Orthopaedics

When you pull a muscle during your weekend warrior adventures, have swollen, achy joints, or need care for a broken bone, find expert comprehensive care from the country’s leading orthopaedic specialists at UNC Medical Center. Put your bones, muscles, joints and ligaments in the hands of the same medical professionals who care for UNC athletes. Our medical team includes 11 orthopaedists on the 2017 list of Best Doctors in America®, physicians selected by their peers as the best in their field. So, whether you’re experiencing an acute injury or a chronic problem, trust us to ease your discomfort so you can return to the activities you enjoy.

Musculoskeletal Conditions We Treat

Find help for all muscle, bone and joint conditions and injuries at UNC Medical Center. We treat:

Arthritis
Back pain and spinal disorders
Bone and soft tissue tumors
Pediatric orthopaedic problems
Developmental disorders and congenital abnormalities (conditions present at birth)
Feet and ankles
Fractures
Unhealed fractures and bone infections
Leg length discrepancies
Hands, elbows and shoulders
Hips, including pain caused by nerve impingement
Knees
Sports injuries
Strains and sprains

Orthopaedic Services & Treatments

At UNC Medical Center, you benefit from high-quality, individualized care for your musculoskeletal condition. We offer a full range of nonsurgical and surgical services, including:

Arthroscopy – Diagnoses or treats joint injuries and diseases through a minimally invasive surgical procedure
Partial or total joint replacement – Removes damaged parts of your joint and replaces them with new, artificial implants
Joint revision surgery – Removes an artificial joint that’s no longer effective and replaces it with a new one
Spinal deformity correction
Physical therapy and other rehabilitation services
Medications or injections to reduce inflammation
Biologic joint injections - Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) speeds recovery by injecting a concentrate from your blood that promotes healing
Debridement – Removes unhealthy tissue from a wound to promote healing
Cartilage restoration – Repairs or replaces damaged cartilage to relieve joint pain

Expert Fracture Care

Trust the orthopaedic specialists at UNC Medical Center to accurately diagnose and treat all types of fractures, including multiple fractures, complex joint and hip fractures, and “open” fractures, where the bone is exposed through a wound. Simple breaks may require just a splint or a cast. More complex factures may require stabilizing your bones with pins, screws or plates. We also care for fractures that have developed problems with healing, such as failure to heal (nonunion) or incorrect healing (malunion). When infection occurs in the bone (osteomyelitis) the treatment of these infections is often difficult and the team approach here at UNC, including infectious disease and plastic surgery physicians as well as orthopaedic surgeons, has extensive experience with the management of these problems.

Many broken bones require emergency medical care. Learn more about emergency services at UNC Medical Center.

Improving Your Bone Health

Research shows people who have had one fragility fracture- a broken bone that results from a fall at standing height or less- are at higher risk of future fractures. Proper treatment, which may include lifestyle changes and/or medications, can reduce your risk of experiencing another fracture by up to 50 percent. UNC Orthopaedics works closely with other specialized practitioners on methods to minimize the risk of these injuries.

Urgent Care for Bones & Joints

Find specialized walk-in care for minor muscle, bone, joint and ligament injuries at OrthoNow, our orthopaedic urgent care clinics at Carolina Point II and Weaver Crossing in Chapel Hill. See us for: