How to Find a Good Spine Doctor

Spine doctors---also known as orthopaedic surgeons, or orthopaedists---treat diseases of the spine and lower back. All orthopaedic surgeons receive about 14 years of specialized training, including a clinical fellowship in their area of specialization. Finding a good orthopaedic surgeon to treat your spine problems is a relatively easy process: You can do a search through the website of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (the premier professional group for these doctors), or you can do a web search through health-care research firm Castle Connolly's "Top Doctors" guide. Either path is simple and easy to accomplish. Once you find a few names of surgeons, you can search ratings sites such as healthgrades.com to view patient feedback, although most such sites usually charge a fee for the reports.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• Internet connection
• Web browser

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Instructions

Search for spine doctors through the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

• 1

  Direct your web browser to http://www6.aaos.org/about/public/members.cfm .

• 2

  Select your state and click SEARCH.

• 3

  Review the list of doctors that your search yields. Click on the doctor's name to view more detailed information, including specialization in spine diseases, contact information and, in some cases, practice demographics, so you can see what kinds of patients the doctor sees. Note that these results only include this kind of information, not patient ratings or recommendations.

• 4

  Contact the doctor's office directly to learn more about scheduling an appointment to discuss your spine problems.

Search the nation's best spine doctors

• 5

  Direct your web browser to http://www.castleconnolly.com/doctors/index.cfm?source=ccm .

• 6

  Select "Orthopaedic Surgery" in the drop-down box next to "Specialty," and then click SEARCH to see the best orthopaedic surgeons in the nation.

• 7

  Click on any physician's name to review detailed information, such as areas of specialization (like spine diseases), education and training, contact information for appointments and types of insurance that the doctor accepts.

• 8

  Contact the doctor's office directly to schedule an appointment to discuss your spine problems.