Your back is not fragile
Thabo takes on the most common complaint in his clinic, acute lower back pain, and explains why bed rest makes it worse, which movements help in the first 72 hours, and when a scan is actually warrant…
Knee surgery, or not
0:00 / 0:51
Sample the first 60 seconds free. Sign up free or log in to hear the whole episode.
Show notes
When the surgeon says wait
Dr Lerato Dlamini operates on knees for a living and still sends most of her patients to physiotherapy first. She and Thabo go through the common knee problems and the evidence on surgery versus rehab for each.
- Meniscus tears over 40: why surgery often does not beat physio
- ACL ruptures and the question of returning to sport
- Early arthritis and the role of strength work
- What a good pre-surgery rehab block looks like
- Questions to ask your surgeon before you consent
Thabo's six-week knee strength programme is linked in the show notes.
Transcript
Welcome back to The Rehab Room with me, Thabo Mokoena. Today I have a guest I have wanted on since I started planning this show. Dr Lerato Dlamini is an orthopaedic surgeon here in Johannesburg, she operates on knees every week, and she is the first person to tell her patients that surgery is often not the answer. We are going to go through the three knee problems I see most, torn meniscus, ruptured ACL and early arthritis, and for each one Lerato will tell you straight when she would operate and when she would send you to me instead. If you have a knee that clicks, swells or gives way, and someone has mentioned the word surgery, this is the episode to hear first. You are listening on Witspeak Podcasts.
Open as text