Web Alerts

Abstract

Orthoseek: http://orthoseek.com/ Description: This site was created by the late Andrew Chong, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, to share medical information on pediatric orthopedics and sports injuries with the lay public. It contains brief articles on a wide variety of pediatric orthopedic topics, listed alphabetically, spanning congenital and secondary orthopedic conditions, related medical syndromes, sport-specific injuries, and more. Physicians are invited to share these articles with patients at no cost and to contribute to the Web site if interested. In addition, a message forum provides parents the opportunity to connect through this site. This simple site, with easy navigation and free patient handouts, make it worth perusing for the pediatric provider. The unrestricted message forum is likely a bit of a wild card, however. Cost: Free Spine-health.com: http://www.spine-health.com/ Description: This comprehensive back pain Web site includes a vast array of consumer-targeted back pain articles and videos, with a stated goal of providing highest-quality patient information online. They acknowledge that their business model also includes attracting advertisers as well as physicians who may subscribe to access patient educational materials and a listing in their provider directory. Although clearly a business model, this is a great patient resource with thorough physician peer-reviewed articles on all things back pain related and many articles on other pain syndromes. Treatment from alternative medicine to surgical approaches is covered, and a “Wellness” tab rounds out treatment modalities. The articles on the site are free and worth referring to patients, with the caveat to be wary of the advertising sections scattered throughout the site. Cost: Free. Physicians may subscribe to receive patient education materials and a listing in the Provider Directory for $995 per year. SportsMD: http://www.sportsmd.com/ Description: SportsMD is a Web site dedicated to “educating, inspiring, and connecting athletes with trusted sports health information, doctors, and specialists.” It contains a variety of athlete-focused articles on injuries, injury and illness prevention topics, and nutrition. Articles are written by members of the site’s advisory panel, composed of orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and sports nutritionists. They contain good basic information with links to additional resources. The business end of this Web site includes an online store and advertising space sold on the Web site. In addition, sports medicine physicians who meet the site’s criteria may join the Provider Directory for free or be featured for a cost. Notably, 1% of sales are reported to go toward programs promoting children’s health. Cost: Free. Sports medicine physicians may purchase a premium listing in the Provider Directory for $84 per year; however, it is unclear whether this includes primary care sports medicine physicians in addition to sports medicine orthopedic surgeons. KidsHealth: http://www.kidshealth.org/ Description: Funded by the nonprofit Nemours Foundation, KidsHealth is a rich informational Web site devoted to providing information on children’s health that is free of “doctor speak.” There are separate sections for parents, teens, and kids, each with age-specific articles on a wide array of topics, including fitness, sports, and nutrition. There is both breadth and depth in content, and all articles are reviewed by pediatric medical experts. This is a nice resource in which pediatric patients could be referred, as articles are written at the level of a child or teen for each respective section. Cost: Free International Society of Sports Nutrition: http://sportsnutritionsociety.org/ Description: The International Society of Sports Nutrition is the “only nonprofit academic society dedicated to promoting the science and application of evidence-based sports nutrition and supplementation.” The Web site mainly contains information related to ISSN conferences and certification for the Sports Nutritionist. The most useful area for nonnutritionist providers is the library tab, where a link to the Journal of the ISSN as well as the Sports Nutrition Insider, the society’s trade publication, can be found. Both of these publications contain interesting articles on sports nutrition and supplementation, which can be accessed for free. Unfortunately, neither the ISSN site nor its publications provide an easily searchable database on specific sports supplements or nutrition topics. Cost: Free