On to one of the most confused and often mixed up diagnoses. First, the sprain.

A sprain involves the injury of a ligament. Ligaments are strands of connective tissue that give support to your joints. See the first article below for the Wiki ligament page. The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is an example. Ligaments have a little stretch to them, but not much, if they did they couldn’t fulfill their purpose to provide support. Technically you can sprain any ligament, but there...

Other than total knee replacement, a couple of the most common post-op knee surgeries I see are for ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and meniscus repair. First, lets look at the ACL.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery is one of the more recognizable surgeries of the knee, especially to those familiar with the sports world. The ligament runs from the anterior (front) of your tibia (lower leg bone) to the posterior (back) of your femur (thigh bone) and prevents...

Plantar fasciitis is a condition thought to be caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, but some new research suggests there may be other causes (see the last link below for more). The plantar fascia runs from the bottom of your heel to the ball of your foot, and is a wide band of connective tissue. X-rays may show calcified deposits and the presence of heel spurs from the repetitive stress and tension on your heel, though spurs are often asymptomatic (non-painful).

Generally...

I’ve heard it called the rotary cuff, the rotator cup, and everything except what it is. There is quite a bit of confusion of what exactly the rotator cuff is and does. Sparing the detailed anatomy (if you want that, see the links below) the rotator cuff is comprised of four muscles and their tendons. These muscles are anchored on your shoulder blade and attach to the top of your upper arm bone. A common analogy used to describe the shoulder joint is a golf ball on a golf tee. It is a joint...