Orthopedics is the medical field that focuses on diseases and conditions that affect your musculoskeletal system. This includes your:

  • bones
  • 肌肉
  • ligaments and tendons
  • joints
  • 神经

People often visit an orthopedic doctor when they’re injured or when they have a chronic condition, such as arthritis or lower back pain.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into what orthopedic doctors do, the conditions they treat, and how to find the right orthopedic doctor for you.

骨科医生（通常称为骨科医生）专注于帮助您musculoskeletal issues。他们的职责包括：

  • 诊断和治疗影响您的肌肉骨骼系统的状况
  • assisting with rehabilitation, which helps you regain movement, strength, range of motion, and flexibility following an injury or surgery
  • forming strategies to prevent injury or to keep chronic conditions, such asarthritis，从恶化

尽管骨科医生知道肌肉骨骼系统的所有部分，但有些人选择进一步专注。骨科的一些专业领域包括：

  • spine
  • hip and knee
  • 手
  • 肩膀和肘部
  • foot and ankle
  • sports medicine
  • 创伤手术

骨科医生治疗多种疾病，包括但不限于以下情况：

Orthopedic doctors recommend a variety of treatments and procedures for the conditions they handle.

Let’s explore some of them in more detail below.

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:

  • Exercises.您的骨科医生可能会建议您进行特定的练习或伸展运动，以帮助维持或改善特定区域的力量，灵活性和运动范围。
  • 固定。Sometimes preventing additional strain to an area can help it to heal. Examples of immobilization techniques include braces,夹板，，，，and演员。
  • Medications.Your orthopedic doctor may recommend certain medications to help relieve symptoms like pain and swelling. Some examples include over-the-counter medications like布洛芬andaspirin。They may also prescribe certain prescription drugs likecorticosteroidsand anti-inflammatory medicine.
  • 生活方式改变。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:

  • Joint replacement.Joint replacement surgery involves replacing the parts of a joint that have become damaged or diseased, usually secondary to arthritis. Examples include膝盖更换and髋关节置换术surgery.
  • 内固定。Internal fixationinvolves the placement of hardware such as pins, screws, plates, and rods to help hold broken bones in place while they’re healing.
  • Fusion.This involves using骨移植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脖子andspinesurgery.
  • 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 totreat arthritis。
  • 软组织修复。This kind of surgery is used to repair severely damaged muscles, ligaments, ortendons。
  • 释放手术。This is a手术类型that’s performed for carpal tunnel syndrome. It helps to relieve symptoms by reducing pressure on themedian nerve。

You may need to see an orthopedic doctor if you have:

  • 骨骼，关节或肌肉的疼痛或肿胀，持续，反复出现或不反应在家护理
  • 关节的活动性或运动范围显着降低，例如膝盖，肘部或肩膀
  • trouble performing your daily activities
  • 与神经有关的症状，例如麻木和刺痛or a “pins and needles” sensation in your arms or legs
  • 需要专家注意的骨头或关节受伤

There’s a lot of training involved in becoming an orthopedic surgeon. In fact, in the United States, an orthopedist has to completeup to 14 years教育和培训。

This includes completing the following:

  • an undergraduate program at a college or university (4 years)
  • medical school (4 years)
  • 专注于骨科（5年）的居留权
  • a fellowship to subspecialize in one of the areas listed above (1 year)

为了确认他们精通骨科领域，骨科医生还必须通过认证检查。

This exam is given by theAmerican Board of Orthopaedic Surgeryor theAmerican Osteopathic Board of Orthopedic Surgery。

董事会认证后，骨科外科医生必须通过完成继续教育课程和考试每10年续签认证。

如果您需要去看骨科医生，则可以采取几个步骤：

  • Talk to your primary care doctor.Your primary care doctor may be able to recommend or refer you to an orthopedic surgeon in your area.
  • Search online.The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has an在线搜索工具that can help you find an orthopedic doctor near you.
  • Ask a friend or family member.如果接近您的人也有类似的状况，他们也许可以推荐他们拥有良好经验的骨科外科医生。
  • 阅读在线评论或使用社交媒体。在线评论可能会为您提供有关骨科外科医生的培训，能力和成功治疗各种疾病的洞察力。在社区应用程序或社交媒体上接触也可能会帮助您找到适合您的医生。

您可以使用该地区的骨科医生使用雷竞技app官网Healthline FindCare工具。

While looking for an orthopedic doctor, you’ll want to know if they’re covered under your insurance. If they aren’t, you may end up paying out-of-pocket costs that you didn’t plan for.

通常，保险将涵盖被认为是诊断或治疗特定疾病的医学上必要的护理。

However, it’s always a good idea to contact your insurance company to learn more about what’s covered before visiting an orthopedic doctor.

那医疗保险和医疗补助呢？

Medicareis a federal health insurance program for adults over the age of 65, as well as some other younger groups with specific chronic health conditions. People with Medicare often have either:

  • Original Medicare (Part A and Part B).Part B是门诊医疗保险部分原始Medicare。它涵盖了基于医疗的医疗服务，这些医疗服务被认为是诊断或治疗特定疾病所必需的。
  • Medicare Advantage（C部分）。Part C plansare offered by private insurance companies. Advantage plans are required to cover the same basic benefits as original Medicare but may also offer additional benefits.

Medicaidis a joint federal and state program that provides assistance with healthcare costs to those with lower incomes or resources. Eligibility and what exactly is covered varies from state to state.

Some research, both recent and older ，，，，has indicated that people with Medicare or Medicaid may have trouble accessing timely orthopedic care.

However, there are tools you can use to find doctors that accept these programs:

  • For Medicare.使用医师比较工具。This allows you to input a variety of information in order to find doctors in your area that accept Medicare.
  • 用于医疗补助。Contact your州医疗补助办公室找出您所在州的哪些医生接受医疗补助。

骨科医生诊断和治疗影响您的骨骼，肌肉和关节的疾病。

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.

骨科医生治疗的一些疾病例子包括：

  • 骨折
  • arthritis
  • 背部or joint pain

You may also find that some orthopedic doctors subspecialize in a specific area of orthopedics, such as:

  • sports medicine
  • 手surgery
  • orthopedic trauma

To find an orthopedic surgeon, you can ask your primary care doctor for a referral or search an online database like the one provided by theAAOS。

To minimize any out-of-pocket expenses, ensure that the physician you choose is part of your health insurance company’s network and plan.