Orthopedic Surgeon in Orange County

An orthopaedic surgeon can help you return to your daily life pain-free.

An orthopaedic surgeon in Orange County may provide the relief you need if you’re experiencing persistent pain or discomfort.

• By the time you do come for a visit, it’s likely you’ve tried other remedies for conditions affecting the joints, muscles, ligaments, bones, nerves, and tendons without meaningful or lasting results
• Your experience with an orthopaedic surgeon often starts with a referral from your primary care physician

Joint Pain

Occasional joint pain from overuse or muscle tension is fairly common and usually only a temporary annoyance. When that discomfort lingers longer than expected or impacts your quality of life, it may be time to consider other diagnostic and treatment options. Even though inflammation contributes to joint pain, there’s often an underlying source of the pain, usually involving the joint itself and supporting muscles.

Patients may be referred to an orthopaedic surgeon if they are experiencing joint pain as a result of an injury that’s not responding to conservative treatments or if pain is becoming increasingly worse. An orthopaedic surgeon can also determine if joint replacement is appropriate, although this is a last resort if other treatments aren’t effectively managing joint pain.

Long-Term Muscle Pain

Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from some degree of musculoskeletal pain each year. When muscle-related pain persists and doesn’t respond to initial treatments, an orthopaedic surgeon can determine if the pain is related to pressure on nerves or a condition such as fibromyalgia. Regardless of the source of the pain, the emphasis is always on less-invasive treatments.

Non-specific muscle pain can be difficult to accurately diagnose. In some cases, patients may receive a misdiagnosis and try treatments that aren’t really addressing the true problem. Identifying the source of persistent muscle pain is often a process of elimination that involves narrowing down potential sources. Once a possible source is identified, further testing will be recommended as part of the confirmation process.

Osteoporosis

Sometimes referred to as “brittle bone disease,” osteoporosis is a condition that can weaken bones and increase the risk of sustaining a fracture or having a bone break after a fall. Initial treatments may include physical therapy, medications, and calcium and Vitamin D supplements to strengthen bones. vitamin D alone may reduce the risk of sustaining a broken or fractured bone by as much as 20 percent. Eating a balanced diet can also help increase bone strength.

While osteoporosis is a progressive disease, it can be successfully managed with treatments tailored to specific patient needs. An orthopaedic surgeon can perform tests to determine the extent of bone loss and work with a patient’s physician to put together an effective treatment plan to minimize future bone loss and strengthen supporting muscles to reduce the risk of injury. Surgery may be required if a bone breaks or is severely fractured.

Back Pain

Affecting more than half of the population at any given time, back pain is one of the most common reasons patients are referred to specialists like an orthopaedic surgeon. Back pain not linked to a specific mechanical problem, such as herniated disc or a narrow portion of the spine that’s causing nerve compression, can be difficult to treat and diagnose. For this type of back pain, an orthopaedic surgeon will perform tests to narrow down possible sources to fine-tune treatment recommendations.

If a specific source of pain is identified, non-surgical remedies will be recommended first unless there is an urgent need to correct the problem immediately. When disc damage is involved, the role of a surgeon is to maintain the stability of the spine. While fusion surgery is a common procedure, there are alternative procedures, such as artificial disc replacement, that can retain range of motion for patients who are ideal candidates for the procedure.