Brooklyn orthopedics is the branch of medicine that deals with your bones, muscles, nerves, ligaments, tendons and joints. Your orthopedic doctor in Brooklyn helps you overcome illnesses and injuries so you can get back to your active lifestyle. Orthopedic doctors in Brooklyn try non-surgical methods before resorting to orthopedic surgery. Your orthopedic surgeon in Brooklyn is highly skilled and also practices pediatric orthopedics in Brooklyn.

Orthopedic doctors in Brooklyn study and repair the parts of the body that enable you to get around. Your muscles and bones are just the tip of the iceberg, as it takes the coordination and cooperation of many elements to allow your brain to move even your left big toe.

The musculoskeletal system includes your:

• Muscles
• Bones
• Joints
• Nerves and spinal chord
• Tendons
• Ligaments

When You Need an Orthopedic Doctor in Brooklyn

Brooklyn orthopedics is known as sports medicine when you visit due to injuries sustained in sporting activities. Not every injury calls for it, but orthopedic surgery is sometimes necessary. Since so many things can happen to your musculoskeletal system, your doctor has to understand the underlying interconnected structure of the physiology at play that lets you walk and move. The types of injuries you may suffer include:

• Knee dislocation
• Broken or fractured arm
• Rotator cuff injury
• Tennis elbow
• Hip dislocation
• Ankle sprain
• Knee ligament tear

Diseases can strike your body too, and your orthopedic doctor in Brooklyn has to respond with appropriate treatment. Some of the conditions that Brooklyn orthopedics can treat include:

• Arthritis in your knee
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Hip arthritis
• Shoulder bursitis

Pediatric orthopedics in Brooklyn work to correct birth defects in children, protecting growing bodies from harm and helping them heal when an accident does happen.

Brooklyn Orthopedics Consultation and Diagnosis

Your initial orthopedic consultation determines what type of treatment you need. Since your musculoskeletal system is so intertwined, a pain in your foot may be caused by a back or hip issue. To reach a diagnosis, your doctor may perform a lower and upper extremities evaluation to test feeling and function.

Your orthopedic doctor in Brooklyn listens to your description of your pain and takes a full medical history, asking when your pain started, when it’s better or worse, and whether you’ve had it before. Your doctor then gives you a full examination. He may ask you to undergo one or more diagnostic tests, such as an x-ray or MRI.

Non-Surgical Treatment Options

Orthopedic doctors in Brooklyn don’t turn to orthopedic surgery as your first treatment option. After reaching a diagnosis, your physician decides which treatment is most appropriate. It may involve a single treatment or multiple options, depending on your needs and your doctor’s decision. Treatment options include:

• Medication to control your pain while you heal
• Physical therapy and exercises for rehabilitation
• Alternative therapies, such as massage
• Cortisone or steroid injections

Additionally, your orthopedic doctor in Brooklyn discusses ways to prevent injury in the future. If you’re suffering from chronic pain, your doctor can help you devise a plan for dealing with it in a non-surgical way.

Orthopedic Surgery Options

Sometimes surgery becomes the best option when other treatment methods don’t or can’t work. Your orthopedic surgeon in Brooklyn has extensive training and experience performing both minimally invasive procedures like arthroscopic surgery to full-blown joint replacement surgeries. Orthopedic surgery is never taken lightly, and your health and safety is always the number one priority.

The surgery you may need depends on your illness or injury. Sports medicine focuses on athletes — from professionals to weekend warriors — and their injuries, while maximizing physical performance. But most New Yorkers want to be free from pain and limitations. Orthopedic surgery options include:

• Arthroscopic surgery, which uses small incisions and tiny cameras to repair joint issues
• Orthopedic surgery to reattach torn ligaments or tendons
• Full or partial joint replacement to restore a full range of movement
• Fusion surgery to join two or more bones, which limits flexibility but eliminates pain
• Bracing surgeries that use metal rods, pins, screws or plates to support bones as they heal

Brooklyn Orthopedics Training

Your orthopedic surgeon in Brooklyn has studied and trained for many years to gain the skills and experience needed to treat you. Education to become an orthopedic doctor in Brooklyn starts with a four-year undergraduate degree, followed by:

• Earning a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from a recognized, four-year medical school
• Putting in another five years of training in a residency program focused on orthopedic practices
• Working one or two more years in a specialized fellowship
• Passing the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery exam
• Obtaining a license to practice from the State of New York

Further study allows your doctor to practice pediatric orthopedics in Brooklyn, which specializes in children’s orthopedic issues, or in another specialty. Always ask your doctor about his credentials and certifications during your initial orthopedic consultation.