An orthopedic surgeon helps patients overcome a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. They utilize surgical and non-surgical treatment methods to help rehabilitate the muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves that have been damaged in stress related or traumatic injury related damage.

An orthopedic surgeon is the specialist that you see when you have sustained damage or an injury to your musculoskeletal system which includes the entire internal structure that surrounds or is between the bones. Therefore, the musculoskeletal system includes the bones, muscles, tendons, joints, and nerves. You don't have to sustain a traumatic injury or one that it is self induced from a sports game, your pain, discomfort, or weakness of movement can be the result of a congenital or age related degenerative disorder. Yet, an orthopedic surgeon treats many common injuries that anyone could sustain. For example, many of the most common body damages occur to the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knee, foot and spine. Without the mobility of the joint and attached muscles daily tasks such as combing your hair, turning a door knob or bending can be made painful or impossible until surgical or non-surgical techniques for recovery are sought.

Minor to moderate injuries are typically recommended for rest and immobility oriented rehabilitation but there are many non-surgical techniques that can be applied throughout recovery. The rest, ice, compression and elevation technique is commonly called RICE and is still applied within the first 24 to 48 hours of an injury to reduce swelling and pain and perform a clear assessment of the injury. From here infrared heat treatments or massage therapy can be applied along with gradual physical therapy. The entire process can take between 4 and 8 weeks depending upon the soreness, sprain or tear that has occurred.

An orthopedic surgeon can treat a variety of debilitating injuries that occur from overuse as well. Many of the serious damages that occur within the human body aren't only as a result of sudden traumatic occurrences such as with a strike in a contact sport or a car accident. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome, spinal issues, rotator cuff tears and foot problems can go untreated while they progressively steal time and activity from you because the damage will worsen and compound with other injuries as your body tries to compensate for the initial damage. With the above mentioned conditions and injuries an orthopedic surgeon can either open up the area with traditional scalpel surgery or with microscopic tools to provide faster recovery and smoother rehabilitation, but only when it is possible that it will improve your condition. The first step is to understand that immediate care is a necessity with orthopedic injuries.

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