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Making an accurate diagnosis requires time, experience and  skill.

A rushed or inexperienced examination can result in a wrong diagnosis and the wrong treatment plan.

In addition, a wrong diagnosis can result in setting unrealistic expectations and timelines.

Before proceeding to any form of treatment,  your physician or physio  should be able to answer the following six questions for you.

1. What specific tissue(s) have been injured? (anatomical name)
2. What is the least vascular tissue that has been injured (tendon? cartilage?)
3. How severe is the tissue damage? (grade 1? grade 2? grade 3?)
4. What is the prognosis for a full recovery of an injury of your severity? (will it heal? will it be 100%?)
5. How long does it take for an injured tissue of your severity to biologically heal or mature?
6. What are realistic biological  timelines to see a (1) reduction of pain (2) improvement in function?

Without these answers, proceeding to any form of treatment can be a waste of time, money and potentially create chronic, permanent pain that cannot be fixed by surgery or any amount of money.

Put another way, 98% of patients with musculoskeletal injuries get better on their own.

Surgeons do not operate on MRIs, they operate on people with families, careers and they consider this responsibility very seriously before proceeding to surgery.   Surgery is not easy and cannot fix everything.

What surgeons do operate on are;

(1) anatomical problems that pose an imminent threat to a  limb, an organ or a joint (emergency surgery)  or

(2) conditions that have failed to improve after a well designed treatment plan, that carry a high risk of further disability in the future, if untreated.

Even with a positive MRI, if the surgeon isn’t  (a) confident that he or she can fix your problem  or (b)  thinks other treatment options need to be explored first, you can expect to  be sent away.  In fact, even after months to years on a waiting list, upwards of 80% of all patients seen by orthopaedic surgeons are not offered surgery.

Rather than wasting time by sitting on a waiting list doing nothing, you may want to consider seeing Terry for an orthopaedic physiotherapy assessment to get another opinion on whether you’ve exhausted all non-surgical options or not.

Orthopaedic Physiotherapy Assessment > “Do I need to see a surgeon or are there other options?”

In addition to seeing thousands of patients,  Terry Kane has participated in monthly Sports Medicine, Knee and Shoulder Rounds at the University of Calgary Sports Medicine Centre for twenty years.

At  these meetings, some of the most experienced surgeons, physicians, radiologists,  physiotherapists and biomechanic experts discuss the  most challenging orthopaedic cases in Southern Alberta as well as the latest research and treatments.

Terry has first hand experience in how sports medicine physicians and  surgeons analyse patients and make clinical treatment decisions, especially whether surgery or another procedure is indicated.

Over the years, Terry has helped hundreds of  patients and surgeons to review their cases through a comprehensive orthopaedic physiotherapy assessment.  Is surgery indicated?

At the conclusion of an assessment, Terry will offer his experienced opinion on what you can expect to hear from a surgeon or sports medicine physician.

If Terry believes you would benefit from seeing a surgeon or sports medicine physician, he will refer you to the most appropriate surgeon or specialist for your condition.

On the other hand, if Terry believes you aren’t a surgical candidate,  because you  need to revise your home exercise plan or make other lifestyle modifications, he will  make these recommendations at this appointment.

Terry Kane has over 25 years of hands on experience in rehabilitating patients post-surgically as well as working with some of the top Orthopaedic surgeons in Canada and the United States.

Achieving the best post-surgical result requires safe and appropriate exercise for a minimum of three months. The top priority is restoring range of motion followed by restoring full muscle flexibility and strength.

Terry has worked with patients who have undergone the procedures listed below and many others;

1. Fractures
2. Spinal Fusions
3. Spinal discectomies and laminectomies
4. Ligament reconstructions
5. Mensical repairs
6. Tendon repairs
7. Total joint replacements (Shoulder, Hip, Knee)
8. Nerve entrapments
9. Osteochondral joint injuries

Calgary Orthopaedic Network

For twenty years Terry has been active in Calgary’s Orthopaedic network as both a participant in Knee and Shoulder Rounds, as well as lecturing for the Orthopaedic Program at the University of Calgary.  As a result of his participation, Terry is familiar with not only the surgeons, but more importantly with the procedures they perform and the criteria underwhich they operate or don’t operate.

In 2009 Terry founded OrthopaedicProtocols.com to help surgeons, physicians and physiotherapists access rehabilitation protocols.  The library is now the largest online library in the world, containing over 600 protocols / guidelines and  is visited by clinicians in over 100 countries.