Dr. Mates brings a new dimension of care to the community by addressing a variety of foot and ankle disorders. Under the mentorship of expert surgeons at the Andrews Institute—as well as team physicians for college and professional sports—Dr. Mates developed sophisticated orthopaedic techniques in foot and ankle surgery. He has specialized training in all foot and ankle disorders and sports injuries, and brings a fresh perspective with a focus on prevention, rehabilitation, and enabling athletic performance at any age.
The cornerstone of his training is restoring function and decreasing pain. “My primary treatment goal is getting you back in the game pain-free—whether it is running, golfing, or gardening,” says Dr. Mates. Often this can be accomplished with multiple modalities that can be performed in the patient’s living room with nothing more than a towel and a water bottle. For more severe disorders or injuries requiring structured programs, physical therapy or even surgery will be explored. According to Dr. Mates, “athletes that require tendon and ligament repair or reconstruction, even cartilage restoration, can get back to what they enjoy—and we’ll guide you every step of the way.”
At Florida Joint Care Institute Dr. Mates treats a wide spectrum of pathology from the knee to the toes such as conditions like arthritis, malalignment, flat foot, nerve disorders, bunions, and hammer toes, to name a few. "The foot and ankle are very complex structures," says Dr. Mates, “so we begin with determining the correct diagnosis with exam, history and imaging. By doing this we avoid months to years of wasted time and money in boots, braces and inserts with no relief.” As a medical doctor and orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Mates provides quality, patient-focused care by using evidence-based, peer-reviewed medicine. This means the treatment protocols are backed up with expert data and time-tested results from the orthopedic literature.
To maximize the comfort and convenience of the patient virtually every procedure Dr. Mates performs is in an outpatient setting. He understands time is valuable, and he makes it a point to explain the diagnosis and treatment options to each individual patient's satisfaction.
Education
Honors and Awards
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Alabama Orthopaedic Society Presentation Award
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Louis D. Anderson Excellence in Orthopedics Award
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Recipient of Mark McDonald Scholarship
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Recipient of Tuition Waiver Scholarship
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Recipient of Chandler Foundation Scholarship
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Recipient of College of Medicine Scholarship
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President’s and Dean’s Lists
Presentations
Aaron Mates MD, Jeff Smith MD, Erik Nilssen MD. “Subtalar Joint Fusion One Versus Two Compression Screw Technique,” Andrews Institute Research Symposium 2016.
Jeff Smith MD, Aaron Mates MD, Erik Nilssen MD. “Insertional Achilles Debridement Return to Play,” Andrews Institute Research Symposium 2016.
Aaron Mates MD. “Foot and Ankle Injuries Anatomy Session,” Andrews Institute: Injuries in Football NFL Conference 2016.
William Tucker, Justin McCormick, Aaron Mates MD, Wei Liu PhD, Jorge Alonso MD. “The Joint Moment Distributions of the Lower Extremity During Gait in Patients after Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Acetabular Fractures,” submitted Orthopaedic Research Society, Las Vegas, Nevada 2015.
Ryan W. Hess MD, Aaron Mates MD, Jeremy Bruce MD, Patrick W. Joyner MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Incidence of Avulsion Fracture of the Medial Epicondyle after Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction,” accepted American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2014.
Jeremy Bruce MD, Ryan W. Hess MD, Patrick W. Joyner MD, Aaron Mates MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Inter and Intra-observer Reliability of Elbow Valgus Stress Radiography in Pitchers: A Comparison of Three Methods,” accepted American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2014.
Patrick W. Joyner MD, Ryan W. Hess MD, Jeremy Bruce MD, Aaron Mates MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Biomechanical Tensile Strength Analysis of Current Techniques for Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Utilizing Suspensory Cortical Fixation and Human Gracilis Allograft,” accepted Arthroscopy Association of North America 2014, submitted Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery.
Patrick W. Joyner MD, Ryan W. Hess MD, Jeremy Bruce MD, Aaron Mates MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Valgus Stress Radiographs in 273 Baseball Players with Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries,” accepted Arthroscopy Association of North America 2014.
Aaron Mates MD, Jorge Alonso MD. “Analysis of Gait after Posterior Wall Acetabular Fractures,” Alabama Orthopaedic Society, Destin, Florida 2012.
Aaron Mates MD, Frederick Meyer MD. “Internship in Orthopaedic Residency,” American Orthopaedic Association's Council of Residency Directors, Boston, Massachusetts 2011.
Aaron Mates, Albert V. Pearsall IV MD. “Effects of Hyaluronic Acid on Mitochondrial Function of Human Chondrocytes in Osteoarthritis,” Alabama Orthopaedic Society, Point Clear, Alabama 2009.
Aaron Mates, Albert V. Pearsall IV MD, Valentina Grishko PhD. “Cytokine Effect on mtDNA in Human Chondrocytes,” 35th Annual Medical Student Research Day, University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama 2007.
Aaron Mates, Albert V. Pearsall IV MD, Valentina Grishko PhD. “Effect of mtDNA Damage on Human Chondrocyte Apoptosis Following Nitric Oxide Exposure,” 34th Annual Medical Student Research Day, University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama 2006.
R.N. Lausch, R Yin, S. Molesworth-Kenyon, A. Mates, J.E. Oakes. “IL-17 Receptor is Expressed and Functional on Resident Corneal Cells of Both Man and Mouse,” Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Ft Lauderdale, Florida 2004.
Aaron Mates, Julio Turrens PhD. “Chemiluminescence of Amino Acids and Proteins While Under Oxidative Stress,” University of South Alabama, Biochemistry Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Sciences 2003.
Publications
Patrick Joyner MD, Jeremy Bruce MD, Ryan Hess MD, Aaron Mates MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Magnetic Resonance Imaging-based Classification for Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injuries of the Elbow,” Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery 2016.
Patrick W. Joyner MD MS, Jeremy Bruce MD, Ryan Hess MD, Travis S. Roth MD, Scott Winnier MD, Luke Wilcox DO, Aaron Mates MD, Tim Frerichs MD, James R. Andrews MD, Charles A. Roth MD. “Biomechanical Tensile Strength Analysis for Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction,” submitted Journal: The Knee 2016.
Patrick W. Joyner MD, Ryan W. Hess MD, Jeremy Bruce MD, Aaron Mates MD, James R. Andrews MD. “Biomechanical Tensile Strength Analysis of Current Techniques for Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction Utilizing Suspensory Cortical Fixation and Human Gracilis Allograft,” submitted Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 2013.
J. Kim, M. Xu, R. Xo, A. Mates, G.L. Wilson, A.W. Pearsall IV, V. Grishko. Mitochondrial DNA Damage is Involved in Apoptosis Caused by Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Human OA Chondrocytes,” Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2010.
V. Grishko, M. Xu, R. Ho, A. Mates, S. Watson, J.T. Kim, G.L. Wilson, A.W. Pearsall IV. “Effects of Hyaluronic Acid on Mitochondrial Function and Mitochondria-driven Apoptosis Following Oxidative Stress in Human Chondrocytes,” Journal of Biology and Chemistry 2009.
A.K. Mates, A.K. Sayed, J.W. Foster. “Products of the Escherichia Coli Acid Fitness Island Attenuate Metabolite Stress at Extremely Low pH and Mediate a Cell Density-dependent Acid Resistance,” Journal of Bacteriology 2007.
S. Molesworth-Kenyon, A. Mates, R. Yin, R. Strieter, J. Oakes, R. Lausch. “CXCR3, IP-10, and Mig are Required for CD4+ T Cell Recruitment During the DTH Response to HSV-1 Yet are Independent of the Mechanism for Viral Clearance,” Virology 2005.
Board Certification