The first step after injury
After an injury there are probably so many things going on in your head. What do I do next? How will I work? How will I play with my kids? Is this Urgent? Should I just leave it alone, it will go away? While I can’t answer all of these questions for you what I can do is set an expectation of what the process looks like behind the scenes and what steps you should take. First and foremost if it is a bone, muscle, or ligament issue you should seek out an orthopedic specialist in your area. The most common first step is to go to an Urgent Care, visit your primary care physician, or visit your athletic trainer if you are lucky enough to have one. After an evaluation is preformed and they determine Orthopedics is right, a referral will be placed and the office will contact you. Most offices have a triage and referral system. This means that when your referral goes to the office there is a team of trained professionals who take a look at your case and help determine next steps. They look at things like your health history, current injury, and imaging. Typically the staff member have an algorithm in the computer that helps eliminate mistakes and create a streamline approach. However, sometimes it is not straight forward and the team has to get input from the physicians and health care staff on urgency of the case.
From here it is important to understand the orthopedic offices, or really any specialty office, are very busy, and because of the nature of bone and tendon injuries after people have to been seen quickly. Those wonderful people who are reviewing cases (often Athletic trainers like myself) know what is urgent and what is not. If your appointment gets scheduled out a month or so please don’t be upset and yell at us over the phone. We are doing absolutely everything we can to get everyone in quickly, but there is only so much time and space in the day. We are not being rude, or mean, or trying to make you suffer longer but sometimes there is just not enough space in the day to see all the people. Being rude or disrespectful to people on the phone gets you no where I still only have the time I have please be patient.
Prepping for your appointment
Now that you have your appointment I think it’s important to prep yourself a little. I have seen too many people come to their appointment without a clue what’s going on and it only makes it harder to retain everything they tell you. So here are some of my suggestions in preparation for the appointment.
- Do SOME research: Google is not always the best resource but it will give you a base line knowledge. You could ask around about others you may know who have had the same injury. You don’t need to have all the info or be an expert, but I think it’s important in the long run to have a base line knowledge when you walk into the office.
- Ask Pertinent Questions: It may come without saying that you are going to have some questions for the doctor. That is totally normal and ok, but you should try to think of questions ahead of time so as to maximize your time with the busy doctor. This is another reason I suggest doing a small amount of research ahead of time so that you don’t waste your time with the doctor on remedial questions. Here is a link to some decent questions: https://www.centerfororthosurgery.com/visiting-an-orthopedic-doctor-for-the-first-time-10-things-you-should-ask/
- Bring an experienced friend with you: In the doctors office there are often things thrown at you fast, it can be helpful to have another set of ears to catch the things you don’t. I think it also helps to bounce ideas off of or think of other last minute questions.
- Take Notes: You might not be able to make a decision on your next steps the day you are in the office and that is ok. Make sure to take notes so that when you go home to mull it over you don’t have to call the office back 14 times to go over the information again. It’s okay to delay your decision and think it over just make sure you write down he info you need to make the decision.
- Set your goals and expectations ahead of time: One thing people don’t realize is that often times there are multiple ways to treat an injury. The doctor can help you in determining what steps you should take in order to reach you goals, but you have to have those goals ready ahead of time. I think this is one of the most important things to have going into your appointment. So many people come to the appointment with this idea that the doctor will tell me exactly what needs to happen, but in reality we are here to help you achieve your long term activity goals and you need to provide us some guidance as well.
- Own your Healthcare Journey: This one might be hard at first. This journey is about you and your goals like I said above so part of the journey is knowing that every doctor is different. Look they all have the same general training what’s different is there bedside manner, go with the person you feel comfortable with. Own the fact that if you walk away and get a 2nd opinion it’s for you and not for anyone else. Do what feels right.
Ending thoughts
One of the most important things you can do is set a realistic expectation for yourself. This starts from the moment you seek an orthopedic appointment, and can really determine if you have an amazing experience with your doctor or not. As you get further in the process expectations are a huge part of your journey. When it comes to appointment timeline please do not expect to call and be seen tomorrow. Expect that the physician will include you in the decision process of your injury based on your goals in life, remember to own your healthcare journey. At the end of the day expectations are important to have prior to entering the orthopedic office.