Orthopedic conditions that cause pain, whether it’s due to injuries or degenerative conditions associated with aging, affect your quality of life. You can measure the quality of your life by your ability to participate and engage in things that make you happy and healthy, and orthopedic conditions are notoriously limiting to just about anybody.
If an orthopedic issue is affecting your daily life,don’t let it go on too long. Have an expert evaluate it and administer corrective treatment. An orthopedic doctor is a highly trained and skilled medical doctor who can accurately diagnose and effectively treat problems with the bone, joint, tendon, cartilage, tendon, and muscle.
Let’s explore the impact of an orthopedic doctor on your life and where you can find the best orthopedic doctor in Lutherville, Maryland.
Help You Recover Completely from Sports Injuries
Orthopedic doctors with advanced training in sports medicine are particularly adept at managing sports-related injuries, such as rotator cuff injuries, fractures, golfer’s elbow, pitcher’s elbow, tennis elbow, and finger and wrist injuries.
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a weekend warrior, these doctors understand the unique demands and challenges associated with sports injuries. They can provide targeted treatment plans, rehabilitation protocols, and performance enhancement strategies to help you recover and safely return to your sport.
Help with Preserving Joint Health
Orthopedic doctors offer innovative treatments, such as cortisone injections, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, and cutting-edge minimally invasive procedures like arthroscopic repair to promote healing and potentially delay or avoid the need for joint replacement surgery. These cutting-edge approaches can provide significant relief and improve your long-term joint function.
Additionally, orthopedic doctors also emphasize the importance of lifestyle modifications for improving joint health. They educate patients on maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular physical activity, and adopting proper posture and body mechanics to prevent injury.
Help You Maintain Healthy, Pain-Free Hands
Orthopedic doctors can play a vital role in helping you maintain healthy, pain-free hands through early intervention to preserve hand health.
Here are some of the most common hand conditions:
- Arthritis
- Sprains
- Strains
- Trigger Finger
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Ganglion cysts
- Extensor tendon injury
- Flexor tendon injuries
Some of the interventions for various hand conditions include:
Splinting
Splints or braces to provide support, immobilization, or correct positioning for the hand and fingers. Splints can be beneficial for conditions such as wrist sprains, tendonitis, or fractures, allowing the hand to heal and minimize pain and discomfort.
Hand Therapy
Hand therapy, provided by certified hand therapists, focuses on exercises, stretches, and techniques to improve hand strength, dexterity, and range of motion. Hand therapists work closely with orthopedic doctors to develop customized therapy plans that address specific hand conditions, such as post-surgical rehabilitation, arthritis management, or tendon injury recovery.
Medications
Orthopedists may prescribe oral or topical medications to manage pain, reduce inflammation, or treat underlying conditions affecting the hands. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, or analgesics can be prescribed depending on the individual’s specific needs.
Injections
Orthopedic doctors may recommend injections for certain hand conditions. Corticosteroid injections are commonly used to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain in conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, or arthritis. In some cases, hyaluronic acid injections, also known as viscosupplementation, may be used to provide lubrication and cushioning to arthritic joints.
Minimally Invasive Procedures
Orthopedic surgeons may perform minimally invasive procedures to address specific hand conditions. One example is carpal tunnel release, which involves making a small incision in the wrist to relieve pressure on the median nerve and alleviate symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Another example is ganglion cyst removal, which involves aspiration or excision of ganglion cysts, which provide relief from discomfort and restore normal hand movement. Last is trigger finger release surgery, where the orthopedic doctor performs a percutaneous or open release to release the constricted tendon sheath and restore the normal position of the bent fingers.
Help Keep Seniors Physically Active
Orthopedic doctors are knowledgeable in the effects of aging on the musculoskeletal system and understand the unique challenges faced by older adults, such as osteoporosis, arthritis, and fractures. They are also in the best position to help patients with orthopedic pain and other challenges. They may prescribe pain management strategies, physical therapy, strength training, and balance training for improved mobility and to reduce the risk of falls which lead to fractures.
Perform Cutting-Edge Surgery to Treat Traumatic Injuries
A fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon in hand surgery can skillfully perform microvascular hand surgery, which is a specialized surgical technique performed on the small blood vessels, nerves, and tissues of the hand. This is critical to restoring the function of the hand for patients with traumatic injuries such as severe lacerations, finger amputations, and crush injuries, the type that can occur from machine-related accidents and natural disasters.
Microvascular hand surgery involves highly intricate procedures and techniques to repair or reconstruct the hand, to restore normal blood flow, sensation, and function to the hand.
Help You Return to Work After an Injury
Orthopedic doctors are also highly capable of evaluating work-related injuries. Some of the most commonly treated injuries are to the upperextremity, such as rotator cuff injuries, shoulder dislocations, carpal tunnel syndrome, and wrist fractures. Severe traumatic injuries can also occur on the job.
Injured workers need specialized orthopedic care, to ensure they meet the standards for a safe return to work. Injured workers need to meet the maximum medical improvement (MMI), a point wherein their condition has stabilized.
Expert Witness
An expert witness is a medical professional, often a specialist or a physician, who is qualified to provide their professional opinion and expertise on medical matters relevant to the workers’ compensation case. An expert witness can be obtained by the orthopedic practice to present their independent analysis, interpretations, and opinions regarding the medical condition of the worker.
Correct Your Child’s Injury or Congenital Deformity
Orthopedic doctors, specifically those with specializations in plastic surgery, can also treat children with congenital deformities or injuries. From sprains and strains to fractures to congenital hand differences, the doctor may prescribe splinting, hand therapy, and surgery.
These doctors can set fractures to position the bone as it heals, separate webbed hands and remove extra fingers, and reconstruct the hand to restore it to a normal appearance. Untreated congenital deformities can affect a child’s development and cause psychological issues to develop.
Top Orthopedic Hand and Shoulder Doctor in Lutherville, Maryland
The board-certified and fellowship-trained upper extremity surgeons at Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder are proud to be the provider of top-notch hand and shoulder treatments in Lutherville, as well as Bel Air, Clarksville, Eldersburg, Pasadena, and Westminster.
We are proud to serve the community in various ways and ensure locals have access to the best upper extremity care for complex hand and upper extremity problems from doctors who are at the forefront of leading-edge techniques and treatments. We treat individuals with sports injuries, work-related injuries, and chronic upper extremity conditions.
To schedule a consultation with one of our hand doctors, call our office today at (410) 296-6232 or use our online appointment request form.
