Orthopedics: All You Need to Know
As incredible as it appears, it is an established fact that more than 6.3 million fractures occur annually in the United States of America alone, and as many as 40% of these occur within the safety of the home. To compound this report, it is established that 85-90% of elderly people beyond 75 suffer from osteoarthritis. These medical conditions are critical as they directly impact the daily activities of the individual. To tackle these medical conditions, proper orthopaedic care was introduced and popularized a useful field of medicine.
Orthopedic Treatment
In parallel with its literal translation that suggests that this field is limited to ‘straightening of legs’, orthopedics covers all activities involving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system constituted of the bones, cartilages, joints, tendons and ligaments, muscles and other connective tissues.
With reference to the operation of the musculoskeletal system, some of the most common musculoskeletal conditions handled by field of orthopaedics include arm, elbow, hips, hands, foot and spinal injuries, hemophilia, arthritis, and bone cancer. These musculoskeletal conditions usually result from several agencies such as birth deformities, prolonged and continuous stress (from sports and other occupation), traumatic incidents (such as accidents), infection, and aging.
To cater for these musculoskeletal conditions irrespective of their source and severity, the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery has vetted specific forms of orthopedic care including: sport medicine, Joint Replacement and Surgery in Arthritis, orthopaedic surgery (hand, shoulders, elbow, and spine), arthroscopy, musculoskeletal oncology, medical rehabilitation, trauma and fracture orthopaedics, and pediatric orthopaedics. These forms of orthopedic care are targeted to specific musculoskeletal conditions and specific patient categories.
Orthopedic treatment usually covers three interconnected categories of procedures, including a patient assessment, medical interventions, and follow-up.
Patient Assessment in Orthopaedics:
At Florida OrthoCare, a wide range of techniques are employed in orthopedic treatments to diagnose the nature and severity of the musculoskeletal condition, as well as the patient’s medical history. These techniques would cover well-structured interviews, urine and blood examinations, x-ray, MRI and CT scans, and in the case where a bone cancer or tumor is identified, a biopsy is undertaken as an additional step in the patient assessment procedure.
Medical Interventions in Orthopaedics:
During your patient evaluation, orthopaedic interventions are performed by one of our highly trained orthopedic doctors at one of our Central or South Florida medical offices or surgery centers. This process might perform a range of activities including joint replacement, sports injury management, limb salvage surgery for tumors, pediatric orthopaedics, trauma care, and minimally invasive spine surgery.
The aim of any orthopedic intervention is to reduce the pain from the musculoskeletal condition, enhance the mobility of the body part affected, and support the performance of activities of daily life for affected patients.
Follow-up in Orthopedics:
It is critical to ensure that the positive effects of the orthopedic intervention are sustained and reinforced using specific follow-up techniques. As an illustration, the limitation of the use of the affected portion for anti-inflammation might be achieved by the use of braces and wrap aids. In some cases, physiotherapy and lifestyle adjustments are recommended as follow-ups.
It is important to highlight that the cost of an orthopaedic treatment depends on several factors including the experience of the practitioner, the required technique and technologies, the test and preparations required, and the anesthetics employed.
It must be highlighted that the cost of the medical procedure, however it is defined is incomparable to the relief and well-being of the patient.
