In this blog you will learn:
- What the field of sports medicine is,
- How sports doctors may approach injuries differently than your other doctors,
- How the sports medicine team approach to your injury can help you,
- What you should expect from a good sports medicine team, and
When you should seek the help of a sports medicine doctor.
What is sports medicine?
Sports medicine is the field of healthcare focused on the prevention and treatment of injuries related to athletic activities. Sports medicine physicians often work with a team of allied health care workers to provide comprehensive treatment, ranging from lifestyle considerations (e.g. proper nutrition, conditioning, mental preparedness, injury prevention and cross training) to minimally invasive and surgical approaches to injuries.
Does a sports medicine doctor treat injuries differently than my regular doctors?
Yes, they do so primarily by using a “sport-specific” approach. Each sport has its own unique demands upon our body’s structural integrity. For example, some sports like powerlifting, football and golf impose tremendous loads on the spine, creating a high incidence of low back injuries. Others such as Olympic weightlifting, swimming and gymnastics subject the shoulder to great torsional strain, explaining the associated high incidence of shoulder injuries. In many cases, the key to both injury prevention and treatment is understanding how each sport activity is optimally performed. The sports-specific biomechanics inform the physician which areas of the body undergo the greatest stress concentration with each activity, as well as what the potential pitfalls are with faulty mechanics or movement patterns. In other words your doctors, trainers and physical therapists need to be familiar with the sports related mechanics and required movement patterns, in order to really understand your injury.
How Can the Sports Medicine Approach Help Me?
The spectrum of sports-specific knowledge and related medical care helps your sports healthcare team to provide you with the best possible:
- treatment outcome,
- opportunity to understand all possible treatment options,
- team approach to boost your performance following the treatment protocol,
- prevention protocol to guard against re-injury,
- measures to ensure against long term dependence on unnecessary medications or surgeries,
- evaluation of any possible equipment related injury factors,
- nutritional and lifestyle advice.
A good sports medicine team also understands that each sport has its own unique needs, such as the specifics of scheduling demands and recovery time. In other words, they don’t simply see your injury as another sprain, strain or broken bone. They place your injury in the overall context of the individual needs of your sport and lifestyle.
When should I be referred to a sports medicine doctor?
- You are concerned about returning to athletic endeavors without injury reoccurrence.
- You would like to be able to perform your sports activities at a higher level without pain.
- You wish to ensure against long term dependence on unnecessary medications or surgeries.
- You would like to understand all possible treatment options.
- Your response to routine, conservative treatment has been poor or inadequate.
- Your capacity to function at home, community, work or sports remains hampered.
- You have undergone multiple treatment attempts and your providers have been unable to provide an adequate explanation of your condition and/or the basis of treatment failures.
- You reach a point of diminishing returns after undergoing the same treatment multiple times.
- Your case is complicated by other medical conditions, intense work or family demands.
What can I expect from my sports medicine doctor?
An axiom of sports medicine is that in order to consistently achieve good outcomes treatment needs to be predicated on the cause.
Specifically, your sports healthcare team should:
- understand the mechanism which caused your injury,
- do the necessary detective work to reveal the smoking gun, or anatomically specific diagnosis,
- provide targeted, expeditious treatment based on the precise diagnosis.
Consider that a delay in diagnosis may often unnecessarily prolong treatment and recovery time; leading to a suboptimal outcome. Goal oriented sports medicine is focused on rapidly establishing a diagnosis to allow the best possible treatment results including: resolution of pain, optimizing function and preventing reinjury. This combination ensures the quickest and safest return to play.
Summary
If you have a sports condition which is preventing you from performing optimally, consider the unique benefits that a proper sports medicine team approach can have on your outcome.
STAR SPINE TECHNOLOGY AND REHABILITATION
9502 Lima Road #103, Fort Wayne, IN 46818
260-459-7313