The Olympia Orthopaedic Associates (OlyOrtho) medical team specializes in sports medicine, neurosurgery, joint replacement, and issues of the spine, shoulder, elbow, hand, wrist, hip, knee, foot and ankle. For more than 50 years, they’ve worked hard to keep Southwest Washington residents on their toes, living life with pain-free mobility. Joining their team this spring is Dr. Christine Hammer, whose primary practice focuses on the pathology of the spine and all things cervical, thoracic and lumbar.
Hammering Out Spinal Pain at OlyOrtho
Some of the most common spinal injuries and conditions are herniated discs, scoliosis, and pain or damage due to falls, medical conditions, sports injuries or car accidents. Hammer grew up in Indiana and trained in Philadelphia and Atlanta before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2019 to be near, and raise, her family. She’s excited to join the OlyOrtho family.
She was drawn to OlyOrtho’s Spine Center because of their many success stories, thriving surgery centers, personalities and collegiality, active growth, growth-focused leadership, outstanding support staff and high-quality facilities. When not working, Hammer enjoys family time outdoors, biking, hiking, barre and spinning, or hands-on artistic hobbies like fabric work and painting.
Helping South Sound Spinal Injuries Heal
Spinal pain can be debilitating, and spinal injuries are extra stressful. She hopes to build relationships with her patients by promoting spine health in the South Sound through education and wellness encouragement before determining if surgery is the best route and confirming the patient has appropriate support during postoperative recovery, she says.
She adds that in her experience, many spinal patients benefit from a whole-body wellness optimization approach before operating because recovery requires mental and physical strength matched equally in many cases.
Hammer advocates for core body strength as means of promoting long-term spine health. She also understands that pain is a real disease and that not all pain is fixable through surgery. “Some require other modalities of mind/body wellness to manage and cope well with chronic pain,” she adds.
The Spine Center at OlyOrtho Treats New and Chronic Pain
At OlyOrtho the Spine Team is a blend of interventional pain management specialists, orthopaedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons. Treatment plans are customized to your specific needs, medical history and ongoing issues.
They recommend seeking treatment if you’re experiencing chronic pain or muscle spasms in your neck or back; pain that gets worse after sitting or walking; and numbness, tingling, or achiness in the arms or legs. You should also make an appointment if you have pain radiating from your back to your buttocks and thighs or from your neck through your shoulder, arms, and fingers. Call the team at 360.570.3460 with questions or schedule an appointment online. Unsure, but want to know more? They’ve posted informational videos showcasing how spinal surgery has changed over the past decade, understanding degenerative disc disease and treatment and the all-important question: does seeing a spine specialist mean you need surgery?
The National Spine Health Foundation reports that spine-related pain “has ranked #1 amongst diseases in ‘years lived with disability’ worldwide for nearly three decades and shows no signs of slowing down, posing a serious challenge to health systems and economies around the globe.” It’s also the chief cause of job-related disability in America, and patients report “substantial limitations in daily activities such as eating, bathing, and getting dressed, leading to reduced quality of life,” says the Foundation.
Gone are the days of snake-oil salesmen, leeches and other barbaric methods of treating patients. OlyOrtho’s cutting-edge equipment is matched only by their highly-trained staff with the goal of providing care, treatment, and answers to all your orthopaedic questions. The only Hammer in their toolkit comes with a curious nature, a love of the outdoors and readiness to tackle your treatment.
If you or someone you love is suffering from spinal pain due to an accident, illness or injury, seek help today. Dr. Hammer and the Spine Team will discuss treatment plans, past efforts, goals for the future and ways to get you back on your feet again, pain-free and ready to go. For more information, visit the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates website.
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