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. Texas has 1,466 practicing orthopedic surgeons. Broken out by city, orthopedic surgery doctor density in Abilene is 13, in Allen is 6, in Amarillo is 27, in Angleton is 3, in Arlington is 32, in Austin is 79, in Azle is 5, in Bay City is 3, in Beaumont is 16, in Bedford is 12, in Beeville is 2, in Bellaire is 16, in Bellville is 3, in Brownsville is 8, in Bryan is 6, in Burleson is 2, in Burnet is 2, in Carrollton is 10, in Cedar Park is 3, in Cleburne is 4, in Cleveland is 3, in Conroe is 6, in Corpus Christi is 29, in Dallas is 139, in Denton is 12, in El Campo is 2, in El Paso is 62, in Euless is 4, in Flower Mound is 8, in Fort Worth is 78, in Friendswood is 3, in Frisco is 6, in Galveston is 41, in Garland is 17, in Glen Rose is 2, in Granbury is 6, in Grand Prairie is 5, in Grapevine is 15, in Greenville is 7, in Haltom City is 1, in Harlingen is 6, in Houston is 241, in Humble is 3, in Hurst is 12, in Irving is 12, in Katy is 16, in Kaufman is 4, in Kerrville is 3, in Lancaster is 1, in Laredo is 10, in League City is 7, in Lewisville is 8, in Live Oak is 9, in Longview is 9, in Lubbock is 48, in Lufkin is 5, in Mcallen is 12, in Mckinney is 9, in Mesquite is 7, in Midland is 20, in Missouri City is 1, in Nacogdoches is 5, in New Braunfels is 6, in North Richland Hills is 10, in Odessa is 9, in Paris is 8, in Pasadena is 9, in Pearland is 8, in Plano is 56, in Port Arthur is 4, in Portland is 2, in Richardson is 8, in Richmond is 11, in Rockport is 1, in Rockwall is 12, in Rosenberg is 2, in Round Rock is 17, in San Angelo is 15, in San Antonio is 136, in San Marcos is 6, in Sherman is 3, in Spring is 11, in Stephenville is 5, in Sugar Land is 35, in Sulphur Springs is 10, in Temple is 20, in Terrell is 2, in Texarkana is 11, in Texas City is 6, in Tomball is 13, in Tyler is 31, in Victoria is 9, in Waco is 11, in Waxahachie is 5, in Weatherford is 6, in Webster is 7, in Wharton is 3, in Wichita Falls is 8, in Winnsboro is 3, and in Woodway is 3.

Texas achieved statehood in 1845, and its capital is Austin. Houston is home to the Johnson Space Center with its world-famous NASA Mission Control. Texas offers a multitude of outdoor activities: you can visit a ranch or a rodeo, or go hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, or canoeing. Popular sites are the Alamo in San Antonio, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio, or the Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi. Famous Texans include former presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Dwight D. Eisenhower, actors Tommy Lee Jones and Joan Crawford, and musicians Janis Joplin and Buddy Holly.

According to 2005 Census estimates, Texas has a population of 22,859,968. Of this population, 6,219,854 are under the age of 18 and 2,258,423 are at or above the age of 65.