About POSMI

Founded in 2008 by Dr. Luga Podesta our staff of physician, nurses, medical assistants and radiological technicians pride themselves on their ability to deliver exemplary care to our patients, while minimizing potential time lost from work or play.

Dr. Podesta will evaluate and treat each patient as if they were members of his family, providing each patient with the necessary time to understand their injury and how it should effectively be treated. Dr. Podesta with over 20 years of experience evaluating and treating musculoskeletal and orthopedic injuries will always take a conservative non-surgical approach to treatment when appropriate. Dr. Podesta’s expertise lies in the treatment of athletic and musculoskeletal injuries of the shoulder, elbow, knee and spine, utilitizing the sports medicine model to aggressively diagnose and treat all patients with orthopedic musculoskeletal injuries.

Sports Medicine

Podesta Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute offers complete medical care to active people of any age and skill level, “You don’t’ have to be pro to be treated like one”. Our goal is to provide the expert care necessary to allow each individual treated to continue an active lifestyle and to compete in sport at the highest-level possible.

Sports Medicine is the body of knowledge and a broad area of health care that encourages exercise as an essential component of health throughout life, utilizing exercise for the prevention and treatment of injury and disease regardless of the level of competition, weekend warrior to professional. At our state-of-the-art facility, whether your injury occurred playing football, baseball, and soccer, dancing, cheering, drumming or marching in the school band we are equipped to care for all athletic injuries.

Dr. Podesta’s expertise lies in the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and prevention of all injuries due to athletic activity. The majority of athletic injuries can initially and affectively be treated non-surgically utilizing appropriate medications to relieve pain and inflammation, minimally invasive office based procedures to promote healing and aggressive physical therapy and rehabilitation to restore function.

Regardless of your sport in which you participate or the level of play that you compete at, Podesta Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Institute will get you back in the game.

The diagnostic and treatment services offered at POSMI include:

Digital X-Ray

For patience convenience, x-ray examinations can be completed during your examination. X-rays are taken with our state-of-the-art Phillips digital x-ray machine that provides safe efficient imaging while minimizing x-ray exposure. X-rays are viewed and stored electronically. If necessary, x-ray images can be provided on a CD.

Electronic Medical Records

All medical records are stored electronically utilizing eClinical Works (eCW) electronic medical record system. Patient medical records are completed daily and are available to be transferred, facts, or e-mailed to referring physicians or consultants.

Electrodiagnostic Testing and Evaluations

Nerve conduction and electromyography testing (NCV/EMG), is a diagnostic test to examine function of the peripheral nervous system. The nerve conduction (NCV) portion of the testing is performed by stimulating a peripheral nerve or nerves in either the arms or legs and recording the electrical impulse across a specific segment of the extremity. The electromyography (EMG) portion of the examination requires tiny acupuncture size needle electrodes to be placed in various muscles to determine if the electrical signals to those muscles have been altered. By combining the two portions of the examination, a determination can be made regarding the neurological function of the peripheral and or spinal nerves being tested.

Ultrasound Guided Procedures

All injections performed POSMI can be performed under ultrasound guidance. Ultrasound guided percutaneous procedures have several advantages. The primary advantages are the real-time assessment and guidance, in which continuous visualization of a needle is possible throughout the procedure. Ultrasound guidance assures exact placement of the drugs being injected into the affected body part. Recent peer-reviewed studies have found that blind injections are not as accurate in delivering medication as once thought. Utilizing ultrasound guidance for these injections assures pinpoint accuracy of the needle into the joint spaces, muscle tendon sheets and pathologic tissue.

Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Evaluations

Diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound has recently increased in popularity as a diagnostic tool in a in determining musculoskeletal pathology. Won a significant advantage of ultrasound over other static imaging methods such as radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Is the dynamic capability. Ultrasound evaluations can be directly guided by a patient’s history, symptoms, and findings at physical examination. Musculoskeletal ultrasound is an excellent tool to diagnose soft tissue masses, cystic structures, peripheral nerve compression, as well as muscle, tendon and ligament injuries without the risk of ionizing radiation.

Bracing, Casting and Splinting

If determined to be necessary at the time of your examination, appropriate casting and or splinting of fractures and bracing of ligamentous and soft tissue injuries can be provided as a mode of treatment. If a more specific functional bracing application is necessary to treat an injury we have access to numerous national brace manufacturers.

Platelet Rich Plasma Injections

Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP is blood plasma with concentrated platelets. The concentrated platelets found in PRP contain huge reservoirs of bioactive proteins, including growth factors that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration. These bioactive proteins initiate connective tissue healing, bone regeneration and repair, promote development of new blood vessels, and stimulate the wound healing process. When PRP is injected into the damaged area it stimulates the tissue causing mild inflammatory response that triggers the healing cascade. PRP can provide significant improvement in symptoms and may eliminate the need for more aggressive treatments such as long-term medication use and surgical treatment.

Visco-supplementation Injection

Need osteoarthritis in the US population is currently estimated at 10.9 million and is expected to reach 13.5 million people by the year 2000. Knee osteoarthritis pain has been related to poor physical and social function and has had a direct effect on perceived health and health related quality of life. Visco-supplementation injections are an important therapy for osteoarthritic knee pain. Visco-supplementation is a non-systemic therapy for OA knee pain relief by replacing diseased osteoarthritis synovial fluid reducing pain, which may improve knee function. Visco-supplementation has been shown to reduce the use of chronic, systemic pain medications such as NSAIDs and Cox-2 inhibitors.

Minimally Invasive Spinal Injection Procedures

Back pain affects millions of people. Regardless of the severity of back pain, low back pain can significantly limit functional activity, restrict activities of daily living and severely diminish our ability to enjoy normal daily life. Fortunately, there are numerous treatments that can help reduce and stop low back pain. Minimally invasive spinal injection procedures had been developed to alleviate low back pain and associated leg and sciatic pain facilitating returning patients to an active exercise-based rehabilitation program. Spinal injections are used as diagnostic tools to determine the source of pain in the lumbar spine and when combined with corticosteroid and anesthetic medications are an excellent source of pain relief. These minimally invasive spinal injections are performed in a surgical suite, in a controlled sterile environment, under direct fluoroscopic visualization and guidance to assure precise needle placement. Spinal injections for low back pain may include: lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections, caudal epidural injections, sacroiliac joint injections, facet joint and medial branch blocks, lumbar radiofrequency neurotomy, intradiscal electrothermal therapy (IDET), percutaneous diskectomy, and discography.

Throwing Mechanics Evaluations

Developing and maintaining proper throwing mechanics is imperative for the health and longevity of the throwing arm. A significant number of injuries to the elbow and shoulder in a young throwing athlete are due to poor throwing mechanics. A significant number of these injuries can be prevented by learning how to throw correctly and efficiently prior to the development of poor throwing habits. Once an injury does occur, it is extremely important to analyze throwing technique once the athlete returns to their sport to prevent further injuries from re-occurring. After returning the injured throwing athlete back to the field, videotape analysis of their throwing mechanics are performed periodically through the progressive interval throwing program to insure proper technique therefore preventing further injury or recurrence of injury from developing.

Comprehensive Rehabilitation Prescriptions

Proper rehabilitation after an injury is extremely important for not only recovering from that injury but to prevent further injuries from occurring. A comprehensive post injury rehabilitation program will be specifically designed to assure optimal recovery. Referrals to physical therapists will depend on patient demographics, physical therapy expertise and qualifications, and insurance coverage.

Workers Compensation Services

POSMI has extensive experience in treating industrial injured workers. We understand it is imperative that an accurate diagnosis is made quickly and efficiently and treatment is instituted aggressively and cost-effectively to ensure quick safe return of the injured worker back to his workplace. We believe it is imperative to work closely with the patient, employer and industrial insurance carrier to develop appropriate safe work restrictions allowing the patient to return back to work as quickly and safely as their injury permits. Dr. Podesta has special training as a Qualified Medical Evaluator and is able to provide a comprehensive ratable report that meets all accepted legal standards.

Medical Legal Examinations (QME, AME, IME)

Dr. Podesta provides medical legal services upon written request by the industrial insurance carriers or legal counsel. Services provided include Qualified Medical Evaluations (QME), Agreed Medical Evaluation (AME), and Independent Medical Evaluation (IME).