By golly, there certainly are a lot of different things in the world of medicine, aren’t there? More words than one could shake a stick at. It can be a little overwhelming if you’re new to this kind of thing. Even some doctors get mixed up sometimes when it’s not their specialty.
So, what exactly is an orthopedic treatment center? What does an orthopedic doctor or surgeon do? If you don’t know it might be kind of hard to guess, but if you do know, odds are you aren’t reading our article today.
Today’s article has been written for those inquisitive minds among us. Those that want to know what orthopedic doctors actually do, and what orthopedic practices are there for. It doesn’t matter if you have an appointment scheduled with this kind of doctor or you’re on the internet way later than you should be and you found this article by chance.
With today’s article, we’re going to discover exactly what it is that orthopedic doctors do. By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll at least know enough about these kinds of doctors that you can tout it over your friends at your next gathering.
There’s a lot of information to cover and we can’t make this article too long because of spatial constraints, so let’s get into it. Everyone deserves to know as much about medicine as possible, and the internet is a great tool for learning these kinds of things.
Specialized vs Generalized Medicine
There are a lot of kinds of doctors, and you’ve probably even heard of a few. The medical field is incredibly vast. You can pretty easily find doctors that specialize in things like:
● Orthopedic.
● Oncology.
● Dermatology.
● Internal medicine.
● Immunology.
● Anesthesiology.
● Diagnostic radiology.
● Podiatry.
● Family medicine.
● Emergency medicine.
● Gynecology.
● Ophthalmology.
● Urology.
● Neurology.
There are a lot of other kinds of specialized doctors on top of those. Pretty much any part of your body has a doctor that specializes in it. These doctors go off to study these specific kinds of medicine in order to help people with specific conditions.
So, are all of these kinds of doctors actually necessary, or are they just running some kind of racket to extract more money from you and your insurance company? As funny as it would be to say that they are a scam, they actually are not.
General practice doctors are the first line of defense when it comes to medicine. That kind of doctor is considered to be a jack of all trades in the world of medicine. You can see them for anything from a common cold to a broken arm and beyond, which makes them important.
That being said, because they’re jacks of all trades, they aren’t great at specific issues. Let’s say that you go in with a major neurological condition. Odds are, they’d have suspicions about what could be wrong with you, but because they don’t practice neurology, they’d need you to see the specialist.
The specialist can then take a look at you and figure out what’s wrong specifically so you can work together, along with your primary care physician, and figure out what your care plan should be. Specialists also know some general medicine, but not as much as your primary care physician.
There’s a sort of eco-system in the medical world, filled with professionals that are either highly specialized or highly generalized. The entire medical industry would fail without both kinds of doctors in it because they have to work together to help everyone get the care that they need.
Has it always been this way? Absolutely not, but as time has gone on we’ve learned more about the human mind and body. So much that it would be preposterous to expect any single doctor to know everything about how both the mind and body work. It might be complicated, but it’s necessary.
Before you ask, yes, someone can have a need for multiple specialists on top of the general doctor. The most common type of specialized doctor is actually a psychiatrist, and you can definitely have both issues with your mind and with your body that need professional attention.
What Does an Orthopedic Doctor Specifically Do?
Now that we understand why we need specialized doctors, it’s time to understand what orthopedic doctors actually do. While they are specialists, unless you, a friend, or a family member practices or you’ve been referred to this kind of doctor, you might not know what they do.
Well, in the simplest terms, orthopedic doctors work to treat and prevent issues and diseases in the musculoskeletal system. There are a lot of different things contained within that system and it does span your entire body, as you may have guessed. Here’s what’s included in that system:
- Ligaments
- Joints
- Spine
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Ankles
- Wrists
- Elbows
- Hands
There are a lot of reasons why you might need to see this kind of doctor, and a lot of those reasons are excruciatingly painful, as you might imagine. Don’t forget, if you think something is seriously wrong you should see a doctor about it.
We can’t tell you if you need an orthopedic doctor or surgeon. This blog wasn’t written by doctors and even if it was, this is kind of a one-way conversation so we would have no way of knowing what’s wrong with you in the slightest.
That being said, a lot of orthopedic doctors break down into even more specialized roles. These roles are commonly referred to as sub-specialties. Every orthopedic doctor specializes in the musculoskeletal system, but some take it a step further and specifically specialize in:
- Wrists and hands.
- Ankles and feet.
- Shoulders and elbows.
- Hips and knees.
- Sports medicine.
That means that, depending on your situation, you could be referred to an orthopedic doctor and then have to be sent to another doctor about your ankle, for example. This helps make sure that you’re getting the best possible care from someone who specializes in your exact area.
Now, just because you’re having an issue with your feet and ankles, for example, that doesn’t mean that you’ll see an orthopedic doctor. You might end up seeing a podiatrist instead. It depends on what exactly is wrong, which is why you should see a doctor if you think something is wrong with you.
We cannot stress enough that your doctor is the only person who will be able to make sure that you’re getting the care that you need. That’s why you need a referral to see specialized doctors in most cases. Specialists are good at their specialty and rarely much else.
What Does an Orthopedic Treatment Center Do?
After reading the rest of this article, you may or may not have already been able to figure out what an orthopedic treatment center is. If you have, fantastic. We don’t have anything else that we can teach you.
If you haven’t been able to figure it out yet, don’t worry. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses and there’s nothing wrong with knowing what things aren’t your strong suits so you know what steps you need to take to get around them. This section is just going to quickly break down what these treatment centers are for.
Let’s say that you’ve been having an issue with your spine. Maybe it hurts in a way that you’re certain isn’t just a byproduct of again. So, you go see your doctor. Your doctor takes a look at you and says “you’re going to have to see a specialist for this.”
They give you a referral to an orthopedic doctor. This doctor works in a different office than your normal doctor, but it happens to be in the same part of town. Or maybe it’s a four-hour drive, it depends on where you live.
Once you have the referral, you would go to see the orthopedic doctor at their orthopedic treatment center. This center would have all sorts of equipment that’s specifically designed to help with orthopedic issues in the areas that we listed in the previous section.
That’s all these treatment centers are. Places where orthopedic doctors of all sub-specialties come together to help with orthopedic issues. If you end up at one of these places, odds are that you or a loved one is having some kind of issue with their musculoskeletal system and they need the help of a professional to get themselves all patched up.
Learning About Medical Specialties.
The world of medicine is full of a lot of information. That’s why you have to spend so much time in school to become a doctor, even if you take the route that allows you to work your way up from nurse to doctor.
Becoming a specialist requires a bit more schooling on top of what’s already expected, which means that when you see a specialist you’re seeing someone who’s dedicated their life to learning more about the way that the human body works so they can help people just like you.
