Knee pain, fractures & joint care
In short
Orthopedics at AJ Subaitha Medical Centre in Egmore, Chennai treats bone, joint and muscle problems including fractures, back pain, knee and shoulder pain, arthritis and sports injuries, and provides guidance on joint replacement surgery. Outpatient consultations run Monday to Saturday, 10am to 9pm.
If you are not sure whether this is the department you need, this is what it covers and what each of these conditions actually involves.
A broken bone needs to be confirmed, put in the right position and held there while it heals. Not every fracture is obvious — some show as pain and swelling that will not settle rather than an unmistakable break — which is why an X-ray usually settles the question rather than waiting to see.
Most back pain is mechanical and improves, but it is worth being examined when it is severe, keeps returning, or runs down a leg. Pain travelling below the knee, numbness or weakness in the leg, or any change in bladder or bowel control point to a nerve being involved and should not be sat on.
These two joints carry very different problems. Knees tend to give trouble with wear, weight and old injuries; shoulders more often with the tendons around the joint, which is why a stiff shoulder can hurt most at night and when reaching behind you. Both are worth examining early, since stiffness that sets in is harder to undo than pain that is treated.
Arthritis is joint pain, stiffness and swelling from the joint surface wearing or becoming inflamed. It is a long-term condition and it is managed rather than finished with — through treatment, activity, weight and strengthening the muscles around the joint. Well-managed arthritis is a very different experience from arthritis left alone.
Sprains, ligament and muscle injuries need an accurate assessment of what was actually damaged, because returning too early is how a single injury turns into a recurring one. Rest is only part of it — what and when you start moving again matters just as much.
Whether a joint should be replaced is a decision, not a foregone conclusion, and it depends on how much the joint limits your daily life rather than on the X-ray alone. Your consultant will talk through where you are, what non-surgical treatment can still offer, and what replacement would and would not change.
Not every symptom needs a specialist, and waiting is reasonable for a great many of them. These are the ones worth an appointment rather than another week of watching.
Bring any previous reports and the actual strips of the medicines you are taking — the packaging carries the strength, which the name alone does not. Tests ordered on the day are processed in the laboratory here, so most reports reach your consultant within the same visit.
AJSMC does not run a casualty or trauma unit. In a life-threatening emergency — an accident, chest pain, stroke symptoms or heavy bleeding — call 108 or go directly to the nearest hospital with a 24-hour emergency department.
The things people ask before booking. Still unsure? Our team is a call away on 044 2532 2021.
No — come and be examined first. The consultant will decide what imaging is actually needed, which avoids the wrong scan or one you did not need. AJSMC has diagnostics on site, so tests ordered on the day are done in the building. If you already have X-rays or scans from elsewhere, bring them. Outpatient consultations run Monday to Saturday, 10am to 9pm.
