OrthoInjury orthoinjury.app

Understanding Your
Orthopedic Injury.

Evidence-based information about musculoskeletal conditions, treatment options, and recovery — from an MD with 20+ years in orthopedic technology.

I spent six years at BrainLAB building image-guided surgical navigation systems. I've watched thousands of orthopedic cases. The thing that surprised me most wasn't the surgery — it was how little patients understood about what was happening to their bodies before they got to the operating room. This site exists to close that gap.

Where does it hurt?

Common Conditions

12 Conditions, Straight Talk

Knee Osteoarthritis
The most common joint condition. 14 million Americans live with symptomatic knee OA.
What most people don't know

Most knee replacements last 20–25 years. If you're 55, you may need a revision. Ask about partial replacements.

AAOS patient guide
Rotator Cuff Tears
Affects 2 million+ Americans yearly. Not all tears require surgery.
What most people don't know

Small tears often heal better with PT than surgery. The decision to operate should be based on function, not MRI findings alone.

AAOS patient guide
Lumbar Disc Herniation
80% resolve with conservative care within 6–12 weeks.
What most people don't know

The disc that herniates is almost never the disc that hurts on imaging. Correlation between MRI findings and pain is surprisingly weak.

AAOS patient guide
Hip Osteoarthritis
Joint replacement is one of the most successful surgeries in medicine.
What most people don't know

Anterior approach hip replacement has faster recovery but not better long-term outcomes. Don't choose a surgeon based on approach alone.

AAOS patient guide
ACL Injuries
250K+ ACL injuries per year. Return-to-sport depends on more than surgery.
What most people don't know

Young athletes who return to sport before 9 months have a re-tear rate 6x higher than those who wait. The knee heals on biology's schedule, not yours.

AAOS patient guide
Spinal Stenosis
The leading cause of surgery in adults over 65.
What most people don't know

Walking tolerance is the key metric. If you can walk less than a quarter mile, surgery helps. If you can walk a mile, it usually doesn't.

AAOS patient guide
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Most common nerve compression. Often overtreated.
What most people don't know

Night splinting for 6 weeks resolves symptoms in 60% of mild-to-moderate cases. Surgery should be reserved for nerve damage confirmed on EMG.

AAOS patient guide
Plantar Fasciitis
90% resolve without surgery. Patience is the treatment.
What most people don't know

Cortisone shots provide 4–6 weeks of relief but weaken the fascia long-term. Stretching is boring but it works.

AAOS patient guide
Meniscus Tears
Among the most common knee injuries — but often misunderstood.
What most people don't know

35% of people over 50 have meniscus tears with no symptoms. If your pain started gradually and you're over 40, surgery rarely beats PT.

AAOS patient guide
Achilles Tendon Rupture
A dramatic injury with a surprisingly conservative treatment option.
What most people don't know

Conservative casting achieves equivalent re-rupture rates to surgery in most patients. The choice is more about return-to-sport timeline than outcome quality.

AAOS patient guide
Trigger Finger
A common hand condition that's frequently sent straight to surgery.
What most people don't know

Steroid injection resolves trigger finger in 60–70% of cases. Surgery is for when injections fail — most people skip straight to surgery and bypass the injection phase entirely.

AAOS patient guide
Frozen Shoulder
Adhesive capsulitis — painful, slow, and usually self-resolving.
What most people don't know

Frozen shoulder almost always resolves on its own within 1–3 years. PT and time, not surgery, is the right first approach for most people.

AAOS patient guide

Outcome Tracking

What Your Surgeon Should Track

PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) let your surgeon measure how you actually feel and function — not just how you look on imaging. If your practice isn't collecting them, ask why.

PROMIS Physical Function
All orthopedic conditions
PROMIS Pain Interference
All orthopedic conditions
KOOS JR
Knee-specific outcomes
HOOS JR
Hip-specific outcomes
If your surgeon isn't tracking these, they may be missing billing codes that fund better follow-up care for you — and they have no objective baseline to measure your recovery against.
Learn how surgeons capture missed value

Surgeon Conversations

5 Questions to Ask Your Surgeon

1 "How many of these procedures do you do per year?"
Volume matters. High-volume surgeons have consistently better outcomes. The research on this is clear across joint replacement, spine surgery, and shoulder reconstruction. A surgeon doing fewer than 50 of a given procedure per year is not who you want for complex cases.
2 "What does your complication rate look like?"
Good surgeons know their numbers and aren't afraid to share them. If the answer is "I've never had a complication," that's a red flag — not a reassurance. Ask specifically about infection rates, re-operation rates, and 90-day readmission rates.
3 "Do you track patient-reported outcomes?"
If they don't measure how patients actually feel, they can't improve — and they can't tell you whether you're recovering normally. PROMIS, KOOS, and HOOS scores at 3, 6, and 12 months are the gold standard. Ask if they use them.
4 "What would you recommend if this were your family member?"
This question cuts through the noise. Watch for hesitation. A surgeon who recommends surgery for their family member is telling you something real. A surgeon who pivots to PT and lifestyle changes for their family member — when they've been recommending surgery to you — is also telling you something real.
5 "What happens if I do nothing?"
The most underasked question in orthopedics. Many conditions improve on their own. Knowing the natural history of your condition — what happens without intervention — is essential context before agreeing to any procedure. Most surgeons won't volunteer this unless you ask.

Further Reading

Resources

OrthoInfo (AAOS)
Patient education from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. The gold-standard reference for condition-specific information. Every condition on this page links here.
PubMed
38 million+ peer-reviewed articles. Search your specific condition + "randomized controlled trial" to find the best evidence for treatment decisions.
SolvingHealth Evidence Engine
Open-data clinical evidence platform connecting patients, surgeons, and health systems around shared outcomes data.
orthoinjury.app
Bookmark this page. New conditions and insights are added regularly. Share it with anyone who's just been told they need orthopedic surgery — the conversation should start here.