We tend to assume that the more physically fit you are, the more protected your body is from health problems. While there is certainly a correlation between fitness and overall wellness, athletes aren’t immune to injuries.
In fact, the National Safety Council reports that 3.7 million people visited the emergency room in a single year due to sports-related injuries. For most people, a trip to the ER is only the beginning of the battle.
For full recovery, you’ll need to visit a sports medicine doctor. What kind of services do sports rehabilitation experts provide? Read on to find out.
Who Should See a Sports Medicine Doctor?
First, let’s talk about one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of sports medicine: the type of patient that can benefit from it. Here are the top examples of who should make an appointment with a sports medicine doctor.
Injured Athletes of All Ages
Whether you play football or tennis, you need to invest in athlete health management. Athletes not only exercise more than the average person, but they also put their bodies through specific motions that can eventually cause injuries.
A sports medicine doctor specializes in the common injuries athletes sustain and the treatments that can get them back on their feet. This is beneficial to athletes of all ages, including kids. In other words, we’re not just here to treat the pros.
Patients Looking for Performance Enhancement
Natural talent isn’t the only thing that turned your favorite athlete into a star. To see improvement in your fitness, you need to be thinking in terms of performance enhancement.
It’s a good idea to visit a sports medicine doctor to learn injury prevention techniques before you take your fitness to the next level. For example, if you’re a moderate distance runner who wants to train for a marathon, include a sports medicine doctor on your team. They can help you safely enhance your performance and minimize the risk of injury.
Patients with Overuse Injuries
Though “sports” may be in the job title, sports medicine doctors don’t just treat athletes. They are musculoskeletal experts, meaning they can help with overuse injuries even when they aren’t sports-related.
According to research published by the National Library of Medicine, soldiers are almost as likely to sustain overuse injuries as athletes. In fact, all it takes is a repetitive motion (think bending and lifting or twisting the spine) to increase your risk of an overuse injury.
Services Provided by Sports Medicine Doctors
Another way to determine if you need to see a sports medicine doctor is to understand what they do. Here are some of the top services a sports medicine doctor can provide.
Injury Diagnostics
If you come into a sports medicine facility with an injury, the first thing your doctor will do is perform diagnostics. This often involves imaging like X-rays or MRIs.
The severity of the injury will always inform the treatment that follows. Sports medicine doctors seek to limit long-term effects on performance, meaning they won’t jump to surgery unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Fracture Treatments
Fractures are one of the most common types of injuries orthopedic sports specialists treat. Fractures range from partial cracks in the bone to full breaks. Even a minor crack requires attention, especially if you’re an athlete.
Most fractures are treated with a cast, which serves to immobilize the bone while it heals. In severe cases, you may need surgical realignment first.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is one of the best medical services an athlete can invest in. It is also an important element of injury and surgery recovery. The goal of physical therapy is to strengthen a target area to maximize factors like stability and range of motion.
Physical therapy doesn’t end after you leave the office. Ongoing and consistent treatment, both in the office and at home, is a must if you want to see a full recovery.
Surgical Interventions
While sports medicine doctors do their best to avoid surgery whenever possible, you’ll find many who are also trained orthopedic surgeons. It is ideal to find a facility that offers both so you can seamlessly schedule surgery if necessary.
Orthopedic sports surgeons tend to specialize in minimally invasive surgeries. This can include things like ACL reconstruction and cartilage restoration.
Steroid Injections
Sports medicine doctors can also assist with pain management while an injury heals. Steroid injections are useful for short-term relief from a variety of injuries, such as bursitis and tennis elbow.
Steroid injections can make it easier to navigate your day-to-day activities. However, they aren’t designed to numb pain so you can resume sports or high-impact exercises.
Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative medicine is a growing field in sports medicine. It relies on the body’s natural ability to heal and can lead to significant physical improvements. As outlined in Sports Health, common treatments include:
- Stem cell treatments
- Platelet-rich plasma production
- Prolotherapy
The goal of these treatments is to replace cartilage, tendons, or tissues that have been damaged. Alternatively, your sports medicine doctor may use a technique called radiofrequency ablation to destroy targeted tissue and promote healing.
Injury Prevention Planning
One thing that makes sports medicine doctors unique is that you don’t need to wait until you’re injured to visit them. One way they provide athletic performance care is by creating injury prevention plans.
This can involve a combination of physical therapy, education, and proper rest techniques. The goal is to ensure that you can operate at your maximum potential for as long as possible without harming your physical health down the line.
Looking for Middle Tennessee Sports Medicine? Visit Elite Sports Medicine + Orthopedics
A sports medicine doctor can provide a lot of support for athletes, patients who are highly committed to exercise, and more. As you can see, sports medicine treatments are designed to promote healing while minimizing side effects, which everyone can benefit from.
Looking for the top sports medicine doctors in Middle Tennessee? Elite Sports Medicine + Orthopedics provides the full suite of sports medicine treatments from doctors and surgeons even athletes and celebrities trust. Book an appointment today.
Author: writers-amwn
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