Your hands and wrists can suffer from conditions resulting in pain and dysfunction. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Dr. Michael L. Blackwell can diagnose and effectively treat your hand and wrist concerns. One of the most common issues Dr. Blackwell sees in his patients in Kingwood, Tomball,...
You depend on your feet and ankles every day, of course. Weak ankles make you more prone to falls, accidents, and injuries, so while you might not give your ankles much thought, it’s in your best interest to focus on strengthening them from time to time. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports...
When you experience a compound or open fracture, the broken bone breaks through your skin. You might be able to see exposed bone or muscle in the open wound. Compound fractures are serious, and need the right treatment in order to heal without lasting complications. You’re at increased risk of...
You’re in the heat of the moment, pushing your body to the max, and you land hard, pivoting at the same time. That’s when you hear a popping noise, feel your knee go out from under you, and start to suffer from severe pain. You’ve experienced an injury to your ACL...
Tears and injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in your knees are among the most common sports injuries out there. Your knees need all four of their major ligaments to function reliably under the pressure of athletic activity. If you don’t recover fully from an ACL tear, you risk long-term...
Your heel has been aching, twinging, or otherwise hurting. Have you been recently injured? Does your heel pain indicate an underlying medical problem? When should you see a doctor about heel pain? At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Dr. Michael L. Blackwell and his team of foot and ankle experts can help you...
If you have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), you can suffer from distressing symptoms of pain, stiffness, and inflammation in locations around your body due to a harmful autoimmune response. With this condition, the immune system reacts to your joints and tissues as if they were harmful invaders, attacking your own body....
Your hands and wrists contain multiple tendons, bones, and ligaments that allow you to move in complex, flexible ways. It also means there are lots of ways for issues to arise with your hands and wrists. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Dr. Michael L. Blackwell and his team of orthopedic and sports...
You rely on your wrists and hands for more daily tasks and motions than you can probably count. That makes it all the more important to understand the repetitive use conditions that can harm these areas of your body. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Tomball, Kingwood,...
You can break a bone anywhere in your body. Broken bones can be large or small, in your legs or in your arms, or even in your joints. Not all bone fractures are the same, however. In a stable fracture, the ends of the bone stay in place, and closed...
Your ankles have to handle the complete weight of your body when you’re on your feet and active, while still giving you the flexibility you need to maintain the full range of motion. That’s a big task! To protect your ankles from injury or degeneration, it’s an important part of...
Whenever you’re active in a sport, whether you’re playing competitively or just having fun and getting some exercise, you run the risk of sports injuries. However, you can do a lot to reduce your risk of getting hurt while getting active. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, with...
If you’re getting active for the first time in a while — or if your New Year’s resolutions included hitting new performance heights in your sport — it’s important to be aware of your risk of repetitive use sports injuries. For sports and activities that range from running to tennis...
Osteoarthritis (OA) was once thought to be an inevitable part of aging. Now we understand that proactive prevention often lessens the wear-and-tear that causes severe OA. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine of Tomball, Kingwood, and The Woodlands, Texas, we can help with your OA-related concerns. Our team,...
Your knees can suffer from a range of injuries and painful medical conditions, from torn tendons or ligaments to joint damage related to arthritis. Sometimes, it seems like your knees might just be the most vulnerable part of your entire body. For orthopedic expertise, you can turn to Dr. Michael...
It’s no surprise that playing sports increases your child’s physical health and reinforces teamwork, among many other benefits. On the other hand, being active in athletics significantly increases the chances of your child sustaining a sports injury. You want to protect your child’s health, present and future. With the right...
Sometimes, the best treatment for chronic joint pain is surgical. If your chronic shoulder pain and joint instability don’t improve with conservative treatment, Dr. Michael L. Blackwell and the experts at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine may recommend shoulder replacement surgery. Dr. Blackwell provides comprehensive support for patients...
You have 206 bones of substantial size in your adult body. Any of those bones can sustain a break or fracture in certain circumstances. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, we’re familiar with breaks and fractures of all kinds, from long bone injuries to spinal problems. We can...
Your bones and muscles form the core of your body. Anything you accomplish in sports is built on the foundation of your musculoskeletal strength. You probably focus on muscle strength as part of your conditioning routine — but what about bone strength? At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine,...
Athletes who jump, land, and pivot with high speed and intensity are especially at risk for knee injuries. The ligament in the front of your knee, your anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), is particularly vulnerable to strains, tears, and other athletic injuries. An ACL injury requires rest and treatment to heal...
Female athletes have some unique sports medicine needs. This includes their higher risk of knee injuries. The sports medicine experts at the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine of Tomball and Kingwood, Texas, provide care and support for female patients with athletic interests. Our team, led by Dr. Michael L....
Staying active provides many benefits to your physical and mental health, but participating in sports can also increase your risks of sprains and other injuries. If you’ve sprained an ankle or wrist, or suffered a back sprain, it’s important to rest and heal. How do you know when it’s safe...
Athletes live with the threat of injuring an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). If you tear this important part of your knee joint, you could be benched for the rest of the season. Due to structural aspects of leg musculature, women are more likely to deal with ACL tears than men....
Your hands and wrists contain multiple small joints, connected with ligaments, muscles, and bones. Your wrist might seem like a single joint, but it actually has more than one joint — and that means there are plenty of things that can cause wrist pain and other problems. At the Center...
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the four major ligaments that come together in your knee joint. Located in the front of your knee, the ACL is a common culprit for injuries, including tears. ACL tears are common and repairable in young athletes. However, ACL injuries can also...
You have to crook or bend your finger in order to pull a trigger. The condition known as trigger finger derives its name from that bent shape of your finger. When you have this disorder, also known as stenosing tenosynovitis, one of your fingers seems to get stuck in a...
An injured ankle can sharply limit your mobility, on top of the pain it causes. After you start to heal, what do you need to do to stay safe and stable on your healing ankle joint? Further, what steps should you take to ensure that this important joint heals properly,...
Across the United States, an estimated 32.5 million adults in the United States are dealing with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Furthermore, about half of people will develop knee osteoarthritis at some point in their lifetime. If you’re one of the many people living with knee osteoarthritis right now, you have treatment...
Whether you run marathons, go for leisurely walks with friends, or just putter around your house, the common denominator is how much you rely on your feet. No matter how you use your feet, one thing is certain: The constant use leaves them vulnerable to often-painful issues. Depending on the...
As an athlete, you know there’s nothing worse than being sidelined by an injury and forced to watch your teammates compete without you, or miss valuable days if you prefer individual sports. Recovering from an injury is difficult enough without later having to forfeit even more playing time because the...
Pain anywhere in your body can range from annoying to debilitating. Hip pain is no exception, sometimes making it difficult to walk, stand, or even rest comfortably. Millions of people who suffer with hip pain know the desperation of trying to find lasting relief from their agony. Armed with the...
Whether you’re a factory line worker or a chronic social media scroller, your wrist is essential to your daily life and ability to function normally. When your wrist and the bones and muscles within it become damaged and irritated, you experience the pain and immobility associated with conditions like carpal...
With sports injuries accounting for just over a third of all injuries in recent years, and just under one-third in children more currently, it’s no wonder that sports medicine doctors are in high demand. From tough-tackling football players to gracefully tiptoeing ballerinas, no athlete is immune to injuries. If you’re...
Given how much you rely on your shoulders, hearing a diagnosis that you need to have total shoulder replacement can be scary. Make sure you know the facts about what you’re facing. With that in mind, we’re here to be fully informed. At the Center for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine,...
ACL tear: Two of the most feared words to hear if you’re an athlete. This injury typically means surgery and several months of downtime. There is life after an ACL tear, however, and we’re here to support you, from your diagnosis to your return to the field. At the Center...
A hairline fracture might seem like a mild problem, but ignoring the issue and putting further pressure on the bone can lead to a more serious breakage. It's best to visit a doctor and take it easy, especially if you’re an athlete. If left untreated, a hairline fracture can quickly...