Orthopedists use surgical and non-surgical approaches to treat a variety of musculoskeletal problems, including sports injuries, joint pain, and back problems. The word orthopedic comes from the Greek orthos meaning straight, correct and paideia which means raising children. The term was originally used for children and the type of treatment they received for skeletal deformities such as bowed legs or knocked knees. An orthopedic shoe is one that is supposed to help correct deformed bones and support weakened muscles of a foot.
Orthopedics is the field of medicine that deals with the study and treatment of the musculoskeletal system, particularly the spine, joints and muscles. Orthopedics is mainly concerned with the correction of disorders and deformities related to the musculoskeletal system; therefore, orthopedics is essential for the treatment of back pain. Both “orthopedics” and “orthopedics” are derived from orthopedics, a French term coined by seventeenth-century physician Nicholas Andry de Bois-Regard. The term used by Andry himself is derived from the Greek words θ (ortho), which means “right” or “straight”, and παćδ (paidion), which means “child”.
As etymology implies, orthopedics, or what we now know as orthopedics, was first practiced as a way to treat childhood spinal deformities such as polio or scoliosis. Of course, modern orthopedics has grown to encompass a wide range of treatments, as well as expand its focus to include all age groups.