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The natural lubricant of the human joint is called hyaluronic acid (HA). As part of a large, electrically-charged sugar molecule, HA permits water to be absorbed and released from the cartilage surface of the joints. This provides durability and compressibility. Without HA we would all grind to a halt.

What do you expect to get from your surgical care? No one really asks this question, yet the answer determines your satisfaction. Surprisingly, the answers you receive from your surgeon, your physical therapist, your fitness trainer, and your coach may differ.

Most ski bindings have not changed in thirty years. When bindings comply with international safety standards, they do a brilliant job of reducing tibia fractures. However, these fractures account for only 3% of all skiing injuries, while ACL injuries have risen to 20% of skiing injuries. Surprisingly, bindings are not designed to protect the ACL while skiing. Over time, skis have changed in both shape and length—so what is the problem with designing bindings in relation to the ACL?

Each year we share our top tips for a fit New Year. All of us here at The Stone Clinic try to live these tips and see how we do. We recognize that the usual resolutions are often ignored or forgotten—so we try to recommend activities that are addictive. In a sense, we are “drug pushers”; we push endorphins, adrenaline, pheromones, and testosterone, the natural drugs that make our lives, and our patients’ lives, wonderful.

Lube it up! We lube our bike chains. We lube our chainsaws. We lube our cars— more often as they get older. So why not lube our joints?

What if we can learn to listen, understand, and respond to genetic communications? Could we have a genetic Fitbit and language translator? And, as gene editing techniques like CRISPR Cas-9 continue to become less expensive and more available, could we engage in a daily conversation with our personal genetic dictionary?

The questions most often asked by athletes, coaches, trainers, and of course fans are, “What can be done to speed healing?” “What can reduce the re-injury rate—and are there permanent solutions?”

The eyes receive and give away information. They communicate in a language we have yet to define. We know they are windows to the soul, portals into the mind, and transmitters of emotions, intentions, and desires. Because we don’t always control their transmissions, we fear their exposure. Shouldn’t we start to train our visual communication skills?

Perseverate, verb: to repeat or prolong an action, thought, or utterance, long after the stimulus that prompted it has ceased. Perseveration is a repetitive focus on the same issue, a recycling through the mind of thoughts that won’t go away—memories that trap you in the pain or anger of some past event. How to break free? Here are some of the techniques we use after sports injuries get you down.

“Push through the pain.” “No pain, no gain,” we were told in our youth. These are outside voices – but listening to your body and knowing when to stop is the key to diminishing self-inflicted injuries and lengthening your sports career.

Almost all orthopaedic injuries are best repaired immediately. The old “wait and see” for most joint injuries has been proven to lead to scar tissue, loss of motion, and arthritis. With today’s accurate imaging, using repair and reconstructing techniques to restore normal anatomy beats living with deformities.

Spinning classes have grown to millions of sessions in the U.S. each year. The bikes, too, have progressed—from first recording our pedaling rates, then our heart rates, and finally our soul cycles. The group dynamic pushed us to perform harder than we would do alone in the gym. The hot instructors drew us in. The fad became a craze.

What percentage of your day do you actively think about what could be? For most of us, it is a low percentage. But, what if we all spent serious time thinking about it and sharing our ideas?

Data everywhere, and nowhere to hide. In the bad old days, you got injured, and you didn’t tell anyone. You usually recovered. Lived to play another day. Until you couldn’t. Today, you get injured; you could be monitored, measured, uploaded and reported to everyone. You might not be allowed to play. You are “protected”, maybe even blacklisted. Which scenario is better?

If you want to be treated with a better than 75% chance of success—and if you value excellence as much as kindness—I suggest you demand that creativity be part of the doctor’s repertoire.

Downwind stand-up paddling is my new favorite sport. Here is why.

Sitting on cramped airplanes can debilitating. Here are my top ten remedies for surviving your flight:

“There are only so many moguls in any given knee,” said Warren Miller, the famous ski videographer. I use his observation for many patients who love skiing but have arthritic knees. Skiing is actually pretty kind to the knee joints as long as you don’t fall and if you don’t ski hard bumps all day long.

In high school and even earlier, serious athletes are continuing to train year-round in their single sport. The result? A loss in general fitness and an increased injuries. CrossFit’s training platform may be the antidote.

Stand Up Paddling (SUP) has rocketed to the top of the water sports world, with sales of new boards growing at more than 20% per year. SUP develops balance, coordination and power through the trunk, core and shoulder muscles as no other sport does, and with almost no injuries.