Orthopedic surgeons, physiatrists, and their patients writing on KevinMD about musculoskeletal care: back pain and the procedures that can weaken a young spine, knee and joint surgery, spinal stenosis treated least invasive first, non-opioid pain management and how it is paid, orthopedic residency and the women entering it, and what a patient in pain needs to be asked. Two maintained records draw on this archive: Opioids: what physicians and pain patients say, in their own words and Surgeons and surgery: what surgeons say, in their own words.

Depression after spinal cord injury hides in plain sight

Conditions and Diseases
July 10, 2026

During my residency, while rotating through the spinal cord unit at the VA Hospital in Puerto Rico, I cared for young veterans who, to my surprise, had, in most cases, adjusted remarkably well to a new reality: they would spend the rest of their lives in a wheelchair. I remember one case, in particular. I recollect this case well because the patient was the unofficial Don Juan of the unit. …

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Depression after spinal cord injury hides in plain sight

Why patient engagement platforms must reduce staff burden [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 8, 2026
YouTube video

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Orthopedic surgeon Kevin J. Campbell discusses the article “Understanding Generation 2 patient engagement platforms.” Kevin discusses the article through a practical distinction between first-generation patient engagement tools that increase access but also …

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Why patient engagement platforms must reduce staff burden [PODCAST]

Radiofrequency ablation and the young back pain patient

Conditions and Diseases
July 4, 2026

I remember my early years in interventional physiatry with a clarity that only comes from repetition. A young patient, often in their twenties or thirties, would walk in with a single, unremarkable complaint: axial low back pain, non-radiating. The exam told a consistent story: pain reproduced with extension and rotation, no radicular findings, and no neurological deficits. Imaging was equally quiet: maybe a mildly bulging disc, some early facet hypertrophy, …

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Radiofrequency ablation and the young back pain patient

Knee osteoarthritis in women may begin with childbirth

Conditions and Diseases
July 3, 2026

Every physician has seen it.

A healthy young woman gives birth, recovers from the immediate demands of pregnancy and childbirth, and returns to the responsibilities of work and family. Years later, often decades later, she presents with chronic knee pain, hip discomfort, lower back pain, or declining mobility. Eventually, some of these women progress to knee replacement surgery.

We usually regard these events as unrelated. Perhaps they are not.

The question deserves greater …

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Knee osteoarthritis in women may begin with childbirth

A doctor turned patient on what healing really requires

Physician
June 27, 2026

“You will never walk again.”

As a doctor, I had delivered difficult news to patients before. But nothing prepared me for hearing those words myself after I was struck by a car in 2008 and suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury. In an instant, I went from physician to patient.

Before my injury, medicine was built around certainty for me: diagnoses, treatment plans, measurable outcomes. Then I entered the world of rehabilitation, …

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A doctor turned patient on what healing really requires

Conservative care for back pain is not “wait and see”

Conditions and Diseases
June 11, 2026

One of the most common things I hear from patients is, “I was told to give it more time.” As a neurosurgeon who has spent more than 30 years treating spine conditions, I’ve seen how often that advice is both appropriate and, at times, misleading.

In many cases, it is the right approach. Most back pain improves. The body has a remarkable ability to heal, and conservative care remains the appropriate …

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Conservative care for back pain is not “wait and see”

Musculoskeletal health may be the foundation of prevention

Conditions and Diseases
June 6, 2026

Few would argue against the extraordinary success of modern cardiovascular medicine. Over the past half century, physicians, researchers, public health leaders, and policymakers have invested enormous effort in understanding and reducing cardiovascular risk. Smoking cessation campaigns, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, diabetes treatment, cardiac rehabilitation, and advances in acute cardiac care have collectively saved millions of lives.

As a result, Americans today are far more aware of cardiovascular health than previous …

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Musculoskeletal health may be the foundation of prevention

A letter to my future self, the team physician

Medical Education
May 31, 2026

As a former Team USA figure skater with my own Olympic dreams, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own experience as an elite athlete while watching the Winter Olympics this year. With Match Day behind me and medical school graduation approaching, it is also time to dream of the future again.

In March, I matched into orthopedic surgery for residency, and I hope to complete a sports medicine fellowship to …

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A letter to my future self, the team physician

After Match Day, orthopedic surgery is finally open to every kind of surgeon [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 27, 2026
YouTube video

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When you open your Match Day envelope, you step into an orthopedic surgery field that looks nothing like it used to. John E. Klibanoff, an orthopedic surgeon, discusses his article “Navigating your …

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After Match Day, orthopedic surgery is finally open to every kind of surgeon [PODCAST]

The quiet art of building trust with patients in pain

Conditions and Diseases
May 27, 2026

Before I ever stepped into a clinic, I learned diplomacy at the dinner table. I learned how silence could be strategic. How tone traveled faster than words. How disagreements could unfold without becoming rupture. How laughter, timed well, could soften a room. I watched adults negotiate boundaries, expectations, and emotions in real time and internalized something I would not be able to name for years: authority is not volume. It …

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The quiet art of building trust with patients in pain

Athletic trainer scope of practice is not a turf war

Conditions and Diseases
May 17, 2026

A high school basketball player lands awkwardly after a fast break. For one second, the gym goes silent. He grabs his ankle. His coach runs toward him. His teammates stop moving. His parents, sitting near the sideline, do not know whether to hope he can stand up or pray that he will not try.

In that first minute, no one is thinking about professional titles. The question is painfully simple: Who …

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Athletic trainer scope of practice is not a turf war

PRP therapy protocols lack expert consensus

Medications
May 6, 2026

As a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) physician, I have guided patients through musculoskeletal care. Recently, my focus has shifted toward regenerative medicine, particularly platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy. What began as curiosity is now a strong commitment to understanding these therapies for patients who have exhausted conventional treatments.

This new focus led me to attend an intensive weekend course with experts from orthopedics, sports medicine, PM&R, rheumatology, and pain medicine. …

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PRP therapy protocols lack expert consensus

Why doctors struggle to listen to your body after an injury

Conditions and Diseases
April 22, 2026

For 26 years as a plastic surgeon, I have given my patients the same advice after surgery: Listen to your body. Pain, fatigue, and swelling are not inconveniences. They are signals. They are the body’s language, guiding us toward healing or warning us when we have gone too far. What I have learned this year, at 65, is how difficult that advice can be to follow.

In January, I was training …

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Why doctors struggle to listen to your body after an injury

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How one doctor navigated orthopedic residency while pregnant

Physician
April 15, 2026

The Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS) Dr. Jessi Block Courage Award is awarded annually to an RJOS member who demonstrates strength and integrity in the face of everyday obstacles. The definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one” and “strength in the face of pain or grief.” Courage is a conscious choice and a willingness to confront a difficult situation. As health care professionals, we become …

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How one doctor navigated orthopedic residency while pregnant

Knee replacement marketing undermines informed consent

Conditions and Diseases
April 13, 2026

She came in having done the work. She had watched the clinic videos. Read the website. She knew the name of the proprietary technique for knee replacement that the surgeon’s practice was advertising. She used it correctly in the first sentence of our consultation. What she could not tell me was what the approach actually did differently, which structures it spared, or why it might matter for her specific anatomy …

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Knee replacement marketing undermines informed consent

Knee osteoarthritis demands layered pain management

Conditions and Diseases
April 10, 2026

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) remains a leading cause of chronic pain and reduced mobility, affecting millions of adults worldwide, particularly those over age 50. As cartilage deteriorates and inflammation increases, patients often face pain, stiffness, swelling, and limitations in daily activities. Although no cure exists, a structured, escalating treatment plan can significantly alleviate symptoms, preserve function, delay disease progression, and help many individuals avoid or postpone surgery. Current guidelines from the …

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Knee osteoarthritis demands layered pain management

Why walking matters most in post-acute rehabilitation

Conditions and Diseases
April 9, 2026

One of the most common questions I hear in rehabilitation is not asked during therapy sessions. It is usually asked quietly by a family member after the session ends. “Will my mother walk again?” Families rarely ask about therapy intensity or functional scoring systems. They do not ask how many minutes of treatment occurred that day. They ask about walking. Walking represents independence. It represents the possibility of returning home. …

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Why walking matters most in post-acute rehabilitation

Understanding Generation 2 patient engagement platforms

Health Technology
April 7, 2026

Patient engagement platforms are software systems that deliver clinical information to patients and manage patient questions and concerns outside of scheduled visits, including patient portals, mobile apps, and messaging systems. After nearly a decade of watching (and studying) the evolution of patient engagement platforms, I have come to see them as two distinct generations. I will refer to them as Generation 1 and Generation 2. Not because this distinction exists …

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Understanding Generation 2 patient engagement platforms

How to treat sacroiliac joint pain effectively today

Conditions and Diseases
April 3, 2026

If you have nagging pain deep in your lower back or one buttock that never seems to settle, you are not alone. Many people chase answers through discs, nerves, or muscles, yet the real source turns out to be the sacroiliac (SI) joint. This connection between the base of your spine and your pelvis is built for stability with just a hint of motion. When it becomes irritated or unstable, …

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How to treat sacroiliac joint pain effectively today

The cost of time constraints in primary care: Why doctors feel rushed

Physician
March 29, 2026

A patient comes in with hip pain. It is not dramatic hip pain. There is no trauma and no fall. It is just a gradual ache that now wakes her up at night. She cannot sit comfortably. Getting in and out of the car is harder, and she is worried. The X-ray is normal. Now what?

In another era, this is where medicine began, not ended. It began with history, examination, …

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The cost of time constraints in primary care: Why doctors feel rushed

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