Musculoskeletal - The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine

Date: September 22, 2026 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Sergey Motov is an Emergency Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. He is also one of the world’s leading researchers on pain management in the emergency department.  Reference: Sharabun et al. Oral Ibuprofen Versus Intramuscular Ketorolac for Acute Musculoskeletal Back Pain in […]

The post SGEM#521: Hit Me with Your Best Shot – IM Ketorolac for Back Pain? first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference:  Perry DC, et al. Surgical fixation versus non-surgical care for children with a displaced medial epicondyle fracture of the elbow (the SCIENCE study): a multicentre, randomised controlled, superiority trial and economic evaluation. The Lancet 2026 Date: July 14, 2026 Guest Skeptics: Dr. Megan Terle is an orthopedic surgeon and Assistant Professor for Pediatrics and […]

The post SGEM#517 : I Will Try to Fix You. Surgery or Not for Pediatric Displaced Medial Epicondyle Elbow Fractures first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference:  Perry DC, et al. Non-surgical casting versus surgical reduction for children with severely displaced distal radial fractures (the CRAFFT Study): a multicentre, randomised, controlled non-inferiority trial and economic evaluation. Lancet April 2026. Date: May 8, 2026 Guest Skeptic:  Dr. Andrew (Andy) Tagg is an Emergency Physician with a special interest in education and lifelong learning. […]

The post SGEM#510: Take this Broken Radius and just Cast It. first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference: Binder ZW et al. “Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Block for Pediatric Femur Fractures in the Emergency Department: A Prospective Multi-Center Study.” Academic Emergency Medicine, 2025. Date: November 24, 2025 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Lauren Westafer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Baystate. She is the co-founder […]

The post SGEM#496: Hangin’ Tough after a Nerve Block for Pediatric Femur Fractures first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference:  Boutin A, et al. Removable Boot vs Casting of Toddler’s Fractures: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. Published April 2025. Date: July 23, 2025 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Andrew (Andy) Tagg is an Emergency Physician with a special interest in education and lifelong learning. He is the co-founder and website lead of Don’t Forget the […]

The post SGEM#490: These (Removable) Boots are Made for Walking first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference: Otterness et al. The Use of TENS for the Treatment of Back Pain in the Emergency Department: A Randomized Controlled Trial. AEM Aug 2025 Date: August 22, 2025 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Lauren Westafer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Baystate. She is the […]

The post SGEM#483: Electricity – TENS Units for Treating Back Pain first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Reference: Cohen et al; SUSPECT study group. Can we avoid casting for suspected scaphoid fractures? A multicenter randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Traumatol. 2025 Date: May 1, 2025 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Matt Schmitz is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in Adolescent Sports Medicine and Young Adult Hip Preservation. He practices at the Rady Children’s Hospital in […]

The post SGEM#475: Break on Through to the Other Side – Management of Clinical Scaphoid Fractures first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Date: October 29, 2024 Reference: Galili et al. Low dose ketamine as an adjunct to morphine: a randomized controlled trial among patients with and without current opioid use. AEM Oct 2024. Guest Skeptic: Dr. Neil Dasgupta is an emergency medicine physician and ED intensivist from Long Island, NY.  He is the Vice Chair of the Emergency Department […]

The post SGEM#458: Hurt So Good –Ketamine Can Make the Hurt so Good – If used as an Adjunct to Opioids for Acute Pain in the Emergency Department first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Date: November 2, 2023 Reference: Coventry et al. Which clinical features best predict occult scaphoid fractures? A systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Emerg Med J. Aug 2023 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Matt Schmitz is an Orthopaedic Surgeon who sub-specializes in adolescent sports and hip preservation. He will soon be transitioning out of the US military after […]

The post SGEM#420: I get knocked down, but I get up again – do I have a scaphoid fracture? first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.

Date: October 26, 2023 Reference: Jones et al. Opioid analgesia for acute low back pain and neck pain (the OPAL trial): a randomised placebo-controlled trial placebo-controlled trial. Lancet July 2023 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Sergey Motov is an Emergency Physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. He is also one of the world’s leading researchers […]

The post SGEM#419: Welcome Back – To Another Episode on Back Pain first appeared on The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine.