Following up with your orthopedic doctor is essential to maintaining your physical health. Regular follow-up visits help ensure that your doctor is aware of any changes and can adjust treatments accordingly. This also helps to prevent further injury or long-term damage to your bones and joints.
Let’s talk about why it’s so important to follow up with your orthopedic doctor regularly and where you can go for outstanding orthopedic care in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
What are Follow-up Visits?
Follow-up visits are doctor visits after undergoing any orthopedic treatment like fracture surgery, cast, or joint replacement. They may occur in person or remotely via telehealth services such as telephone calls or video conferencing. During these sessions, your doctor will review any diagnostic imaging that has been taken since your last visit (such as x-rays or MRI scans) to determine whether there have been changes in the condition of the affected joint(s).
Further medical tests may be ordered to confirm a diagnosis and/or adjust treatment plans accordingly if necessary. Depending on the results of these tests, your doctor may recommend changes to medications, physical therapy regimens, and/or lifestyle modifications to help maximize recovery outcomes.
The Benefits of Regular Checkups
Regular follow-up visits with your orthopedic doctor allow you to be evaluated for signs of improvement or progression. While follow-up visits have many benefits, their primary reason is to ensure that musculoskeletal health is up to mark. Some of the uses and benefits of following up with an orthopedic surgeon are:
Assessment of the progression of your condition
Follow-ups are essential to track your progress after undergoing any orthopedic procedures. The new advancements in technology and healthcare have increased the success rates of many orthopedic procedures but are always a risk of having some side effects. In order to make sure your bones and joints are recovering in the right direction, follow-up visits are key.
Adjustment of Medications
Most people are prescribed various painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs before and after orthopedic surgery. During a follow-up visit, the orthopedic surgeon will assess your bone or joint health and adjust your medication accordingly. This helps to make your disease and medication-side-effect free.
They are a source of learning
Many orthopedic conditions can be managed by adequate rest and modification of your daily activities. In fact, even after orthopedic surgery, your daily lifestyle and activity matter a lot for a healthy recovery. During your follow-up visit, you can ask your various questions about your daily activities, diet, and exercise tips to your orthopedic surgeon.
Detecting Complications
Although the chance is pretty, there is still always a chance of something going wrong with an orthopedic procedure. For instance, improper care or non-healing wound may lead to infection of the bone, which may become a medical emergency. Regular follow-up visits help the orthopedic surgeon screen you for various complications and make sure you recover uneventfully.
Orthopedic Care in Connecticut and Massachusetts
Are you experiencing weakness or pain in your muscles, bones, or joints? Our skilled specialists at Advanced Orthopedics New England are devoted to diagnosing, treating, and preventing many orthopedic conditions and injuries. You can count on our orthopedic surgeons for trustworthy treatment recommendations and compassionate service.
To request an appointment or ask questions, contact our friendly staff today at (860) 728-6740 or fill out our online appointment request form. We look forward to delivering the best care for your orthopedic needs!
