaving a dark, moonless night with not a breath of wind, not a ripple on the smooth surface of the silent …

My spinal cord injury story from physician to patient, and how I rebuilt my nervous system

Dr. Olivia Ong

Physician

January 26, 2024

It took a traumatic spinal cord injury in 2008 to transform my life.

The experience was a radical awakening. I was told that I would never walk again.

On one fine spring day in 2008, my life changed forever. I was walking to work when I was hit by a car at high speed. My body was flung into the sky, and as I hovered, like a slow-motion movie, a few thoughts …

New year, new resolutions: an orthopedic surgeon’s path to balancing career and family in 2024

Adam Bitterman, DO

Physician

January 23, 2024

A recent discussion with a partner led us to list our academic goals for 2024.

It’s a process many of us go through each year. What did we accomplish throughout the year? Could we have done better? Is there more to do? How could we improve? What’s on tap for the upcoming year?

It’s an annual ritual, I know.

We reviewed his overall plan and went through how he could accomplish his professional …

Lacertus syndrome and the quest for diagnosis

Dinaaz Lentin

Conditions

December 1, 2023

An excerpt from BATTLE SCARS: A courageous memoir of one person’s life experience within our health care system.

The main part of my memoir focuses on the journey which led to my eventual recovery from Lacertus syndrome. I now have a name for my condition but am yet to understand why I’ve …

Don’t put off medical care: X-ray for minor knee pain finds tumor

Jennifer Wood, MD

Conditions

October 6, 2023

My fiancée had been complaining on and off about minor knee pain and swelling for months. She kept putting off doing anything about it, because she’s a former college basketball player who had already had two surgeries on that knee, and she assumed it was residual effects from those injuries. But I was having a slow day in clinic, so I told her to come in for an X-ray.

And then …

Debating the role of psychiatric assessments in medical decisions

Christian Youssef & Francisco M. Torres, MD

Conditions

September 26, 2023

I recently had an incident involving a long-time patient. This particular encounter proved to be challenging. The patient had chronic pain for years and had already exhausted all conventional treatment options. Ironically, he was otherwise healthy and fit. His recalcitrant condition made him a prime candidate to be treated with a spinal sord stimulator (SCS).

An SCS is an implantable device with two electrode leads connected to a battery-powered pulse generator. …

Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers?

Adam Strohl, MD

Conditions

September 19, 2023

One in five adults in the U.S. suffers from chronic pain. We see these patients every day—but do we really hear them when they confide in us about their pain?

As health care providers, no matter our discipline, we can do more to truly listen and consider the best referral pathway for pain sufferers. We should never assume they’re making it up, that it’s in their heads, or that nothing …

The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

Stephanie Jeret

Conditions

September 17, 2023

How many rabbits have you seen with crooked teeth? How about bears or dogs? Why are humans the only mammals with crooked teeth?

An orofacial myofunctional disorder, or OMD, describes abnormal lip, jaw, or tongue positions during rest, swallowing, or speech. There are many distinct points at which a child or adult’s system may experience a breakdown, leading to subsequent events known as craniofacial sequences. Allowing these events to persist without …

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