Blog Archive

Are you experiencing persistent buttock and sciatic nerve pain months after a hamstring tendon rupture? While the sciatic nerve can be scarred after a tendon injury, in some cases bone will form around the nerve and hamstring tendon, causing severe nerve pain.  This complex condition involves the abnormal formation of...

Being diagnosed with foot drop can be confusing and overwhelming. Suddenly, a simple walk down the street can feel like navigating an obstacle course. If you’re struggling to lift your foot or experiencing tingling and weakness, you might have many questions about what foot drop means for you.  At his...

Have you been feeling a sharp, persistent ache in your lower chest or upper abdomen that just won’t go away, especially when you breathe deeply or move in certain ways? You might be experiencing something known as slipping rib syndrome.  While this condition sounds like it involves moving bones, and...

Have you been experiencing numbness or pain in the upper part of your thigh, or maybe you’ve noticed that your knee feels unusually unstable? You could be experiencing the symptoms of femoral nerve compression, a condition that can significantly affect your daily life.  Your femoral nerve runs from your lower...

If you’re an athlete or weekend warrior who’s suffered an ankle injury or fractured fibula, chances are good you’ve had surgery to repair the damage. Many times, this injury requires internal fixation or the placement of a plate with screws to stabilize the bone and prevent re-injury.  During the procedure,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered dramatic changes throughout everyday life — and in the medical community as well. Not only are providers across the country postponing elective procedures, but many are also encouraging people to avoid in-office appointments to reduce their risk of exposure to this highly contagious coronavirus.But what...

Have you experienced a sudden, sharp pain in your inner thigh or groin area during a game or workout, leaving you wondering if it’s just a strain or something more serious? This type of pain can be challenging to diagnose and difficult to treat.  But whether you’re a professional athlete...

Have you undergone surgery for hip dysplasia, anticipating improved mobility and reduced pain, only to encounter new, unexpected challenges? Following periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) surgery, it’s possible to experience nerve injury that can cause significant complications in recovery. As a board-certified surgeon with extensive experience in nerve repairs, peripheral nerve surgery,...

Are you experiencing persistent discomfort or nerve pain following Tommy John surgery? You’re not alone. This surgery, which helps many athletes get back in the game, can sometimes lead to unexpected complications, like ulnar nerve pain.  Anthony Echo, MD, has the expertise and experience to navigate these complex issues at...

Sports hernias can keep you out of the game for weeks—or more. If you’re an athlete worried your groin pain might be from a sports hernia, don’t wait to seek professional help.  Board-certified surgeon Anthony Echo, MD, has years of experience helping patients recover from a sports hernia. Dr. Echo...

Have you experienced a knee injury and noticed a few twinges or stabs of pain? Or maybe you’ve had successful knee surgery and still feel persistent discomfort? You’re not alone. Some athletes who have undergone arthroscopic knee surgery to address the meniscus or the ligaments can still have debilitating pain...

If you’re suffering from chronic pain or other frustrating symptoms because of a condition that puts pressure on your nerves, surgical decompression for nerve pain can help. But many patients are worried about what recovery and life are like after this surgical treatment.  As a specialized field, nerve surgery requires an in-depth...

Have you recently undergone knee surgery for an ACL tear, meniscus damage, or other knee condition but still have ongoing pain? When this happens, it’s important to consider the possibility of neurogenic (nerve-related) causes of ongoing pain.  At Anthony Echo, M.D., in Houston, Texas, our board-certified surgeon specializes in knee conditions, providing expert...

If you’re an athlete, you know there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with an injury that keeps you out of the game. Many athletes with groin injuries have adductor longus tendon injuries.  Groin injuries often occur when playing team sports that involve twisting, pivoting, and other similar motions (e.g., basketball, football) involving...

High-performance athletes put their bodies through demanding training and performance activities. As a result, these athletes may face unique physical challenges and injuries.  Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is one such condition. It results when wear and tear or an injury creates scar tissue in the muscles of the neck, and it...

Knee surgery can restore function and mobility to your joint and leg after an injury. Your provider gives you anesthesia to keep you comfortable. In many cases, you receive a peripheral nerve block, which reduces the need for opioid drugs and minimizes pain after your procedure.  For some patients, however, the...

Are you an athlete with chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) that’s keeping you from getting back in the game or playing your best? You’re not alone. Researchers estimate that up to 50% of adults struggle with CPSP.   The good news is that effective solutions exist, and they can help you feel...

Your peripheral nerves are protected and supported by special cells called Schwann cells. When these cells grow abnormally and form a benign (noncancerous) tumor, it’s called a schwannoma.  Schwannomas are relatively rare, and the symptoms they cause depend on which nerves they affect, making them difficult to diagnose. Sometimes the...

Did you know that ongoing pain after having knee surgery could be caused by an injury during surgery to the large nerve that runs down the back of your leg? This condition, called saphenous neuritis, can affect your quality of life and make everyday tasks more difficult. Fortunately, as an expert...

If you’ve had knee surgery and are experiencing symptoms of foot drop, you could have an underlying problem associated with the peroneal nerve. This nerve is located on the side of your knee and sends signals to your toes, foot, and leg so you can move.  When this nerve is compressed...

If migraine pain and other uncomfortable symptoms are derailing your life, you’re in good company. Globally, over one billion adults, including about 40 million Americans, struggle with migraine disease.  The pain migraine causes can be severe. And there’s no doubt it can wreak havoc on your day-to-day activities, causing you...

Having a mastectomy or extensive lumpectomy changes the shape of your body. Breast reconstruction surgery can rebuild your breasts, restoring their natural shape, size, and appearance.  Many women opt for breast implants, which involves placing shells filled with saline or silicone under your skin to mimic the look and feel of breast...

For up to 80% of the millions of Americans who’ve lost a limb, ongoing pain and other uncomfortable sensations in the missing limb interfere with their quality of life. This condition, called phantom limb pain (PLP), makes everyday tasks — even getting a good night’s rest — challenging. At Anthony Echo, MD, FACS, with multiple...

If you’re a high-performance athlete playing a sport that involves forceful and frequent twisting, turning, and pivoting, you could end up among the 5% of athletes who experience a sports hernia every year.  This condition can make any physical motion — even simple movements, like sneezing and coughing — extremely...

Are you experiencing stabbing or shooting pain radiating from the end of your spine throughout your pelvic floor, genitals, or perineum? You might be one of the 1% of people with pudendal neuralgia, a condition that develops from irritation, damage, or compression of the pudendal nerve. Pudendal neuralgia is often misdiagnosed, as...

Do you experience pain in your forearm that comes and goes or weakness in your thumb and index finger? You could have a condition called anterior interosseous nerve (AIN) syndrome, a rare type of neuropathy.  Getting an accurate diagnosis of AIN syndrome is key, as without treatment, your symptoms may...

Your sciatic nerve is the largest nerve you have. It starts in your low back and branches out to your hips and buttocks before running down your legs. When something compresses this nerve, you can develop pain in your low back, buttocks, and legs. Several conditions can trigger this pain,...

If you have pain in your buttocks and legs that gets worse when you sit, you could have piriformis syndrome. This painful condition results when the piriformis muscle in your buttocks compresses your sciatic nerve.  Piriformis syndrome often gets misdiagnosed as sciatica, but these conditions need different treatments. At Anthony Echo, MD,...

If you’ve been diagnosed with a nerve tumor, it’s natural to wonder whether it should be removed. The good news is that most common types of peripheral nerve tumors, called schwannomas, are almost always benign — and not all require surgical treatment. At Anthony Echo, MD, with multiple offices in Houston, Texas,...

Your nervous system plays an essential role in keeping your body functioning, from keeping you breathing to controlling your muscles. Your nerves also help you sense things, like pressure, pain, and changes in temperature by sending messages between your body parts and your brain.  Nerve injuries can impact function, cause...

As the major nerves responsible for responsiveness in your lower extremities, the common peroneal nerves start with your sciatic nerve and continue down your legs and into your feet. When damaged or compressed, they can trigger a host of unpleasant symptoms — including a condition called foot drop, which can...

If you’re experiencing symptoms related to disorders of your peripheral nerves — the nerves found outside your brain and spinal canal — MRI-neurography, or magnetic resonance neurography (MRN), is an advanced technique useful during the diagnostic process. MRN also plays an important role during the surgery used to treat and...

If you have trouble lifting your foot when you walk, tingling in your feet, or difficulty straightening your toes, you may have a condition called common peroneal nerve compression. This condition, more commonly referred to as foot drop, can interfere with your mobility and quality of life.  At Anthony Echo...

Your groin and hips are amazing feats of bioengineering that use multiple muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments to provide stability when you walk, run, or engage in sports. An injury to any one of these key components can keep you sidelined unless you get the right kind of medical care.  ...

Sometimes a nerve is injured so severely that the muscle it controls loses function and sensation. This type of nerve damage was historically difficult to treat, and doctors managed nerve damage with medications designed to treat neuropathic issues with limited success.   Thankfully, advances in medical and surgical technology mean there’s...

If you had breast surgery for breast cancer, such as a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or lymph node removal, and are still experiencing pain, you’re not alone. Recent studies indicate between 25-60% of women have some degree of pain or uncomfortable sensations in their breast even years after breast cancer operations.   This...

If you’re one of the 2 million Americans who have lost a limb, you’re no doubt worried about life after amputation — and for good reason: Losing a limb is never easy. What’s more, the road to recovery is often exacerbated by phantom limb pain.  The team at Anthony Echo,...

Are you having trouble lifting your foot when you walk? You may have common peroneal nerve compression, most often referred to as “foot drop” or “drop foot.” Foot drop makes walking and other physical activities challenging.  Rather than a condition, foot drop is a symptom of an underlying issue with...

Did you know that about 70% of amputees experience phantom limb pain? This condition results when the severed nerves continue to send signals to your brain, and it may arise as pain, itching, sensations of hot or cold, a feeling of pressure, or a pins-and-needles sensation.  Sometimes phantom limb pain...

If you’re suffering from a painful hernia, you’re not alone. Every year, surgeons perform close to 1.25 million hernia surgeries, making it one of the most common surgical procedures in the United States. Hernias are the result of weakened or torn abdominal or groin muscles, which allow your abdominal tissues...

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a medical condition that causes pain, tingling, numbness, and weakness in the arm and hand. In most cases, TOS results after an injury to the neck that creates scar tissue in the muscles. This extra tissue puts added pressure on the nerves, making it difficult...

Your peripheral nerves are responsible for transmitting information from the rest of your body to your brain. When something goes wrong with one of your peripheral nerves, it can cause debilitating symptoms.  Peripheral nerve and microsurgery specialist Dr. Anthony Echo treats nerve tumors, called schwannomas, for patients in Houston, Texas....

If you’re an athlete suffering from groin pain that appears during even slight movements like sneezing or coughing, you may have what’s known as a sports hernia. Sports hernias result because of a weakening in the lower abdominal wall, called the inguinal canal, and can have you sitting on the...

If you’re one of the 39 million Americans who struggle with migraine, you know how serious and incapacitating they can be. Frequent migraines can disrupt your life, causing your work and personal life to come to a halt when they appear.  At Anthony Echo, MD, with two offices in Houston,...

Over 3.5 million women in America have a history of breast cancer, and for many of these women a mastectomy is a life-saving surgery. If this describes you, you may be considering breast reconstruction to restore your natural figure. At Anthony Echo, MD, with two offices in Houston, Texas, we...

Did you know about 2 million people in America have lost a limb? And every year, nearly 185,000 more people undergo amputation. For about 70% of these amputees, phantom limb pain or chronic pain results.  At Anthony Echo, M.D., with two offices in Houston, Texas, board-certified surgeon Anthony Echo, MD,...

“Sports hernia” describes a soft tissue injury in your groin. Repetitive or strenuous twisting in the hips is the most likely cause, and it’s a common injury in athletes playing football, ice hockey, and other aggressive sports. Symptoms mimic those of a traditional abdominal hernia, but sports hernias aren’t actually...

It depends, but you should always check with your physician before proceeding with playing football since there is a different degree of inguinal hernias and everyone is going to have a different set of circumstances. First, it is important to understand that true inguinal hernias come in different forms. There...

Targeted Muscle Re-innervation, or simply TMR, is a novel procedure that involves the rewiring of the body’s peripheral nerves. While nerve transfers have been around for decades, they have mainly been in upper extremity nerve injuries. The TMR procedure is taking this concept of nerve transfers and applying it to...

Groin pain after inguinal hernia surgery is not uncommon regardless of the type of repair, which includes laparoscopic, robotic, open, mesh, and no mesh repairs. There are three main nerves that run in the inguinal canal, which are the ilioinguinal nerve, iliohypogastric nerve, and the genital branch of the genital...

Chronic pain after inguinal hernia or sports hernia surgery occurs in approximately 2-4% of all patients who undergo the procedure. There are several reasons for chronic pain, but the most likely source is an injury, kinking, or scarring to the sensory nerves in the inguinal canal. This usually occurs in...

Mesh is commonly used with inguinal hernia repairs through an open or laparoscopic approach to reinforce the weakened inguinal floor. With an open repair, an incision is placed on the lower abdomen/pubic area to allow placement of the mesh from an external approach. This allows the surgeon to use the...

There are several different types of non-mesh repair techniques for sports hernias or inguinal hernias. The technique that I perform routinely is the Muschaweck minimal tension repair technique, which is a modification of the Shouldice Repair technique originally from Canada. The modification is in regards to the area of repair...

Chronic pain in the high-performance athlete is a serious concern since it can result in a career ending decision as we have seen with several athletes in the NFL recently. The most recent high-profile athlete was Luke Kuechley, a linebacker on the Carolina Panthers football team.  Athletes are a unique...