Orthopedics and rehabilitation medicine: Get back to the activities you enjoy

Joint pain, a broken bone or other conditions that affect how your body moves can sideline you from the activities you enjoy. The orthopedic specialists at UW Health manage and treat all types of orthopedic needs in adults and children.

Programs and research

Our specialty programs and clinics


We provide care for all types of musculoskeletal conditions. Many of our services are targeted to people with specific needs.

Please note that not all services are available at all locations.

We treat foot and ankle injuries, deformities and conditions related to arthritis. Our foot and ankle surgeons use the latest techniques to repair, reconstruct or replace ankle joints. These advances can result in less pain and better function.

We provide orthopedic, reconstructive and plastic surgery for conditions of the hands, wrists and arms. We also do elbow joint replacement surgery. 

Our health psychologists help you and your care team work with the links between your mind, body and spirit for the best quality of life, keeping in mind your current state of health.

We use the most advanced techniques for ankle, elbow, hip, knee and shoulder joint replacement surgery. We offer robot-assisted, bilateral (both hips or knees) and outpatient hip and knee replacements.

Learn more

We work with you to prevent and treat osteoporosis, bone fractures and repeat bone breaks.

Learn more

We teach you how to manage hip and knee arthritis symptoms to prevent surgery or get you ready for it.

Our specialists provide complete diagnosis, treatment and management of bone and tissue tumors.

Our trauma surgeons provide 24/7 care for emergency fractures, nerve and tendon injuries, joint dislocation and other unexpected bone injuries.

Our pediatric team provides specialty care for children and teens with conditions that affect their bones, joints and muscles. We work as a team to make the treatment process as smooth as possible for your whole family.

Learn more

Our physical medicine doctors and rehabilitation therapists help you manage brain, spinal cord, nerve, bone, joint, ligament, muscle and tendon injuries or conditions. We work with you to help you regain movement and strength.

We diagnose and treat all types of spine conditions. We pioneer minimally invasive techniques for treating spine tumors, deformities and trauma.

Learn more

We provide medical and surgical care for athletes of all ages. Our goal is to return you to play as quickly as possible while preventing re-injury. Our doctors, rehabilitation therapists, sports performance specialists, athletic trainers, sport psychologists, fitness experts and nutritionists help you stay active and healthy.

Learn more

Working together for you

Our team also works with specialists across UW Health to provide care for you. Our partner programs include:

Improving orthopedic care through research 

Our research includes studies in regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy, orthopedic trauma, sports medicine for youth, teens and adults and tissue engineering. Learn more

Conditions and treatments

Patient-centered care to help you heal

Your condition is unique. So, your treatment must be, too. We find the treatment that’s best for you based on your specific needs.

UW Health orthopedic specialists evaluate and treat a wide range of conditions and injuries in children and adults. Our experts address problems that impact the:

Treatments

We provide a full range of nonsurgical and surgical treatments. You get the right treatment for your specific needs. If you do need surgery, our orthopedic surgeons use the most advanced robotic and minimally invasive techniques.

Doctors address the area of the spine causing pain and limiting function without disturbing the muscle and tissues surrounding that problem point. With CT-guided spine surgery, a specialized CT (or CAT) scanner is used during the operation. The CT scans are put into a computer system that creates an accurate, three-dimensional model of your spine.

A sports concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move or turn quickly. Concussions can cause physical, mental and/or emotional symptoms. Our sports concussion specialists offer concussion screenings, evaluations and rehabilitation.

We replace arthritic and damaged joints using advanced procedures and materials. In some cases, this involves robotic-assisted techniques. This relieves your pain and improves movement.

Learn more

These injections use concentrated plasma from your own body. Research suggests this treatment can reduce pain and speed healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints.

Prolotherapy is a treatment to help with ligament and tendon pain. It involves injecting lidocaine (a combination of pain-relieving and nerve-numbing medication), saline (salt water) and dextrose (a sugar solution) into tendons, ligaments or joints.

Doctors and therapists provide exercises and activities to help with injury prevention and rehabilitation. You can rebuild strength and increase motion in damaged joints or muscles.

We replace the damaged ligament in your knee with a graft. This makes your knee more stable.

We release select connective tissue in your wrist. This removes pressure on your nerves and restores feeling and movement.

We use tiny incisions and a long flexible tube with a camera to access the damaged area of your spine. We make repairs with special small tools that provide ultra-minimally invasive surgery.

We reconnect damaged blood vessels and nerves to arms, fingers and hands. We use microscopes and tiny instruments to perform hand and finger reconstruction to repair severely injured fingers, hands and wrists.

We use the Mini ALIF procedure to remove pressure on the spinal cord and stabilize your spine. We reach the damaged area of your spine from the front of your body instead of through your back muscles. This reduces your risks for complications and leads to less pain in recovery. 

We restore feeling and movement in different ways. We replace a damaged nerve with a graft. We move or cut tissues to stop pressure on a nerve. We transfer tendons to restore lost nerve function.

We replace or tighten bones, ligaments and tendons. This relieves your pain and adds function to damaged joints.

Locations

Clinics near you

We provide specialty orthopedic and rehabilitation care at locations in Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Meet our team

Specialists for all types of orthopedic conditions

UW Health orthopedic specialists work together to find the source of your pain and recommend treatments that will help you find relief and improve your range of motion. Our team includes specialists in orthopedics, sports medicine, spine health and rehabilitation for kids and adults.

Helping you get the care you need

In Wisconsin

Find the right Madison-based orthopedic provider using OrthoAccess.

Our OrthoAccess team helps to connect you with the right doctors and rehabilitation therapists for your individual orthopedic needs. For Madison-based orthopedic providers, complete our form.

Priority OrthoCare

Priority OrthoCare is a service in our Madison, Wis., clinics for adults and children with new orthopedic injuries. Call Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and an appointment will be scheduled at one of the orthopedic clinics in Madison, Wis. Call (608) 440-6500.

In Illinois

For appointments and care in Rockford, Ill. call our Lundholm Orthopedics Clinic at (779) 696-1600.

Orthopedic joint reconstruction and replacement
Foot and ankle
Health psychology
Orthopedic oncology
Orthopedic spine surgery
Rehabilitation medicine
Sports medicine
Pediatric sports medicine
Trauma

Caring for children, educating parents

The pediatric orthopedic doctors at UW Health give personal care for children, teens and young adults.

Learn more
A closeup of a family's hands holding a ceramic heart
Your charitable gift makes a difference

Perhaps you are grateful for the care you or a loved one received from UW Health. Or you cherish living so close to a world-class, research-driven healthcare system that’s always there if you need it. No matter your motivation, every gift of any size means even better care for our patients.

Related services

Sports medicine

Our sports medicine team provides a full range of care for adults and children. It doesn’t matter if you are a weekend warrior or a high-level competitive athlete. You get the care you need, when you need it.

Sports rehabilitation

UW Health physical therapists and athletic trainers help you stay healthy or get back in the game.

Sports Performance

UW Health Sports Performance programs are built on a foundation of speed, strength and agility training with a focus on long-term athletic development. Our goal is to help you reach your goal.