Sports Medicine
Sports medicine focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and nonsurgical treatment of sports-related injuries. Sports medicine doctors care for sports teams, individual athletes, and other physically active people. They are experts in helping people who want to improve their general fitness or athletic performance, and prevent injuries while engaging in sports or exercise. You can find these providers in clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and in private practice.
Conditions Treated
Conditions a sports medicine doctor may treat include:
- Back pain occurring with exercise or sports
- Broken or fractured bones including leg, arm, wrist, hand and collarbone fractures
- Female athlete triad, which is a condition that includes menstrual cycle changes, inadequate calorie intake, and decreased bone density
- Foot pain from conditions including bone spurs, bursitis, arthritis, and plantar fasciitis, which results in pain at the bottom of your heel
- Head injuries including concussion
- Heat injuries including dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke
- Joint and ligament injuries including ACL injuries, sprained ankles, meniscal tears, knee pain, cartilage injuries, shoulder impingement, shoulder dislocations, tennis elbow, and frozen shoulder
- Muscle and tendon strains including groin pulls and hamstring pulls
- Overuse injuries including stress fractures, shin splints, and tendonitis
- Skin injuries including chaffing, blisters, and heat rash
Services Provided
Sports medicine doctors design treatment plans that may include the services of other doctors, physical therapists, and athletic trainers. The treatment plan varies depending on your diagnosis.
Not all sports medicine doctors perform surgery. Orthopedic surgeons who also complete sport medicine fellowships can treat sports-related injuries that require surgery. Sports medicine treatments may include:
- Arthrocentesis to remove fluid from a joint and test it for infection and other conditions
- Guidance for exercise and training including strength and cardiovascular training and improving flexibility
- Healthy lifestyle plans to help people, including those with chronic diseases, achieve better health and fitness
- Medications including anti-inflammatory medicines and steroid injections
- Physical therapy to improve strength, mobility and fitness
- Post-surgical rehabilitation and recovery to help people return to sports and exercise. This includes rehab after surgery for ligament injuries, bone fractures, carpal tunnel syndrome, hip and knee replacement, back pain, and back problems.
- Return-to-play decisions for a sick or injured athlete
- Sports nutrition guidance including advice about supplements and hydration
- Sports team healthcare including sports physicals, injury assessment and management, and sports psychology and substance abuse issues
- Stabilization and initial treatment for serious injuries on the sports field. On-site care can also include suturing cuts, splinting broken bones, and bandaging.