3 Things to Check before Visiting an Orthopedic Surgeon

Did you just start a new exercise program or have you recently joined a sports league to get more active. But while trying your hands at this, you ended up getting hurt. Maybe you might have pulled a muscle, twisted an ankle, over-exerted yourself, or even fell wrong. While these events don’t give you a feeling at that moment, you may experience pain at a later stage in your body. You see swelling now and can’t get around that easily without someone’s help. What do you do now?

Well, it means you have just damaged your body and now it needs some expert care, so that you don’t end up deteriorating your damage. Here are few things to check for before visiting an Orthopedic surgeon:

1. Specialization

The field of orthopedic surgery has become a lot sub specialized in recent years. General orthopedic surgeons still exist, but many of them have now added fellowship training as a subspecialty within their orthopedic surgery. Some of the major things such as joint replacement, trauma, sports medicine, hand surgery, spine, pediatrics, etc. are a part of it.

Try to find an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the type of problem you have. For example, if you fell jogging and landed on your hand, you likely could benefit by seeing a hand surgeon for the severe pain and swelling at the base of your thumb rather than a general orthopedic surgeon or a surgeon who specializes sports medicine. If you are unsure of the appropriate surgeon for you, ask your primary care doctor. He or she should be able to point you toward a specific surgeon.

2. X-Ray

When you visit an orthopedic surgeon, x-rays are a fundamental part of a musculoskeletal exam for the doctor. If you got x-rays taken for this problem at your primary care doctor’s office, a hospital emergency room or urgent care facility then carry them with you when you visit the doctor’s clinic. While CT and MRIs are also important, but they should be done only after you visit the doctor and if they ask you to do that.

Bring the actual images and not just the radiologist’s report while visiting the doctors’ clinic.

3. Pricing

While with health, pricing can be avoided, but it is an important thing and must be taken into consideration before visiting a doctor. You wouldn’t want to save money now, and end up paying more later.