Even as a well-trained athlete, injuries are inevitable. The muscles,
tendons, and bones can become painful and experience diminished function
as a result of a serious injury, or just normal exercise. Luckily, an
orthopedic surgeon is specially trained in both surgical and
non-surgical procedures to treat musculoskeletal trauma. However, other
factors, such as degenerative disease, congenital disorders, or
infections may also need orthopedic surgery to live pain-free.
Although an orthopedic surgeon is specially trained in surgically
treating conditions of the musculoskeletal system, sports injuries are
different from other issues related to this system. A sports injury can
happen without warning for a number of reasons.
Often times these injuries are a result of overexertion from not
properly stretching before participating in rigorous physical activity.
Even with the proper precautions, injuries are fairly common in contact
sports, such as football or soccer. Knee injuries are typical among
these athletes, who may experience a very painful injury from broken
bones, or torn tendons and ligaments. When this happens, it is important
to treat the injury with surgery as soon as possible.
For instance, a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is not only
painful, but it can also be a career-ending injury for many professional
athletes unless it is treated immediately. Having a highly trained and
competent orthopedic surgeon will be very important because the ACL is
such a crucial ligament when it comes to proper movement of the knee
joint. However, this injury is not exclusive to athletes. Some people
over the age of forty may experience this injury due to simple wear and
tear. There are other knee injuries that might require a complete
reconstruction or knee replacement. This is also equally as common among
both athletes and older patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or
osteoarthritis.
Although an orthopedic surgeon is trained to surgically repair
musculoskeletal injuries, some may choose to focus on a specific
sub-specialty. For instance, there are many surgeons who exclusively
treat sports injuries. Likewise, other surgeons may choose to focus on
older patients with injuries related to arthritis or osteoporosis.
Therefore, it is important to research the right orthopedic surgeon if
you are in need of one. Even still, other surgeons may have expertise in
treating spinal injuries, which will require a different skill set than
what is needed to reconstruct and injured knee or shoulder. There are
other medical specialties that can operate and treat musculoskeletal
injury. However, only an orthopedic surgeon has a specialized background
that focuses in injuries within this system.
