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Unless you’ve visited an Orthopedic doctor in the past, you may not be completely familiar with the long list of conditions they treat, or the subspecialities within Orthopedics. Some may only associate these specialists with broken bones or joint replacements such as knee and hip. To make matters more interesting, some Orthopedic groups also have Rheumatologists on staff. So, what is the difference between an Orthopedist and a Rheumatologist and how does their medical expertise complement each other? Another consideration is knowing which doctor to visit based on symptoms or injury.
Orthopedics
The field of Orthopedics is very complex and covers a wide range of subspecialities. Essentially, Orthopedists are both doctors and surgeons who diagnose and treat musculoskeletal conditions, pain, injuries, and trauma. The musculoskeletal system consists not only of bones and joints, but also muscles, connective tissue, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. The medical conditions they treat may be chronic or acute, including a sudden traumatic injury. Treatment options can range from conservative to surgical and be enhanced by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, interventional pain management, Occupational or Physical Therapy when necessary.
Rheumatology
Rheumatologists are internal medicine physicians who subspecialize in rheumatic or inflammatory diseases. They are not surgeons but treat patients using medicine and therapeutic options. The cross-over in their specialty with Orthopedists is that they also treat musculoskeletal conditions, but are most closely focused on inflammatory, hereditary, and auto-immune conditions such as arthritis (there are many forms of this disease), Osteoarthritis, Lupus, gout and various others. However, some of the symptoms they diagnose, such as joint pain, is also diagnosed by Orthopedic doctors. In this case, an Orthopedic doctor is traditionally called on when the joint pain is more localized, such as in the knee. Whereas a Rheumatologist would be sought out when joint pain is simultaneously spread amongst many joints suggesting disease.
One of the benefits of having Orthopedic Surgeons and Rheumatologists in the same practice is the ability to collaborate in a patient’s care. If the patient visits an Orthopedist, that doctor may diagnose a condition better suited to the Rheumatologist, or vice versa. This gives the patient the ability to work with whoever is best qualified to offer immediate or long-term treatment, based on their medical condition.
While Orthopedic Surgeons and Rheumatologists both have expertise in musculoskeletal conditions, their education and treatment modalities are uniquely suited to the complexity and variety of conditions they are specifically trained to diagnose and care for.
