As Sports Medicine Surges, Hope and Hype Outpace Proven Treatments

"The result is therapies that are unproven, possibly worthless or even harmful. There is surgery, like a popular operation that shaves the hip bone to prevent arthritis, that may not work. There are treatments, like steroid injections for injured tendons or taping a sprained ankle, that can slow the healing process. And there are fads, like one of Ms. Basle’s treatments, P.R.P., that soar in popularity while experts debate whether they help."

"All this leads Dr. Andrew Green, a shoulder orthopedist at Brown University, to ask, “Is sports medicine a science, something that really pays attention to evidence? Or is it a boutique industry where you have a product and sell it?”

“For a lot of people it is a boutique business,” he said. “But are you still a doctor if you do that?”

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This article in yesterday's New York Times has the same tone as the Newsweek article I posted previously. The overwhelming criteria for new treatments, drugs, etc. is being pushed by patients and their desire for instant relief without lifestyle changes. It is hard not to fall into this mindset since everything else in this world seems to be a pill or treatment away.

Mother Nature eventually wins so why not play by her rules to begin with.

Dr David Marcon
Work Smarter Not Harder!
Cincinnati, Ohio 45255
drdavidmarcon.com