Specialist Guide

• Primary Care Providers (PCP)/Internists are the medical professionals you see for common medical issues such as a yearly annual check-up or a non-emergency illness. Your PCP/Internist may refer you to a specialist such as an Orthopaedic Surgeon, a Rheumatologist, or a Sports Medicine Specialist for further therapy.
• Orthopaedic Surgeons are medical doctors with extensive training treating injuries and conditions of the musculoskeletal system—the bones, joints and muscles in your body. Orthopaedic Surgeons may recommend treatment of your knee pain with medication, physical therapy, steroid or hyaluronic acidHyaluronic Acid
  A substance injected into a knee with osteoarthritis. Serves to restore lubrication and shock absorbing capabilities that have been depleted due to the disease of osteoarthritis. injections or knee replacement surgery.
• Sports Medicine Specialists are physicians who specialize in the treatment of bone, joint, ligament and muscle conditions that do not require surgery. Though perceived to just treat athletes, Sports Medicine Specialists are able to provide relief for anybody with knee pain. Sports Medicine Specialists may recommend treatment of your knee pain with medication, physical therapy, or steroid or hyaluronic acid injections. If it is believed surgery is needed to correct a problem, you may be referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon for further evaluation.
• Rheumatologists are medical doctors who diagnose and treat both osteoarthritisOsteoarthritis
  Arthritis typically with onset during middle or old age that is characterized by degenerative (gradual deterioration of joint) and sometimes abnormal growth in the bone and cartilage of one or more joints and a progressive wearing down of opposing joint surfaces with consequent distortion of joint position and is marked symptomatically especially by pain, swelling, and stiffness; abbreviation (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis as well as other disorders of the bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. Rheumatologists may recommend treatment of your knee pain with medication, physical therapy, or steroid or hyaluronic acid injections. If it is believed surgery is needed to correct a problem, you may be referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon for further evaluation.