For more than 25 years, ABC Medical Center has been known for its excellent work. One of its most outstanding units is the Orthopedics and Traumatology Center, which focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of pathologies and conditions related to traumatology and orthopedics.
This orthopedics and traumatology clinic was created to aid those people whose mobility was affected by musculoskeletal injuries or some other disorder. Therefore, it is appropriate to define this discipline.
What is the difference between traumatology and orthopedics?
Traumatology treats traumatic injuries to the bones, muscles, joints, and tendons. These discomforts can be congenital or acquired throughout life due to different situations to which anyone is exposed.
Orthopedics is developed and practiced together with traumatology to correct or prevent deformations or traumas of the musculoskeletal system.
In this sense, the point in common between both is that they focus on traumatic injuries, such as the alteration of the function of the limbs and the spine, such as bones and muscles. But, it also studies degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis, which are bone malformations, and tumor lesions such as bone cancer.
The most frequent diseases in traumatology
There can be traumatic pathology cases in a traumatology and orthopedics hospital that must be attended to by professionals. Among them:
- Fractures: are characterized by a break in the bone, trauma, or physical damage.
- Pain in the knees or the back: this occurs due to overexertion at work or in sports and is reflected in low back pain or muscle pain.
- Osteoporosis: it is a degenerative disease that is manifested by the decrease of calcium in the bones.
- Orthopedic alterations: they are known as flat feet or malformations of the spine.
- Joint pain: they are identified by cartilage wear due to aging or due to high-impact activities.
When to see a traumatologist?
It is recommended that a person see a traumatologist when they have pain in the bones, either in the joints or in the muscles.
The origin of these discomforts may be due to trauma, overuse, or spontaneous pain. In any case, it is important to have a specialist’s opinion to take the necessary measures to achieve improvement.
Tests for trauma diagnosis
These are some of the tests that will lead to the proper diagnosis of your condition.
- X-rays and CT scans: these are tests that detect or rule out traumatic or degenerative bone lesions.
- MRI and ultrasound: they are auxiliary tests that observe in detail muscles and ligament lesions.
- Bone densitometry: it is a medical examination indicated to detect the loss of calcium in the bones and osteoporosis.
- Electromyography: it is a test used to detect nerve damage.
Are there differences between a traumatologist and a rheumatologist?
It is normal for patients to tend to confuse these terms.
On the one hand, the traumatologist is the one who treats traumatic injuries and surgical processes. While the rheumatologist specializes in non-surgical treatments such as controlling degenerative and chronic lesions in the joints, muscles, and tendons. It also treats pathologies such as rheumatoid arthritis.
At the ABC Medical Center’s Orthopedics and Traumatology Center, we can provide you with specialized care. Contact us!
