Brian Butzen

Your MRI says full-thickness supraspinatus tear—how serious is that? The answer depends on whether it's acute or degenerative, and what happens next if you don't have surgery.

The Counterintuitive Surgery When I explain CMC arthroplasty to patients with basal joint arthritis, I often see confusion cross their faces. We're going to remove a bone and not put anything in its place? It sounds like we're making the problem worse, not better. After years of knee replacement commercials and hip replacement success stories, patients reasonably expect that fixing a worn-out joint means installing new hardware. So why does thumb basal joint surgery—one of the most successful...

A Reasonable Question When I tell patients that physical therapy can help their torn rotator cuff, I sometimes see skepticism in their eyes. The logic seems backwards: if something is torn, shouldn't it be fixed? How can exercises repair a tendon that's no longer attached to bone? It's a fair question, and patients deserve a clear answer rather than a vague assurance that therapy "usually helps." Understanding what physical therapy actually does—and doesn't do—helps you approach treatment...