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The Form & Function Brief
Every issue.
Every Tuesday.
Browse the complete archive of The Form & Function Brief — clinical clarity, performance principles, and field-tested gear from a 27-year orthopaedic hand surgeon. Three columns. Five minutes. Evidence over ego.
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Volume 1 · 2026
Issue 4 · Volume 1
Pain at the Base of Your Thumb — Arthritis, Tendon, or Something Else?
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
No Big Deal / Red Flag
Pain at the Base of Your Thumb
CMC arthritis vs. De Quervain's — the self-test that tells you which one you're dealing with and when to see a surgeon.
Clinical Depth
De Quervain's Tenosynovitis
Why new parents, gamers, and fly fishermen all develop the same condition — and why cortisone actually works here when it doesn't for tennis elbow.
Safety Officer Ben
Layering Is Not About Warmth
The three-layer system is a physiological response to how the body manages heat and moisture — and why age changes the calculation significantly.
Issue 3 · Volume 1
Issue 3 Title
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Blog posts coming soon
No Big Deal / Red Flag
Issue 3 — No Big Deal Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's clinical triage topic.
Clinical Depth
Issue 3 — Clinical Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's clinical depth article.
Safety Officer Ben
Issue 3 — Safety / Gear Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's gear or safety column.
Issue 2 · Volume 1
Issue 2 Title
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
Blog posts coming soon
No Big Deal / Red Flag
Issue 2 — No Big Deal Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's clinical triage topic.
Clinical Depth
Issue 2 — Clinical Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's clinical depth article.
Safety Officer Ben
Issue 2 — Safety / Gear Topic
One-sentence summary of this issue's gear or safety column.
Issue 1 · Volume 1 — Inaugural Issue
Numbness in Your Ring & Little Finger — When to Ignore It, When to Act
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
No Big Deal / Red Flag
Numbness in Your Ring & Little Finger
A tingly, half-asleep feeling in your smallest two fingers is usually nothing — until it isn't. The four-stage progression that tells you when the window for conservative treatment is closing.
Clinical Depth
Steroid Injections Aren't Always on Your Side
Why cortisone produces excellent short-term relief for tennis elbow and significantly worse one-year outcomes — and the conditions where injection is genuinely the right call.
Safety Officer Ben
Why a Hand Surgeon Has Opinions About Your Gear
The OR/OR standard and the four-question framework I use to evaluate risk in any environment — introduced before the Alaska series begins.
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