Life is not easy for anyone, anywhere right now.  You have the threat of physical illness, financial worries, shortages of necessities, children home 24/7 driving you nuts, weak and elderly loved ones you can’t get to and a sense of isolation.

Staying positive is so important. Don’t watch that sad movie, don’t dwell on the fears, continually count your blessings.

Here are some ideas to come out of this traumatic life event in one piece and maybe a little wiser, healthier, and happier.

• Physical exercise is really important, though this may be particularly hard confined to home. Consider jump roping, Yoga, Tai Chi, or Pilates from online classes or something you find on the web. 10 minutes a day makes a difference.
• Turn up some good music and dance, dance, dance. Keep moving and your heart pumping. Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect.
• Walk off your anxiety, with or without Fido and the kids. Fresh air and sunshine does wonders for the mood and the endorphins need an airing out too. Chat with your neighbors from 6 feet away.
• Create a daily routine, it will add structure to your day. Set your alarm clock regardless, get yourself dressed to start your day, you will feel better and more purposeful.
• If you work at home, keep your routine as close to going to work as possible including getting dressed.
• Take breaks from the news stories in any format, including social media. You are living a pandemic, you don’t need to be hearing about it repeatedly, adding to your stress.
• Don’t stress eat, nothing good will come of it. Try to eat healthy, balanced meals.
• Search the web for new recipes you never had the time or energy to try before. Take the food pantry challenge, what delicious meals can you make from what you have at home already to avoid going shopping. Make it a family activity, divide into teams to see who comes up with the best meals.
• Ease off on the caffeine and avoid alcohol. Caffeine makes many anxious and jumpy and alcohol, while it gives you that lovely buzz, is a depressant.
• Make the most out of family time while you have this opportunity. Don’t share your anxiety with your children. Your kids are already stressed with what they hear, try alleviating their fears by making an adventure out of it as much as possible. They are stuck in with no school, no afterschool activities, no friends.
• Take that online course you have been considering, sharpen your skill set. Learn a language or musical instrument!
• Clean and organize your home, doing all the things you never had time to do before. If you have your family around you, make it a group effort.
• Social isolation is a terrible thing. Connect with others. Make a list of people that you want to check in on, especially those who bring your spirits up. Reach out to people you might not have spoken with in a long time. Avoid Debby Downer and Sad Sam. Make use of facetime and Zoom to see their faces and know they are well.
• If you love the outdoors, gardening is actually a low-impact workout.  Pulling weeds can burn 200 calories an hour, but more so it puts you in touch with nature and renews your spirit.
• It is early spring in New Jersey, spend time on the web planning out your perennials and vegetable garden so when it is time to sow, you are in the know.

Think well, live well, be well.

Dr. Marshall P. Allegra

879 Poole Avenue, Hazlet New Jersey, 07730
Phone: (732) 888-8388

Dr. Marshall P. Allegra is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an experienced diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine injuries, and then determine the best treatment options to return you back to your normal life, restoring functionality and range of motion as quickly as possible and avoiding long term implications.

Do you ever feel you were born in the wrong era? For those of us who are “less slender”, living in the late 1500’s would have been our time to be appreciated. Rubenesque was vogue rather than statuesque.

For about 300 years, between 1500s and 1800s, body weight and volume, for both men and women was considered not only beautiful but natural. Girth had some correlation with worth, after all, if you overate it must mean you had the money to do so!

Here is the kicker, from the 1500s onward, till around the year 1800, life expectancy throughout Europe hovered between 30 and 40 years of age. You may have impressed your friends with your chub but didn’t live long enough to enjoy it. Google the artwork of the Rubenesque era and see that most of the subjects in the paintings were not smiling.

Aside from your New Year’s Resolution which may have come and gone by now, try being more mindful of your lifestyle and eating habits. Everyone seems to have an opinion and a book to sell it, but there are plenty of habits and changes in routine that are easy and the best way to achieve your goals.

Excess weight puts further stress on weight-bearing joints (the knee, the ankle). Additionally, inflammatory factors associated with weight gain might contribute to trouble in other joints (for example, the hands or feet).

Common sense says: burn more calories than you consume

If you want to lose weight, you have to change your diet.

• Avoid foods that are high in salt and sugar.
• Eat in so you can control your calories and portions.
• Choose wisely- something sweet can be nutritious fruit with natural sugar.
• Avoid processed foods.
• Go for leaner proteins like turkey, chicken, or fish.
• Not all carbs are created equal. Refined carbs (processed) are associated with obesity and metabolic diseases
• Time your meals during the day, when your body has time to burn everything off.

If you want to lose weight exercise smarter, not harder

Try aerobic workouts doing things like jumping, sprinting, or lifting weights. High effort, small doses mean higher intensity which improves your metabolism compared to lower intensity workouts.

Work out with a friend for fun and support, it doesn’t have to feel like work.

Be consistent-. Make sure to work out at least 3-4 times a week for at least 45 minutes.

If you want to lose weight, rest

Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep and try to keep a consistent schedule. This will give your body the energy it needs and when you are sleeping, you are not snacking.

Use technology as a tool

Explore fitness, weight, food, and other trackers to make sure you’re getting the right balance using a food diary or one of the many apps.

Don’t stress the numbers

The scale can make you crazy, watch the changes in your body and you will be encouraged. Reducing your calories consumed and increasing your calories burned is a no fail solution.  Take weight loss one pound at a time.  If you want to lose a large amount of weight, that number may be intimidating and dooming you to fail.

Congratulations, you lost 7 pounds!  Now visualize carrying an Over Stuffer in your arms all day.  You just lost an Oven Stuffer! Every pound you lose is that must less strain, wear and tear you are putting on your joints, muscles, and organs. You will feel so much better if you lighten your load.

If you feel your weight has affected you, a visit to Dr. Marshall P. Allegra will help you isolate the problem and choose the best option for you.  He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an expert diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine the best treatment options to return you to your normal, pain-free life.

As you walk through your day, how many people do you see with a limp and a pained expression on their face?  Too many people are living life with painful, worn-out knees and hips without realizing how simple the solution really is.

Your healthy joints are cushioned by a coating of cartilage that guards the bones against rubbing against each other. Time and excessive wear and tear are not friends, causing the cartilage to slowly wear down, leaving our joints unprotected. This is termed “bone-on-bone”. Speak to Dr. Allegra to determine what options are available to you to relieve your pain and potentially solve the problem that causes it. When all non-surgical options have been exhausted, don’t despair.

Surgical options have become so much simpler than in recent years and the recovery time has gotten shorter with the newer technology. Dr. Allegra performs both partial and total joint replacement surgical procedures. Partial joint replacement surgeries are minimally invasive procedures. These surgeries replace only the damaged areas while more of the natural joint is preserved. Less invasive exposure minimizes the cutting of the normal tendons around the knee and is performed through a smaller incision.

If you are experiencing joint pain, keeping your weight down is good for your joints and your overall health. Patients should begin a program of exercise as a preoperative measure. Even the simplest muscle tensing exercise will help strengthen your muscles in preparation for postoperative walking. The stronger you are going in to surgery, the shorter the recovery time to resuming your life.

The majority of total hip and knee replacement patients are over 55 years of age, most often to provide relief for severe arthritic conditions. Fractures and injuries are typical causes for the younger patients. A candidate for total replacement surgery experiences:

• Severe discomfort that hinders everyday activities
• Pain that can’t be managed by anti-inflammatory medications, canes or walkers
• Considerable stiffness of the joint
• Advanced arthritis or other problem

The success rate for the hip replacement procedure is very high, with greater than 95% of patients experiencing relief from hip pain. Long term relief; 10 years after surgery is 90- 95% and at 20 years 80-85%.

Knee replacement will correct the knee problem, leaving muscles weak.  Physical therapy will help regain range of motion and strengthen muscles. This therapy begins in the hospital with a physical therapist and continues thereafter. 85 to 90 percent of all total knee replacement operations performed are successful for roughly 10 to 15 years, depending on the patient’s level of activity.

As with any major surgery, there are potential risks that should be discussed with your doctor. Recovery time depends on age, health status, and response to rehabilitation. Two to three months is the typical recovery time. and varies with each patient.

A typical post-operative visit to our offices results in the patient commenting;

“I don’t know why I waited so long to feel so good”

A visit to Dr. Marshall P. Allegra will help you choose the best option for you.  He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an expert diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine the best treatment options to return you to your normal, pain free life.

As a parent, you appreciate how playing sports offers many benefits to youth and adults alike. You may have even been an athlete yourself and know how it raised your own self-esteem, created enduring friendships, taught teamwork, and commitment as well as a wonderful outlet for exuberant energy.

Unfortunately, injuries are an unavoidable part of sports participation. Injuries come in many forms, both physical and emotional. It is best to give your student good guidelines on staying safe to avoid injury that may disrupt sport participation but, more importantly, other activities of daily living and a psychological response.

Psychological response to injury can lead to sadness, a feeling of isolation, reduced motivation, frustration, and even disturbing sleeping and eating patterns. They are losing the ability to do something they love and possibly gave them a feeling of importance.

Physical injuries are on the rise just as participation in organized sports is on the rise. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) nearly 30 million children and adolescents participate in youth sports in the United States.

If loving your child isn’t enough to motivate you to keep them safe with the proper gear, rest, and a balance of sports and outside of sports life, keep these CDC statistics in mind:

• High school athletes account for an estimated 2 million injuries and 500,000 doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations each year.
• More than 3.5 million kids under age 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year and are nearly 40 percent of all sports-related injuries treated in hospitals.
• On average the rate and severity of injury increases with a child’s age.
• Overuse injuries are responsible for nearly half of all sports injuries to middle and high school students
• 62 percent of organized sports-related injuries occur during practice.
• Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States.
• Since 2000 there has been a fivefold increase in the number of serious shoulder and elbow injuries among youth baseball and softball players.

According to the CDC, more than half of all sports injuries in children are preventable. Yes, practice makes perfect, but one-third of parents do not have their children take the same safety precautions at practice that they would during a game. Keep this in mind for casual backyard play too. Helmets, padding, bracing, warm-up time…whatever it takes to keep them safe.

Some of the common injuries to be on the alert for:

Rotator Cuff Tear is a tear in the tissues connecting muscle to bone (tendons) around the shoulder joint and often occurs in people who repeatedly perform the same should motions over and over again. This is very common with more than 3 million cases per year. This requires a medical diagnosis and is treatable by a medical professional with medication, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, and possibly surgery.

Achilles tendon injury is very common, feeling like stiffness or burning in the part of your leg from the heel to your calf muscle. It is the largest tendon in your body. Achilles tendon injuries are common in people who do things where they quickly speed up, slow down, or pivot. Flat feet, insufficient pre-play stretching and even wearing high heels can make you more vulnerable. If your athlete experiences pain around the heel, take immediate action to avoid a more serious problem.  What could start out with a strain can easily become a tear which may require surgery if ignored,

Clavicle fracture is a break in the bone connecting the breastbone and shoulder also known as the collar bone. While not as common with fewer than 200,000 US cases per year, this also requires a critical medical diagnosis and treatment by a medical professional. Discounting symptoms can only make the injury worse.

Pulling them off the field if you suspect an injury is a wise decision.  The sooner an injury is attended to, the less severe it may end up being.

A visit to Dr. Marshall P. Allegra will help you choose the best option for you or your injured youth athlete.  He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an experienced diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine sports-induced injuries, and then determine the best treatment options to return your student back to the playing field, restoring functionality and range of motion as quickly as possible and avoiding long term implications.

Are you having trouble with your every move: walking, climbing stairs, even sitting or lying down? Surgery can help bring relief, but doctors almost always advise trying other treatment options first.

Learn More About Non-Surgical Orthopedic Treatment

What Are The Symptoms That Something Might Be Wrong?

Symptoms offer clues to your condition. If you are experiencing any of the following, you should make an appointment with a joint specialist to have them assessed:

• Joint discomfort that prevents you from participating in recreational activities
• Joint instability
• Joint pain that limits your ability to conduct necessary and daily functions, such as climbing stairs or standing up
• Limping
• Muscle weakness
• Pain that affects your ability to sleep
• Soreness, stiffness, or swelling
• Severe joint pain
• You have attempted more conservative treatment methods, such as exercise or therapy, without success

If you are currently experiencing any of these issues, you may be suffering from one of the following injuries or conditions that can be treated with joint replacement surgery by our expertly trained joint surgeons:

• Arthritis
• Deterioration of joint cartilage
• Fractures
• Joint abnormalities
• Joint damage due to repetitive stress
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis

Experience Excellence at Allegra Orthopedics Of New Jersey

Deciding on the best surgeon to treat your joint pain is important, and there is much to consider when choosing a joint specialist to perform your joint replacement surgery.

At Allegra Orthopedics, you can be confident knowing Dr. Marshall P. Allegra is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. Specializing in minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery, full and partial joint reconstruction, hand, foot and ankle surgery, fracture care, and non-surgical treatment options, Dr. Allegra is dedicated to providing one-on-one personalized care to every patient.

Dr. Marshall P. Allegra takes a one-on-one personalized in assessing, diagnosing, and treating his patients. From your initial consultation to your last physical therapy visit Dr. Allegra and support staff are skilled in delivering excellence in care for our joint replacement patients.

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Certain things get better with age, our bodies do not.  We are filled with mechanical parts like joints, and tendons, and ligaments that can simply wear out. There are surgical options to help with this, but not everyone is ready for surgery or not an ideal candidate.

If you have one of these conditions, pay special attention! 

A few of the non-surgical options to help heal and reduce your inflammation and pain are:

Cortisone Injections

Cortisone (corticosteroid) is a powerful anti-inflammatory hormone that is injected directly into the affected area to decrease joint swelling which, as a result, increases mobility and function. By controlling inflammation, cortisone helps reduce or eliminate the pain with certain conditions. Cortisone injections may mean rapid inflammation relief, dependability, and minimal side effects. Relief can be felt in two to seven days with up to 3 weeks before the full effect is felt.  The result will last up to three months and can be done up to 4 times a year.

Viscosupplementation

There are injections which lubricate the joint or tissue injury. Viscosupplementation is one such procedure where a thick fluid called hyaluronic acid is injected into the knee joint. Hyaluronic acid is a naturally occurring substance found in the synovial (joint) fluid. It acts as a lubricant to enable bones to move smoothly over each other and as a shock absorber for joint loads.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Injection

PRP is being used regularly at the highest levels of sports, and on the most highly salaried athletes in the world today. This technique came into the spotlight when Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers received PRP therapy prior to winning Super Bowl XLIII. There are similar success stories in all professional sports.

Our blood consists of a liquid component known as plasma, red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets. Platelets play an important role in forming blood clots as well as consisting of special proteins, known as growth factors.  These help with our body’s healing process. Platelet-rich plasma contains 94% of platelets versus the normal concentration of growth factors found in normal blood (6%).  It increases the healing properties exponentially.

Your own blood is placed in a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma from the other components of whole blood. The concentrated platelets are injected into the site of the injury, often using ultrasound guidance for accuracy.  The growth factors stimulate tissue recovery by increasing collagen production.  This enhances tendon stem cell production, and tenocyte-related gene and protein expression. They also stimulate blood flow and cause cartilage to become firmer and more resilient.

PRP injections can help alleviate painful symptoms, promote healing, and delay joint replacement surgeries in conditions such as muscle, ligament, and tendon injuries; arthritis; and fractures.

Any tendon or ligament injury (except complete tears) may be treated successfully with PRP. It will reduce the downtime while also reducing the chance for re-injury.

There is some discomfort associated with both acquiring the blood to inject, the actual injection itself, and for several days after.  The relief found from a PRP injection is not immediate.

A visit to Dr. Marshall P. Allegra will help you choose the best option for you.  He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an experienced diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine sports-induced injuries, and then determine the best treatment options to return your student back to the playing field, restoring functionality and range of motion as quickly as possible and avoiding long term implications.

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It is April!  Spring is in the air and the great outdoors is beckoning for a visit. So many choices, so little time.

Many people opt to take care of business before enjoying a little recreation. As a homeowner, business can mean getting your yard and garden ready for spring enjoyment.  Winter did a number on your landscaping, so a little sprucing may be needed.

Gardening is very physical.  Just as if you are going to do a workout, you should prepare and give your body a warmup by stretching.  A little correct limbering up never hurt anyone!  A cool down period when you are done is also a plus.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), emergency rooms treat more than 400,000 outdoor garden tool-related accidents each year. Let’s try to avoid becoming a statistic!

If you are already experiencing orthopedic problems, speak to your doctor before doing any physical activity.  You may need to adjust the way you garden, you don’t want to exacerbate your symptoms.

Helpful hints before hitting the yard:

• Dress appropriately for the work environment: Wear sturdy shoes or boots that provide adequate traction on slippery grass.
• Clear away debris and unneeded objects from the work area. Using a tool versus your hands can avoid hand injury but unknown objects in the soil.
• Something as simple as using a bench, or even better, a rolling bench for seating while you work will change your body position and relieve stress in certain areas.
• It is almost impossible to garden without being on your knees. Sitting back on your knees is a hard position for the knee joint. Getting up from this position requires you to push most of your body weight up with your hands and wrists. Kneeling for extended periods of time can cause knee injury as will repeated strain on the knee. Use knee pads to prevent these conditions if you cannot use a bench.
• Choose lighter weight gardening tools that are easier to manage. Choose tools that have a comfortable grip, is it the right size for your hand? Longer handles are helpful. Make sure to use the proper tool for the exact job. Following manufacturer’s instructions, use safety locks and keep the tools away from the children
• Buy smaller bags of soil and supplies so you are not carrying heavy weights.
• Be wary of a good position for your body type, good posture during gardening will avoid stress on muscles, tendons. and nerves.
• Wear protective gloves, this will not just reduce blistering. A good gardening glove will protect your skin from unwanted soil additives like fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria, and fungus that live in the soil.
• Repetitive motions such as digging, raking, trimming, pruning, or planting may cause irritation to skin, tendons, or nerves. Rotate your activities every 15 minutes or so to vary the body parts you are using to give other parts a rest.
• Make sure to put all of the tools away after use to prevent future injuries and maintain the integrity of the tools.

If you are experiencing any symptoms, don’t ignore it. Take a break or a day off, continuing the activity can make it worse. If symptoms persist, see your orthopedic doctor. Early diagnosis and treatment will get you back into your garden and living your life sooner.

Dr. Marshall P. Allegra is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Monmouth County for over 25 years. As an experienced diagnostician, Dr. Allegra can expertly determine gardening related injuries, and then determine the best treatment options to return you back to full functionality and range of motion as quickly as possible and avoiding long term implications.

March Madness is upon us once again, it happens just like clockwork…every second week of March through the first week of April, The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s and Women’s Basketball tournaments have the interest of sports fans everywhere. The championship team has to win at least six games in a row to claim the title, or single-elimination tournaments. Lose one and you’re going home. 68 men’s college basketball teams and 64 women’s college basketball teams are all striving for the biggest prize.

Basketball began in Springfield Massachusetts in 1891 in by a Canadian Phys Ed instructor, James Naismith with the intention of a sport less injury-prone than football. Maybe so, but 22% of all male basketball players sustained at least one time-loss injury yearly and 42% of the injuries were to the ankle/foot.  Sprains were the most common type of injury at 43%.  Over one million athletes participate in high school basketball with just over 36,000 going on to compete with the NCAA.

Basketball fans watch players running, jumping, cutting, making quick starts and stops, and plenty of direct contact with the other players. Tremendous pressure is exerted on the foot and ankle during this fast-paced sport. This is a physically demanding sport. The injuries which occur can be categorized into acute or chronic injuries.

Immediate action can save a lot of pain and shorten the recovery time. Combining ice and elevation with a quick dose of an anti-inflammatory can reduce swelling and pain the control. A medical professional should examine the ankle to determine if return to pay is advised.

The most common acute injuries consist of ankle sprains, torn ligaments, muscle pulls, tendon ruptures, and fractures which result from landing improperly or twisting. The sprain is an injury to the lateral stabilizing ligaments of the ankle, which are the 3 ligaments which form the lateral ankle ligamentous complex. Most commonly injured is the anterior talofibular ligament, or ATFL which happens when the ankle rolls in, or an inversion injury. The severity varies and can ruin the game, the week, the month, or the year for the athlete.

Insufficient loosening up can cause chronic injuries, as well as ineffective conditioning, ill-fitting or incorrect shoes. If you take your game seriously, invest in a good basketball shoe for stability, flexibility, and shock absorption, and take the time to warm up pre-game. If your ‘lucky shoe’ is too warn, your luck can turn bad. Stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, Achilles heel, tendinitis, patellar tendinitis, and sesamoiditis are common to basketball players due to stress and overuse.

One of the most common injuries are fractures due to the chronic impact of the ballistic activity, running and jumping, as well as the athlete’s foot structure. Each foot is made up of 26 bones, each one is placed under so much pressure during their use in the game that they fracture. Small breaks such as stress fractures take time to develop and are typically related to overuse.  Sudden breaks are classically caused by impacts. Warming up well, avoiding overtraining and using proper landing techniques when jumping can help avoid these.

Severe cases or in recurring cases, physical therapy may be prescribed. If instability becomes chronic, surgery may be suggested.

Dr. Marshall Allegra spends time speaking with each patient at his office in Hazlet to understand their unique condition. With over 25 years of experience as an Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Allegra is an expert at diagnosing pain and prescribing the most appropriate non-surgical interventions before surgery is recommended.