South Hills Orthopaedics Sports Medicine & Physical Therapy

11/15/2025

What should you do if you suffer a meniscus tear? As long as it's not locked, unstable or severely incapacitating....then find a good PT, quit 'poking the bear' and ride it out. I've torn the medial meniscus in both knees, did my own PT (which really isn't much) and mainly stopped anything that provoked it and allowed them to become asymptomatic. They are both still torn, as they really don't heal, and I might take them to my grave without an issue, or I might step in a hole in the yard today (Xmas lights going up today) and tear it worse. The research noted in this post supports what has been out there for 20+ years. -Duffy

11/13/2025

I know why they do it...to make you need them. I don't like things that intimidate new exercisers, or scare them away. This goes back 40 years...to find out what weight to work out at, find your 1 RM ( one repetition max...the most you can lift once) and take X% of that. My 9th grader is going through that right of passage...."how much can you bench" I outgrew this stuff in high school, and certainly don't advocate 99% of the people out there to find out their 1RM. Why risk injury? What purpose will it serve that average guy? Just find a weight where you can bust out 5-15 reps in the set and there ya go -Duffy

11/11/2025

Why am I showing this odd muscle? Because I am unfortunate enough to sometimes gets cramps in it. Muscle cramps, usually at night, can certainly be an issue. Stretching the muscle is the best way to get the spasm to shut down, so if you know roughly where your problematic muscle IS, identify it online, find it's origin and insertion, and find out how to stretch it ! This knee muscle isn't so easy. And, my favorite way to get older folks to have some relief of their nocturnal cramps is to eat a banana before bed. The one they eat at 5:30 am for breakfast isn't in their system any more. This works for probably 95% of the cases. -Duffy

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17L9py1PFw/

11/08/2025

The link looks wonky but it's legit and works (I hate FB). Exercise Snacks !! Here's a snack that's actually good for you. Not perfect, but some benefit and maybe a nice number of people trying this will be encouraged to do more and see even larger benefits. -Duffy

https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/09/26/bjsports-2025-110027?fbclid=IwY2xjawNd8fhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFFQkk1cFA4TWpKU1lBWUVaAR510Vc-X666VkxKG4_4H5wbixBai4N84SIyv1GYJhG3LH8XlRR_Ou81THzVvw_aem_mBBMxhZw1Q76fvAdRheH4g

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11/04/2025

Please follow Dr Perricelli’s page for more great tips regarding your orthopedic health! -Duffy

https://www.facebook.com/share/17m5DVgorK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Brett Perricelli MD is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon and fellowship trained in hip and knee replacement. He specializes in hip and knee replacement surgery and has been with South Hills Orthopaedic Surgery Associates since 2011.

11/03/2025

Where's YOUR tank at? I use this to refer to the body's ability to handle some type of issue...illness, surgery, accident, stroke, etc. Young people have a full tank by default, especially when active. Older people don't, and often struggle to handle some issue thrown their way....some never recover. I see it daily. I'm a range-anxiety type guy....I could never own an electric car. I fill my gas tank up when half full, always prefer to have a full charge on my phone and ear buds....and try to keep my body tank full in case something happens...I'm not ready to check out yet, and I'd like to rebound as quickly as possible. -Duffy

11/02/2025

EXACTLY!!

11/01/2025

It was a busy week, so I entertained myself by stressing a healthy diet and telling patients how I eat a big bowl of berries every night before bed......didn't tell them what kind of berries, or that I followed upu with my nightly glass of scotch. Stan entertained everyone with his bunny suit AND a tutu !

10/30/2025

Bruxism is the act of grinding ones teeth at night. Clenching without the grinding may also occur. Most don't realize they do it, but a bedmate may inform them, or the dentist as he can see the wear. It's common as a method of stress relief/tension as I covered the other day in a post about the fight or flight reaction These folks will often have neck pain, headaches, and certainly TMJ symptoms. I wear a guard like this when lifting, as my dentist said he saw signs of clenching. I know this doesn't happen at night, but certainly does when I"m lifting....so that's where I wear it. The cost of a good custom night guard is pretty high, and wearing one to sleep isn't tolerated by everyone. A gym membership is cheaper to help relieve these stresses and has extra benefits as well......-Duffy

10/28/2025

The human fight or flight reaction. We've all experienced it, many will even deal with it today, and we've all likely learned about it in biology class. When we are exposed to what we PERCEIVE as a threat and danger, our body will release a cascade of hormones and neurotransmitters (much more than just "adrenaline"..which is epinephrine) so that we can either physically deal with this threat, or run away like crazy. Either way it is like pouring gas on a fire, and that fuel needs to be burned off rapidly. Anyone who was ever been in a fistfight knows exactly what this rush feels like....it's quite crazy yet exhilarating in a way but there's a huge crash after People will ask why boxers don't deal with this...it's because their fights are routine for them...no longer a threat, just a regular task. Humans can't always act this way, we can't punch our boss.....we can't sprint out of the office....so we suppress this, and the body needs to find another way to "burn" off this fuel that's been dumped in our system. One way, and it's not good, is muscular tension It's like driving with the brakes on, applying constant tension to tissues and joints, sometimes even the jaw via clenching (will cover that Thursday). We will often see those folks in the clinic for the manifestations of this constant tension. Guys tend to manage this better, because we are immature and yell at the TV during a game, throw things, get in traffic arguments etc....all which burn this fuel off. Everyone deals with stress in different ways.....some people thrive off it...they love it...and therefore don't have these issues. It's how we perceive the threat, not necessarily the actual threat....unless a bear is charging you. At the beginning of my career, after driving home in traffic for an hour, my neck was stiff as a board.....I discovered that by immediately changing and going running (which I HATE doing), I could feel the tension dissolve usually around 1 mile from home...there was a synagogue there and it always seemed to be the point of "ahhhhhhhh that feels better" It's another reason I tell people to exercise vigorously ......to help with this issue -Duffy

10/25/2025

I just love this. A patient came in a few years ago for PT after a wrist fracture and having surgery to stabilize with a plate and screws. Our upper extremity surgeon, Christopher Manning, cared enough to not ruin her tattoo and worked around the design. It was that extra step most would have blown off. She's back for another injury and I checked the wrist out and it's healing well, and she never even had to go get it touched up and likes the effects. -Duffy

10/23/2025

It's a shi@ weather day here in Pittsburgh...cold, gray, damp and dreary. Pitch black when I woke up, lots of aches, gym pretty empty as I would assume many others said "nope, not today" Does weather really affect the human body? Many studies say no, empirical evidence says otherwise. Accuweather has had an "arthritis index" for 20+ years, this arthritis foundation site has one, and both fit in with how I feel today....achy, stuffy Ashley's notes today when I go to sign off on them will have reports of the same from patients. Since we know pain is a BioPsychoSocial experience, we may experience the "bio" portion due to temperature and barometric pressure. We definitely experience the "psych" portion as it's just an ugly day. The
"social" portion possible as the gym was empty, not full of people working out hard and having fun...so that may have an influence on my brain as well. I had rare shoulder pain on one machine today, tried twice and gave it up for something else. Nocebo? perhaps! Expectations? perhaps ! People refuse to accept the brain portion of the pain experience, maybe because they feel it makes them weaker and out of control.....but once you accept it, understand all these influences, it's a lot easier to manage and function Oh Lord, I try and I try to get this info across. -Duffy

The webpage discusses the impact of weather on arthritis symptoms, including how changes in temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure can affect joint pain. It provides tips for managing arthritis during different weather conditions, such as staying active, dressing appropriately, and using hea...