What Is an Orthopedic Doctor and How Can They Help You?
Orthopedics is the medical field that focuses on diseases and conditions that affect your musculoskeletal system. This includes your:
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bones
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muscles
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ligaments and tendons
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joints
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nerves
People often visit an orthopedic doctor when they’re injured or when they have a chronic condition, such as arthritis or lower back pain.
What do orthopedic doctors do?
Orthopedic doctors, often referred to as orthopedic surgeons, focus on helping you with musculoskeletal issues. Their duties include:
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diagnosing and treating conditions that affect your musculoskeletal system
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assisting with rehabilitation, which helps you regain movement, strength, range of motion, and flexibility following an injury or surgery
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forming strategies to prevent injury or to keep chronic conditions, such as arthritis, from worsening
While orthopedic doctors know about all parts of the musculoskeletal system, some choose to specialize further. Some subspecialty areas of orthopedics include:
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spine
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hip and knee
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hand
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shoulder and elbow
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foot and ankle
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sports medicine
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trauma surgery
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What types of conditions do orthopedic doctors treat?
Orthopedic doctors treat a wide variety of conditions, including but not limited to the following:
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bone fractures
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muscle strains
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joint or back pain
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arthritis
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carpal tunnel syndrome
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injuries to tendons or ligaments, such as sprains, tendonitis, and ACL tears
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limb abnormalities, such as clubfoot and bowlegs
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bone cancer
What types of procedures do they do?
Orthopedic doctors recommend a variety of treatments and procedures for the conditions they handle.
Nonsurgical treatments
These types of treatments are also called conservative treatments. Orthopedic doctors will often focus on nonsurgical treatments first before recommending surgery.
Some types of nonsurgical treatments include:
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Exercises. Your orthopedic doctor may recommend specific exercises or stretches to help maintain or improve your strength, flexibility, and range of motion in a particular area.
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Immobilization. Sometimes preventing additional strain to an area can help it to heal. Examples of immobilization techniques include braces, splints, and casts.
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Medications. Your orthopedic doctor may recommend certain medications to help relieve symptoms like pain and swelling. Some examples include over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen and aspirin. They may also prescribe certain prescription drugs like corticosteroids and anti-inflammatory medicine.
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Lifestyle changes. Your orthopedic doctor may also help you with making lifestyle changes. These can involve modifying your physical activity, diet, and the ways you exercise to prevent aggravation of an injury or condition.
Surgical treatments
Sometimes a condition or injury doesn’t improve with conservative measures. In these cases, your doctor may recommend surgery. Some examples of operations performed by an orthopedic surgeon include:
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Joint replacement. Joint replacement surgery involves replacing the parts of a joint that have become damaged or diseased, usually secondary to arthritis. Examples include knee replacement and hip replacement surgery.
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Internal fixation. Internal fixation involves the placement of hardware such as pins, screws, plates, and rods to help hold broken bones in place while they’re healing.
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Fusion. This involves using bone graft material plus some form of internal fixation to connect two bones together. As the bone tissue heals, it fuses into one bone. This technique is often used in neck and spine surgery.
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Osteotomy. Osteotomy is a type of surgery that involves cutting a part of a bone and then repositioning it. This type of surgery may sometimes be used to treat arthritis.
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Soft tissue repair. This kind of surgery is used to repair severely damaged muscles, ligaments, or tendons.
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Release surgery. This is a type of surgery that’s performed for carpal tunnel syndrome. It helps to relieve symptoms by reducing pressure on the median nerve.
When to see an orthopedic doctor
You may need to see an orthopedic doctor if you have:
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pain or swelling in a bone, joint, or muscle that’s persistent, recurring, or doesn’t respond to at-home care
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a significant decrease in the mobility or range of motion of a joint, such as your knee, elbow, or shoulder
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trouble performing your daily activities
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nerve-related symptoms, such as numbness and tingling or a “pins and needles” sensation in your arms or legs
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an injury to a bone or joint that needs the attention of a specialist
The bottom line
Orthopedic surgeons diagnose and treat conditions affecting your bones, muscles, and joints.
Treatment can include conservative measures, such as exercise and medication, or in some instances, operations like total knee replacement.
Orthopedic doctors can also assist with rehabilitation and help prevent the symptoms of an existing condition from getting worse.
Some examples of conditions that orthopedic doctors treat include:
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bone fractures
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arthritis
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back or joint pain
You may also find that some orthopedic doctors subspecialize in a specific area of orthopedics, such as:
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sports medicine
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hand surgery
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orthopedic trauma