Orthopedic surgery deals with problems of the spine and the extremities. An orthopedic surgeon diagnoses and treats patients whose musculoskeletal problems include arthritis, trauma and congenital deformities. He or she also works with patients who have traumatic and overuse injuries. Using both surgical and non-surgical means, the orthopedic surgeon will treat injuries and degenerative problems of the spine and extremities, such as hands, feet, knees, shoulders and elbows.

Physicians in this specialty treat patients suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses, but some of the most common are spinal infection, spinal discectomy, spinal injury, spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, herniated disc, carpal tunnel syndrome, scoliosis, spinal deformity, spinal cord tumors, arthritis, trigger finger, tennis elbow, wrist fractures, ganglion cysts, orthopaedic trauma, brachial plexus injuries, and congenital deformities.

Once properly diagnosed, practitioners can perform numerous procedures on patients including disc disease / surgery, hand surgery, hip replacement, back / spine surgery , invasive disc surgery, joint surgery, kyphosis surgery, shoulder arthroscopy and débridement, repair of ankle fracture (bimalleolar type), repair fracture of radius (bone)/ulna, knee replacement, laminectomy, total joint reconstruction (arthroplasty), spine surgery, foot and ankle surgery, lumbar spinal fusion, carpal tunnel release, repair of femoral shaft fracture, repair of rotator cuff tendon, and repair of ankle fracture (fibula).

To diagnose patients with possible illnesses and diseases, specialists will often perform one of many tests including cat scan, mri arthrogram, magnetic resonance imaging (mri), computed axial tomography (ct or cat scan), x-ray, pet scan, bone scans, hip ultrasound, gallium scan, medical photography, and spine ultrasound.

Doctor density varies by specialty and location. Minnesota has 531 practicing orthopedic surgeons. Broken out by city, orthopedic surgery doctor density in Albert Lea is 5, in Albertville is 1, in Alexandria is 8, in Andover is 4, in Apple Valley is 2, in Austin is 7, in Barnesville is 2, in Bemidji is 6, in Blaine is 4, in Bloomington is 38, in Brainerd is 9, in Brooklyn Center is 1, in Brooklyn Park is 2, in Buffalo is 10, in Burnsville is 25, in Cambridge is 12, in Cannon Falls is 2, in Champlin is 4, in Chanhassen is 7, in Chaska is 4, in Chisholm is 1, in Cloquet is 2, in Columbia Heights is 2, in Coon Rapids is 24, in Cottage Grove is 1, in Crookston is 5, in Crosby is 6, in Deephaven is 1, in Delano is 1, in Detroit Lakes is 6, in Duluth is 31, in Eagan is 4, in East Grand Forks is 2, in Eden Prairie is 12, in Edina is 40, in Elk River is 6, in Ely is 2, in Fairmont is 7, in Faribault is 7, in Farmington is 5, in Fergus Falls is 2, in Forest Lake is 3, in Fosston is 2, in Fridley is 14, in Glencoe is 1, in Grand Rapids is 5, in Hastings is 10, in Hibbing is 6, in Hopkins is 6, in Howard Lake is 3, in Hutchinson is 7, in International Falls is 2, in Jackson is 1, in Lake City is 1, in Lake Elmo is 7, in Lakeville is 1, in Le Sueur is 1, in Lino Lakes is 1, in Litchfield is 1, in Little Falls is 4, in Luverne is 3, in Mankato is 13, in Maple Grove is 13, in Maplewood is 24, in Marshall is 1, in Minneapolis is 165, in Minnetonka is 9, in Monticello is 4, in Morris is 4, in Mound is 2, in New Prague is 3, in New Ulm is 7, in North Branch is 2, in Northfield is 4, in Owatonna is 4, in Park Rapids is 4, in Plymouth is 22, in Princeton is 3, in Red Wing is 4, in Redwood Falls is 2, in Robbinsdale is 13, in Rochester is 110, in Roseville is 5, in Sartell is 2, in Sauk Centre is 4, in Shakopee is 8, in Shoreview is 8, in Slayton is 1, in Spring Lake Park is 2, in Stillwater is 21, in Thief River Falls is 4, in Virginia is 12, in Waconia is 7, in Waseca is 4, in Wayzata is 4, in Willmar is 4, in Winona is 2, in Woodbury is 15, in Worthington is 2, and in Wyoming is 3.

Minnesota has a population of 5,132,799, more than half of which is in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, also called the Twin Cities. Though St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota, Minneapolis is its largest city. Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” so summer water-based activities and winter ice fishing, skating, skiing and snowmobiling are popular in this state. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is located at Minnesota’s northern boundary. When in the Twin Cities, be sure to visit the nearby Mall of America in Bloomington; the most-visited shopping mall in the world.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Minnesota has a population of 5,132,799. Of this population, 1,189,370 are under the age of 18 and 621,336 are at or above the age of 65.