Orthopedic Trauma Surgery
Orthopedic trauma includes a range of injuries that typically occur during events like falls, car accidents or sports. These injuries can range from simple fractures to more complex injuries involving multiple body systems. At Nacogdoches Medical Partners, we help patients address orthopedic trauma, discussing their injuries and offering surgical treatment options when appropriate.
What Is Orthopedic Trauma?
Orthopedic trauma refers to severe injuries to the musculoskeletal system, a complex structure that includes bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. These injuries are often sudden and can range from simple fractures to complex injuries involving multiple bones, joints and soft tissues of the body.
Traumatic injuries to the bones and joints can occur in various ways, such as through falls, motor vehicle collisions or direct impacts during sports or other activities. The severity and type of trauma can vary widely, from isolated fractures of a single bone to extensive injuries that affect multiple body parts. Each injury requires careful evaluation to manage effectively and ensure the best possible outcomes for recovery.
Orthopedic trauma is not limited to athletes or accidents in public settings. It also includes injuries acquired through daily activities and occupations that may put a strain on the musculoskeletal system injuries, such as a slip at home or a repetitive strain injury from work.
What Are the Most Common Orthopedic Injuries?
Here are some of the common orthopedic injuries in no particular order:
- Achilles tendinitis – the Achilles tendon hurts and inflames due to overuse. This condition can be acute or chronic and is most common among runners and athletes who do a lot of jumping or running in their chosen sports
- Concussion – a head injury resulting from a serious blow to the head
- Groin pull – tendon or muscle tear or overstretch in the groin area
- Shin splints – pain along the shinbone’s inner edge
- Patellofemoral syndrome – a knee injury due to repetitive thigh bone and kneecap movement, resulting in pain around the kneecap
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears – knee injury that happens when there is a sudden change in direction
- Rotator cuff injury – damage in one of the rotator cuff’s four muscles, which keep your arm in your shoulder socket, allowing you to rotate and lift your arm while keeping your shoulder stable.
- Hamstring strain – happens when the muscle on the back of the thigh is overstretched
- Tennis or golf elbow – inflammation of the forearm due to repetitive movement, usually seen in athletes mostly performing gripping activities
- Sciatica – a condition caused by pain affecting the sciatic nerve, causing tingling or numbness in the lower back that may radiate down the leg
What Is a Nonunion Fracture?
A nonunion bone fracture is a break in a bone that fails to heal within the expected timeframe. Typically, when a bone fractures, the body repairs the break over weeks to months, depending on the severity and location of the injury. However, this healing process stalls in some cases, and the fracture remains unhealed, classified as a nonunion.
Nonunions may occur for various reasons, including insufficient fracture stabilization, poor blood supply to the area, or underlying health conditions that impede healing. This condition can lead to persistent pain and disability, often requiring medical intervention to promote bone healing and restore function.
Do Trauma Orthopedic Injuries Always Require Surgery?
Orthopedic trauma injuries include a range of conditions, from fractures to dislocations. They do not always need surgical intervention. The decision to perform surgery depends on the specific type and severity of the injury, the patient’s health needs and recovery goals.
For instance, certain fractures may be treated effectively without surgery, especially if they are stable and well-aligned. These can often be managed with immobilization techniques such as casting or bracing, allowing the bone to heal naturally over time. In contrast, more complex fractures, such as those involving displacement or multiple fragments, might require surgical intervention to realign and stabilize the bones, ensuring proper healing and functionality.
As much as possible, an orthopedist will recommend non-surgical approaches to help treat your condition, such as:
- Braces, casts, boots or sleeves
- Complementary therapies
- Home exercise programs
- Ice or heat therapy
- Massage therapy
- Muscle relaxants
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
- Ointments
- Over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers
- Steroid injections
When non-surgical treatments do not improve your condition, your orthopedic doctor may recommend orthopedic trauma surgery options for your case. Here are some of the surgical procedures that may be performed depending on your orthopedic condition:
Artificial Disc Replacement
Spinal discs serve as cushioning between the small bones that make up your backbone, providing shock absorption, maintaining stability and allowing pivot movement. A damaged spinal disc may cause chronic low back pain. Artificial disc replacement aims to replace the problematic disc with an artificial disc made from any of these materials:
- Ceramic
- Cobalt-chrome alloy
- Polyethylene
- Polyurethane
- Stainless steel
- Titanium alloy
Arthroscopy
Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that allows an orthopedic surgeon to inspect a damaged joint's interior. The surgeon makes a small cut in the patient’s skin and inserts small, specialized instruments with a camera and lighting. The image of the joint’s interior is projected on a monitor. The surgeon uses this to plan treatments.
Bone Grafting Surgery
Bone grafting is a procedure where a surgeon repairs damaged bone using synthetic bone, donated bone or healthy bone from another part of the body.
Fracture Repair Surgery
If not treated as soon as possible, a fracture or broken bone may heal incorrectly. In fracture repair surgery, a surgeon returns a damaged bone to its proper anatomical position.
Joint Replacement Surgery
Arthroplasty is another term for joint replacement surgery. It is commonly done on the shoulder, knee and hip, where the surgeon reconstructs and replaces damaged joints using prostheses. For instance, in a hip replacement surgery, the orthopedic surgeon removes the damaged hip joint part and replaces it with new artificial joints that will simulate the function of a typical joint.
Replacement surgery may be total or partial, depending on joint damage. It should be the final step in orthopedic treatment if less invasive procedures are ineffective. X-ray evidence of a problematic joint is one of the criteria orthopedics uses to qualify a patient for joint replacement surgery.
Don’t Endure Orthopedic Trauma Pain
Nacogdoches Medical Partners in Nacogdoches, TX, offers orthopedic trauma care for various injuries. We strive to help patients ease pain and restore function so they can return to doing what they love. Contact our healthcare providers for more information about our orthopedic trauma treatment.