Posted on 05-09-2025 in Rebrand by Dr. Sonya Ahmed, Dr. Alex Coleman, Dr. Joshua Hackel, Dr. Steven Kronlage, Dr. Matthew Mai, Dr. Erik Nilssen, Dr. Chris O'Grady, Dr. Roger Ostrander, Dr. James Piorkowski
Over the last month, we’ve rolled out communications and visuals under our new brand - North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists (NFBJS). As a collective, our practice is committed to providing comprehensive orthopaedic and musculoskeletal care to adult and pediatric patients through treatment options and services that are both accessible and innovative, all within a caring environment.
The new practice includes eight orthopaedic surgeons, Dr. Sonya Ahmed, Dr. Alex Coleman, Dr. Steven Kronlage, Dr. Matthew Mai, Dr. Erik Nilssen, Dr. Chris O’Grady, Dr. Roger Ostrander and Dr. James Piorkowski, and general sports medicine physician Dr. Josh Hackel. NFBJS also includes physician assistants Tony Alexander, Charles Barnes, Kerrie Begley and Chris Key.
Together our providers and staff serve patients at four clinical office locations, two within the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze and two in Pensacola on Ninth Avenue and Davis Highway. An array of on-site services, including state-of-the-art imaging and diagnostics and occupational and physical therapy, reduce travel time to other facilities, processing time, and patient costs.
The availability of equipment such as Musculoskeletal Ultrasound at our Gulf Breeze and Ninth Avenue locations allows for a quick, inexpensive alternative to MRIs, while our Davis Highway office features the region’s first weight-bearing CT scanner. Our entire treatment staff, including therapists and advanced practice providers, work closely with our physicians to develop comprehensive treatment plans that help patients regain or improve their quality of life.
The depth and breadth of our experience and nationally recognized research and teaching allow us to provide our patients with world-class care using the latest minimally invasive treatment options and surgical intervention techniques. To learn more about how NFBJS can help, visit our searchable online database of common conditions and procedures. Patients may also complete our online appointment request form, which includes options for same-day and telehealth visits.
Arthritis represents a wide variety of joint inflammation diseases. Patients most often have chronic Arthritis in their wrists, hands, and fingers, experiencing flares of inflammation, soreness or stiffness affecting the joints. As we recently wrapped up Bone & Joint Action Week, this is an excellent opportunity to bring awareness to the most common categories of Arthritis, proactive methods for pain prevention and available treatment solutions.
Arthritis literally translates to “inflammation of the joint” and describes the degenerative process through which a joint space loses its “cushioning,” whether are the result of injury, illness or the natural process of aging. It is the leading cause of musculoskeletal pain and can be found in almost every part of the body, from the shoulder all the way down to the smallest joint of the toe. Our joints are intricate structures shaped from cartilage, bone, muscle and connective tissue, all of which can gradually weaken over time or be damaged by acute injury. While there are more than one hundred known types of arthritis, the three most common forms are osteoarthritis, which is by far the most prevalent; rheumatoid arthritis, which is caused by the body’s own immune system generating a chronic inflammatory response in the joints; and post-traumatic arthritis, which is caused by the lingering structural damage of acute injuries.
Research from the National Library of Medicine states that one in seven people in the United States suffers from some form of wrist arthritis. That estimate indicates that just over 13% of the American population experiences discomfort, inflammation or limited range in motion due to this condition. As we usher in the month of May and recognize National Arthritis Awareness Month, we want to emphasize wrist arthritis and provide an overview of the condition, symptoms to be aware of, treatment options, and tips for managing its symptoms.