Orthopedic spine specialist Dr. Timothy Roberts joins Coastal Orthopedics

In high school, Timothy Roberts thought he might like to go into computer software.

His dad worked in software, so he signed up for a computer class at school. But he found it dry and impersonal, not what he was looking for at all. Then he took a biology class and had a genuine interest in it.

Growing up, he also had a bone condition – osteogenesis imperfecta – that caused a lot of fractures, and all of his doctors were orthopedic surgeons.

“That had a lot to do with me going into orthopedics,” he said.

Dr. Roberts went on to earn his Doctorate of Medicine from Tufts University School of Medicine and did his orthopedic residency from Albany Medical College. In medical school, he played guitar in a band with fellow students.

“I love playing music,” Dr. Roberts said. “If I weren’t a doctor, I probably would have tried to be a musician.”

Today, Dr. Roberts is an orthopedic spine specialist and surgeon with Coastal Orthopedics Sports Medicine & Pain Management. He is the newest addition to the Coastal Orthopedics team, having joined the practice in October 2016.

“The physicians at Coastal are very good at what they do, and they’re all at the top of their game,” Dr. Roberts said. “I’m so impressed with the group.”

Before moving to Bradenton, Dr. Roberts was busy completing a combined neurosurgical and orthopedic spine surgical fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. He’s still at work on a study with Cleveland Clinic related to epidural cervical injections, a procedure that’s performed at Coastal. He’s also involved in a study tracking the habits of spine surgeons around the United States.

At Coastal, Dr. Roberts specializes in treating cervical and lumbar degenerative spinal conditions, athletic injuries to the spine, adult and pediatric spinal deformities, spine trauma, motion-preserving surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery.

“I find operating incredibly satisfying,” Dr. Roberts said. “I like using my hands, and a lot of the surgeries we do are relatively low discomfort, minimally invasive and the patients are really happy with the results.”

In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Roberts is leading seminars at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities in the coming months about conservative treatments.

“The majority of people can be treated with conservative measures,” Dr. Roberts said. “Taking anti-inflammatories, core conditioning, muscle strengthening and weight loss can be extraordinarily helpful for people with spinal issues and back pain.”

But for those with pain that’s not effectively treated by conservative measures alone, Dr. Roberts is currently accepting new patients.

“I’ve been inspired by the cases I’ve worked on so far here, and I’m looking forward to helping more people.”