AMSSM Mentor Program Assists Future Sports Medicine Physicians

 Dr. Raymond Reiter is private practice physician in the Saddle Brooks, New Jersey area. In addition to general surgery, Dr. Raymond Reiter spent much of his early career in sports medicine, formerly belonging to the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), an organization that provides physicians in this field a forum to advance the discipline.

Among its many membership benefits, the AMSSM offers a mentor program that works to attract physicians to the field. The program connects current active and associate members with students, giving seasoned professionals an opportunity to share basic tenets of the field with prospective sports medicine physicians, tenets that are not simply learned in a textbook.

Through its mentor program, the AMSSM focuses on fostering relationships between its physician members. Older physicians share their experiences and insights with newer ones while giving back to the profession. These residents and mentees can then devise a strategy for their own career paths with the imparted advice and knowledge.

Recovering at Home After Back Surgery

Certified by the board of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. Raymond Reiter is a physician at North Jersey Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute. In his practice, Dr. Raymond Reiter treats patients with orthopedic injuries including back injuries and monitors patients in recovery.

Recovery after a spine procedure takes time. Exactly how long it will take depends on several factors including age, general health, type of surgery, and how severe your condition was prior to the surgery. To ensure a smooth recovery, do not be in a rush to get back to your normal routine. Give your body enough time to heal first.

After surgery, a physician may recommend that you join a physical therapy program to help you heal faster and cope better. You may feel pain where the surgery was performed. Discuss this with a pain management specialist to determine the best pain relief course of action.

When the bandage falls off after a week, the area of the incision may look red or feel numb. Check it daily to see if it swells, drains extra fluid, or opens up. If it does, consult your doctor. Do not expose the incision to water for at least a week. This will mean covering it with a plastic wrap when you bathe.

Only perform moderate activity after surgery. Avoid tasks that involve bending or heavy lifting. While sleeping, assume positions that don’t cause back pain. If your doctor prescribed a back brace, wear it while sitting or walking. Take only short walks following the surgery. Do not swim, run, golf, or perform exercises that strain the back. Lastly, stay up to date with your doctor’s appointments.

ACL Injury Linked to Changes in the Brain

Orthopedic and sports medicine practitioner Dr. Raymond Reiter leverages four decades of professional experience to serve the patients of the North Jersey Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute. At the practice, Dr. Raymond Reiter performs PRP joint injections and electrodiagnostic studies and evaluates orthopedic and sports-related injuries.

One of the most common athletic grievances is the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. A new study conducted by the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology has discovered that patients who undergo ACL reconstruction develop structural changes in the brain. These changes are deemed harmful since they can cause reinjury and performance deficit and hinder the overall recovery of the patient.

In the study, 10 ACL reconstruction patients were subjected to MRI brain scans. The scans revealed that a portion of the pathway that carries messages from the brain to the muscles, which is called the corticospinal tract, was wasting away.

The researchers said that the side of the tract that is responsible for controlling the ACL-reconstructed knee is 15 percent smaller than the side that controls the uninjured knee. Because of this narrowing of the corticospinal tract in ACL-reconstructed patients, the muscles receive less information from the brain.

The researchers believe this is the brain’s way of protecting the body from unnecessary movements around the injured knee. This principle may be applied to other musculoskeletal conditions as well.

This study will help clinicians provide holistic treatment to knee injuries since other areas of the body, such as the brain, may be affected. Better outcomes may be achieved as treatment goes beyond improving the range of motion