Fortunately, many shoulder problems can be treated without surgery. Often physical therapy is necessary to focus on restoring muscle balance and posture. These rehabilitation exercises are best done in a guided fashion, with professional therapists focusing on specific exercises and muscle groups to speed recovery. However, attending physical therapy can be time consuming and expensive. Also, many patients feel uncomfortable attending a physical therapy location during the coronavirus outbreak.

In an attempt improve post-operative recovery, Dr. Gregory has developed world-class non-operative rehab programs with myHealthTrack to coach patients through their optimized recovery journey.

myHealthTrack is a mobile app in which Dr. Gregory’s specific therapy guidelines are combined with videos, daily reminders, and detailed instructions from sports psychologists and trainers to develop a mental and physical framework that guides, motivates and tracks patients back to their active lifestyles.

Currently, non-operative protocols for rotator cuff problems, labral tears, biceps tendonitis, frozen shoulder, AC joint sprain, and shoulder arthritis are currently active. To explore, please download the myHealthTrack mobile app from the application store, create a profile, and use Dr. Gregory’s unique code prov_53805. A one-time fee is charged for access to the program. This fee is substantially less than in-person physical therapy copays, and the rehab program can be done at home, at your convenience.

Focusing on rehabilitation can head off many problems before they become severe. If you’d like to discuss non-operative treatment of your shoulder issue, please contact Dr. Gregory’s office.

A challenging aspect to caring for athletes who are returning to their sport from an injury can be trying to establish the appropriate time to do so. If an athlete returns too soon, he or she risks further injury. Too late, and uncessary time is spent away from sport. Dr. Gregory has worked alongside physical therapists to help develop a functional testing program, specifically focusing on athletes who are recovering from a UCL injury – both with and without surgery. Although a majority of these injuries are seen among baseball players, they are also very common among gymnasts, wrestlers, or other competitive athletes. This testing program has been modeled off of a longstanding series of tests that are performed on patients recovering from ACL surgery. The objective of the testing is to determine a safe timeframe for the athlete to begin sports-specific rehab activities, as well as help decrease the re-injury rates following surgery. Through this unique, data-driven, team approach to therapy, Dr. Gregory is helping athletes get back quickly and safely.

Navigating the pre-operative and post-operative recovery process can be hard. In an attempt to streamline and improve post-operative recovery, Dr. Gregory has partnered with a company called myHealthTrack to extend world-class care through daily, digestible content that coaches patients through an optimized recovery journey.

myHealthTrack is a mobile app in which Dr. Gregory’s specific post-operative recovery guidelines are combined with detailed instructions from sports psychologists and trainers to develop a mental and physical framework that guides, motivates and tracks patients back to their active lifestyles.

Currently, protocols for rotator cuff repair and shoulder replacement have been developed and are currently active. To explore, please download the myHealthTrack mobile app from your application store, create a profile, and use Dr. Gregory’s unique code prov_53805. New protocols are being added each week, so check in with Dr. Gregory to see if you are a candidate to participate in this exciting addition to the recovery process.

Despite advances in rotator cuff repair instruments and techniques, not all rotator cuff repairs heal. As a result, finding ways to improve rotator cuff healing is critically important. The subacromial bursa, which is tissue that sits on top of the rotator cuff, has been found to be rich in stem cells. These cells are thought to be critically important in healing, but traditional rotator cuff repair techniques involve removing and discarding this subacromial bursa tissue. Dr. Gregory has pioneered a technique to capture the subacromial bursa, and reimplant it on top of the rotator cuff after a repair. He performs this technique routinely, and has seen excellent results. As part of his desire to improve the quality of shoulder care, he has published his technique in the hopes on encouraging other surgeons to find ways to improve rotator cuff healing.

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Gymnastics is a sport that puts significant stress on the shoulder and elbow joints. In some patients, this stress can lead to injury. In the recent edition of JBJS Case Connector, Dr. Gregory describes a gymnast who sustained a stress fracture to a bone on the front part of the elbow, called the coronoid. Unfortunately, this stress fracture did not heal, and required surgery. Dr. Gregory pioneered a new minimally invasive arthroscopic elbow technique to fix this fracture, which was successful in allowing the patient to return to gymnastics at a high level. This technique has the potential to improve the care of other gymnasts who sustain similar injuries. For more information, see the research article below.

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In a recent article from the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Dr. Gregory and his team analyzed all the shoulder replacements done in the state of Texas since 2010.  They found approximately half of the Texas population does not have access to specialists who perform shoulder replacements, and there may be a huge unmet need in these patients for care of their shoulder problems.  Patients are also more willing to travel longer distances to see specialists like Dr. Gregory who perform large numbers of shoulder replacements, which can be done on an outpatient basis in most cases.  Please contact Dr. Gregory’s office if you would like more information about traveling to Houston for evaluation or surgical correction of your shoulder condition.

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