Orthopaedics & Musculoskeletal

Author: Prof. Wong Pang Ong, PhD

Ong Fujian’s Orthopaedic specialist (Prof. Wong Pang Ong) specialises in dealing with a range of conditions, broadly dividing into acute and chronic injuries. Being trained under Prof. Liu Bai Ling and Prof. Song Yi Tong (top 500 renowned professor in China) for a Master Degree in Orthopaedics and Traumatology, he accumulated experiences in both acute and chronic orthopaedics and traumatic disorders. Treatment measures range from closed fracture reduction, electroacupuncture, cupping as well as medication soaking.

Diseases include:
Muscle Sprain, Strain, and Traumatology

Muscle Sprain
Muscle sprains are commonly seen in athletes. e.g. During jogging/running, when a person suddenly changes direction, or during weight-bearing exercises. It causes the muscles, tendons, ligaments and synovial joints to undergo tremendous stress and damage resulting in pain, deformities and stability.

Sprain injuries tend to be located around a joint, resulting in pain, swelling and bruising. Majority of sprains have relatively good outcomes and will resolve with time. However, this is subjected to individual proponents such as external factors, patient’s compliance, age, comorbidities, degree of sprain and severity.

Grading of Sprain
Grade 1 Sprains: occur when the ligament is stretched but not torn.
Grade 2 Sprains: occurs when the ligament is partially torn.
Grade 3 Sprains: occur when the ligament is completely torn or ruptured.

Treatment measures: 

1. TCM medications (pain relief and reduction of inflammation)
2. Acupuncture (pain relief and the speeding up of recovery)
3. Medication-infused bandage (to provide compression and pain relief) 
4. Cupping (improves recovery)

Musculoskeletal system and Soft tissue injury:

Spinal Degenerative Diseases (e.g Cervical & Lumbar Spondylosis)

Degenerative bone diseases are common ailments that is faced in Singapore given the aging population and occupational hazard as Singaporeans are constantly working on their laptops or their handphones in a seated posture over long periods of time. These hazards places a constant pressure on the cervical and lumbar bones of the neck and results in their early degeneration. As a result, patients frequently feel pain and stiffness in their neck, arm, and their hands. It can be bothersome as typical painkillers do not relief the condition and surgical methods are deemed as too invasive for many patients. At OFJ medical, unlike others, we typically combine various methodologies to reduce the underlying pressure, improve the condition and reduce both the pain and underlying inflammation. Neck and lumbar traction is the initial method to relief the pressure of the cervical bones, electroacupuncture and tuina is used to reduce underlying pain and inflammation and TCM medications are used to further accelerate the process, ensuring a relatively fast healing process.

Fractures: & Dislocation:

Prof Wong Pang Ong specializes in the management of fracture and dislocation reduction. Having trained in Chang Chun College of TCM, which is renowned for their management of fractures and dislocation, he was trained under Prof. Liu Bai Ling and Prof. Song Yi Tong. During his training, he conducted thousands of reduction procedures and achieved a high efficacy for different forms of fractures and dislocations. Following reduction, a cast is being utilized to ensure that the fixed bones will continue to stay in place for the next few months until it has completely recovered. TCM medications will also be used to facilitate the recovery and reduce underlying pain and inflammation. Commonly seen fractures include Colles, Smith, Boxer and Greenstick fracture. 

Tendon and Ligament Injury:

Injury of the tendons and ligaments is the most common condition presented to OFJ medical. It can result from overuse injury (such as a mother constantly carrying her baby), trauma, infection or to more severe autoimmune conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis. Patients frequently present with pain and decreased range of movement as a result of underlying inflammation. Common types of ligament injury includes, De Quervain Tenosynovitis, Golfer’s elbow, Tennis elbow and Archiles tendonitis. Existing research has shown that electroacupuncture aids in the healing and reduces underlying inflammation of a tendon or ligament injury. This can be added through the topical application of OFJ developed topical medication which will further aid in the recovery process. Patients will usually experience an improvement over a period of 2-4 sessions.

Commonly encountered conditions include:
Arthritis: Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriatic, Ankylosing Spondylitis
Trauma-related: Fractures and Dislocations
Soft tissue injury: Plantar Fasciitis, Frozen shoulder, Tennis elbow, Golfer’s Elbow
Sciatica: Slipped disc and Spinal Stenosis
Spine/bone abnormalities: Scoliosis, Winging of Scapula
Others: Osteoporosis, Osteopenia, Osteomalacia

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