Summit Orthopedics’ Eden Prairie clinic offers walk-in urgent care, two on-site X-ray machines, and immediate access to five state-of-the-art surgery centers throughout the Twin Cities metro.
But if you stripped away all its amenities, Summit Orthopedics would still provide unsurpassed care for arthritis, sports injuries, and any other injury affecting anyplace bones meet. That’s because Summit Orthopedics is home to preeminent authorities on joint conditions: five dozen skilled physicians, plus the small army of nurses, therapists, assistants and physician assistants they need to do their best work.
Elbows. Hips and Knees. Back, neck and spine. Wrists, hands, feet and ankles. Summit Orthopedics has multiple experts dedicated to each. But it’s the spine which fascinates me most. What kind of doctor would dare attempt solving such a byzantine riddle of nerve and bone? One like Steven M. Stulc, D.O., who sees patients at Summit Orthopedics’ Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Minnetonka, Monticello and Plymouth clinics.
“I grew up in Spirit Lake, Idaho. I also grew up with shin splints and a lot of back pain, which greatly limited the activities I could enjoy. I felt shamed and ostracized when I didn’t even bother trying out for football. None of the other boys believed I could be in so much pain.
“Fortunately for me, my small town’s local chiropractor did. He made me feel 100 percent better in no time. The change was so miraculous that it made me want to become a healer, too. Four years of undergraduate, four years of medical school, five years of residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and one fellowship in interventional pain medicine later, and I was truly ready to help others like he had helped me.
“The spine is an incredibly challenging focus. It is an intricate arrangement of moving parts, and the only part of the body where nerves actually meet joints. The most arthritic hip in the world won’t directly affect joints, but a spine that is only slightly out of tune can – and may cause excruciating pain because of it.
“Studying such a complex part of the skeletal system is academically stimulating. I regret that I won’t live long enough to know everything I would like to about the spine. But the true reward for so much study is the relief I’m able to bring to my patients. When you successfully treat an arthritic spinal joint, herniated disc, or pinched nerve, you restore your patient’s sleep, work, relationships, hobbies, and everything else pain once deprived them of. And even if I can’t solve a problem, I can at least soften it through therapy, medication, spine injections, and every other healing modality known to my profession.
“One recent patient sticks out sharply in my mind. She was an older woman, who was in agonizing pain due to a compression fracture in one of the vertebrae in her lower back. I knew that a vertebroplasty – a minimally invasive surgical procedure, in which bone cement is injected into a vertebra to strengthen it, relieve pain and restore mobility – represented her best path forward. Her insurance company, however, disagreed, and determined to make her wait several months before reviewing her claim again.
“I began a campaign of phone calls to her insurance provider. I also sent letters describing her plight; how she lived alone, and wasn’t functioning well, and was nearly certain to develop other problems if her condition were allowed to worsen. Finally they yielded. It was one of the most triumphant vertebroplasties I ever performed. That was around five years ago, and she’s still doing well.
“Victories like those are why you become a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine.
“And I’m glad I get to share them with Summit Orthopedics. Before this, I was one of seven physicians practicing at the Institute for Low Back & Neck Care in Plymouth. It was an excellent clinic – almost universally positively reviewed, which treated more and more patients each year. Even so, we believed joining a larger practice would be in everyone’s best interests: our doctors’ and our patients’ alike.
“We were drawn to Summit Orthopedics right away. It is a large organization with 25 clinics throughout the Twin Cities, greater Minnesota and Western Wisconsin areas, yet still very personable. We saw that Summit Orthopedics had adopted a genuine patient-centric approach, and prioritized healing far ahead of profits. We also recognized the highest caliber of leadership, which values every contribution every team member makes.
“We joined Summit Orthopedics nine years ago. Out of the seven of us, five are still here. If not for one’s retirement and another’s move to a warmer climate, I am confident we would all still be here today. Short of becoming a doctor, I consider joining Summit Orthopedics my greatest professional decision to date.”
Summit Orthopedics is located at 11995 Singletree Lane, Suite 325 in Eden Prairie. Visit summitortho.com to learn more and book a consultation, or call (651) 504-8461 for urgent care.