Orthopaedic surgeon or rehabilitation doctor? How to choose for your injury

When knee, shoulder or back pain appears, the first thing almost everyone thinks is: «I need to see the orthopaedic surgeon» (in Spain, the traumatólogo). It's a very common idea, but not always the best one. For a large part of injuries of the locomotor system, the specialist you need is the rehabilitation doctor.

What does each specialist do?

The orthopaedic surgeon is the specialist focused on the surgery of the locomotor system: fractures that need operating, prostheses, repairing tears in the operating room, etc.

The rehabilitation doctor (specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) focuses on diagnosing and treating pain and loss of function without surgery, with a conservative and interventional approach: therapeutic exercise, injections, ultrasound-guided techniques and regenerative treatments. The aim is to recover your mobility while avoiding the operating room whenever possible.

So, who should I see?

A good rule of thumb: if your problem is not a surgical emergency (an obvious fracture, for example), starting with the rehabilitation doctor is usually the best decision. I assess your case, start treatment and, if surgery ever becomes necessary, I guide you towards it. It is also an excellent option for a second opinion before having surgery.

Problems I treat without surgery

• Shoulder pain: tendinitis, calcifications and frozen shoulder.
• Knee pain: osteoarthritis, meniscus and tendinopathies.
• Low back pain, neck pain and sciatica.
• Osteoarthritis and tendinopathies.
• Sports injuries.

The role of ultrasound and interventional procedures

One of the great advantages today is being able to see the injury with ultrasound in the consultation itself and treat it with precision: from ultrasound-guided injections to PRP or hyaluronic acid. This makes it possible to solve many problems that once seemed destined for the operating room.