The medical speciality of orthopaedics doctor focuses on ailments that impact your musculoskeletal system. These include:
- Bones
- Muscles
- Ligaments and tendons
- Joints
- Nerves
People often visit an orthopaedic surgeon when they are injured or have chronic conditions such as arthritis or back pain.
What do orthopaedic surgeons do?
Orthopaedic doctors, often called orthopaedic surgeons, focus on helping you with musculoskeletal problems to help. Their responsibilities include:
- Diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders
- Assist with rehabilitation provided to you to help recover movement, strength, range of motion, and flexibility after injury or surgery
- Form strategies to preventinjuries or chronic conditions like arthritis to maintain.
While all aspects of the musculoskeletal system are familiar to orthopedists, some pursue an additional specialisation. Some specialities of orthopaedics doctors are:
- Spine
- Hip and knee
- Hand
- Shoulder and elbow
- Foot and ankle
- Sports Medicine
- Accident Surgery
What types of diseases do orthopaedic doctors treat?
Orthopaedic treat a variety of medical conditions including but not limited to the following:
- Fractures
- Muscle strains
- Joint pain or back
- Arthritis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Injuries to tendons or ligaments, such as sprains, tendinitis, and Cruciate Ligament Rupture
- Anomalies of the limbs,such as clubfoot and bow legs
- Bone Cancer
Doctors recommend a variety of treatments and procedures for the disorders that treat them.
Let’s see some of them in more detail below.
Nonsurgical procedures:
Exercise – An orthopaedic surgeon might suggest particular stretches or exercises to keep up with or enhance your strength, flexibility, and range of motion in a particular location.
Immobilization -Sometimes, it can be helpful to avoid additional stress in an area to heal. Examples of immobilisation techniques are braces, splints, and casts.
Medications – An orthopaedic surgeon may recommend specific medications to help relieve symptoms such as pain and swelling.
Lifestyle changes – The doctor can also help you make lifestyle changes. This may include changing your physical activity, diet, and the way you exercise to prevent an injury or condition from getting worse.
Surgical Procedures:
Joint Replacement – Joint replacement surgery replaces parts of a joint that has become damaged or diseased, usually secondary to arthritis. Examples include knee replacement and hip replacement surgeries.
Internal fixation– Internal fixation consists of implant placement such as pins, screws, plates, and rods to help hold broken bones in place while healing.
Fusion: This involves using a bone graft plus some form of internal fixation to join two bones together. As bone tissue heals, it fuses into a single bone. Fusion is commonly used in the surgery of the neck and spine.
Osteotomy– Osteotomy is a type of surgery in which a bone is severed and then repositioned. This type of surgery can sometimes be used to treat arthritis.
Soft tissue repair – In this surgery, orthopaedic repair damaged muscle, ligaments, and tendons. Release surgery – This type of surgery is performed for carpal tunnel syndrome.
It helps relieve symptoms by reducing pressure on the median nerve.
When should you see an orthopaedic?
If you are suffering from the followings, you may need to see an orthopaedic:
- Having pain or swelling in a bone, joint, or muscle that persists, recurs or is unresponsive to home care
- A significant decrease in mobility or range of motion of a joint, such as the knee, elbow, or shoulder
- Difficulty performing daily activities
- Symptoms related to the nerves, such as Numbness and tingling or a “tingling” feeling in arms or legs
- An injury to a bone or joint that requires specialist medical care
Orthopedics doctor diagnose and treat diseases that affect bones, muscles, and joints.
Treatment may include conservative measures such as exercise and medication or, in some cases, surgery such as bone replacement or total knee replacement.
Doctors help with rehabilitation and prevent an existing condition’s disease and symptoms from worsening.
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