Playing a sport, leading an active lifestyle or taking an unexpected tumble can lead to joint injuries such as a sprained ankle or a torn rotator cuff in the shoulder. Sometimes joints just start complaining because of accumulated wear and tear.

Sports medicine specialists often need to evaluate the best methods for overcoming pain and restoring the function of injured joints. Are there ways to alleviate the pain of such joint problems without undergoing surgery?

Physical medicine and regenerative injection therapy are two old but often underutilized ways of treating injured joints to restore them to painless function. Physical medicine may also use approaches such as yoga to restore range of motion and build back strength. Learn how physiatry, yoga and prolotherapy could benefit your aching back, knees or hips.

Loren Fishman, MD, is medical director of Manhattan Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City. He is also associate editor of Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation, on the staff at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and past president of the New York Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. His books include the forthcoming Healing Yoga, Yoga for Osteoporosis, Yoga for Arthritis and Cure Back Pain with Yoga. His website is www.sciatica.org

Brian Shiple, D. O., is director of the Center for Sports Medicine in Springfield, PA, and assistant clinical professor of Family and Community Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine. His book (written with Marlise Wind, MD) is Regenerative Healing for Life: A New Paradigm to Treat Injuries and Pain without Surgery.

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