The traumatology is a branch of medicine in charge of the study, treatment and prevention of injuries to the musculoskeletal system, these include muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons and related tissues. Traumatology is practiced by trauma doctors.
Unlike rheumatology, which has a similar field of action, traumatology encompasses aspects related to the surgical treatment of injuries to these structures.
Traumatology also includes what is related to orthopedics, which corresponds to a science in charge of diagnosing, correcting and preventing injuries related to deformities that occur in different bone structures, congenitally or acquired, especially in children.
Main injuries that merit evaluation and treatment for trauma
Traumatology is commonly associated with the management of traumatic injuriesIn fact, this is where the name of this specialty is derived. These include fractures, sprains, dislocations, ligament and tendon ruptures, muscle strains and tears, cartilage injuries such as the menisci, among others.
However, this branch of medicine is also in charge of evaluating degenerative lesions of the musculoskeletal system that occur unrelated to trauma, such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, chondrocalcinosis, Paget's disease of the bone, lesions of the menisci and of the intervertebral discs.
Therapeutic tools of trauma
Traumatologists complement the medical pharmacological treatment of the various injuries with interventions that include the application of infiltrations, immobilization with splints or casts, the reconstruction of injuries in soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons, the repair or removal of injured menisci, the Fracture repair with the placement of metal material to align the bone ends, resection of herniated intervertebral discs with placement of space-conserving implements, amputation procedures for injured limbs, and more recently replacement of injured joints (shoulder, hip, and knee) ) with titanium prosthesis.
Surgical procedures carried out by orthopedic doctors, like general surgery, have incorporated minimally invasive surgical techniques such as arthroscopy, thereby correcting the problem without the need to make incisions in the skin. It allows the patient to have a better postoperative period and to recover more quickly from the surgery.
Traumatology is a specialty from which subspecialties are derived
Traumatologists can undertake subspecialization studies that lead them to specialize in specific areas of trauma, such as hand surgery, shoulder specialization, hip specialization, knee specialization, podiatry specialization and sports medicine.
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