Sports medicine physicians diagnose and treat injuries to your musculoskeletal system—your bones, muscles, and joints. They also help active individuals maintain their physical fitness, improve their performance and avoid injury.
They’re well versed in preventing and treating musculoskeletal injuries, such as sprains and strains, tendonitis (tendonitis), pitcher’s elbow, tennis elbow, and jumper’s knee. They typically work in primary care, but may also serve as team doctors for amateur and professional sports teams.
A Los Angeles sports medicine specialist can diagnose your injury by taking a thorough history, doing a physical examination, and ordering imaging tests to help them understand your condition. They can also provide guidance on training programs to prevent injuries, as well as offer advice on how to warm up and stretch before participating in an activity.
They can treat a variety of sports injuries, including sprains and strains. A sprain is the stretching or tearing of ligaments, which connect bone to bone at a joint. A strain is the pulling of muscle or tendon, such as when you pull a hamstring.
In order to become a sports medicine physician, you need a bachelor’s degree and then medical school. After graduating, you can choose a residency in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, or emergency medicine. Then, you can go on to do a fellowship in sports medicine. You can then take a certification exam to become a primary care sports medicine physician.
A sports medicine physician is trained in the non-surgical treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. They can maximize recovery through exercise, physical therapy and injury prevention strategies. A sports medicine physician can also help expedite referral to an orthopedic surgeon for surgical treatment if necessary.
Sports medicine physicians treat a variety of injuries related to sports and exercise, including fractures, sprains, strains, overuse injuries (such as tennis elbow or runner’s knee) and degenerative diseases (such as arthritis). They often serve as team physicians for professional athletes and amateur sports teams.
After completing a medical degree program, doctors who wish to specialize in sports medicine must complete a one to two year residency. In their residency, they learn about preventing sports injuries through proper training techniques and conditioning. They may also focus on the management of musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses. This includes maximizing recovery through rest, ice packs, physical therapy and medications. They may also prescribe specific exercises that can improve strength and flexibility.
A sports medicine physician can help prevent injuries with a variety of methods. Some of these include teaching athletes the correct way to warm up and cool down, and how to stretch properly. They may also help athletes design a training program that minimizes injury risk.
A qualified sports medicine healthcare provider can also diagnose and treat chronic sports injuries, such as tennis elbow or runner’s knee. These are often overuse injuries caused by repetitive stress. They can include pain when playing or exercising, swelling at the injured site, and a dull, aching pain during rest.
Athletes of every level visit sports medicine specialists to find solutions to their injuries and to prevent future issues. People who hit the gym regularly can benefit from their services as well, by discovering what mistakes they’re making in their exercise routines that could be causing musculoskeletal problems. They can then find health solutions to those problems so they can continue hitting the gym and achieve their fitness goals.
Whether you are an elite athlete or just a weekend warrior, a sports medicine specialist can help you recover from an injury and get back to your workouts. They offer physical therapy, pain management methods, nutrition counseling and psychosocial support. They may also prescribe orthotics or prosthetics to help you move more easily.
In the beginning, you’ll likely attend rehabilitation sessions two or three times a week. As you recover, those sessions will taper down. During rehab, your doctor will rely on the five steps of sports medicine to guide your recovery and return you to competition.
Because a sports medicine physician is trained to treat your entire musculoskeletal system—that includes your bones, muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons—they are well-suited to helping non-athletes improve their health and fitness. In fact, they are the ideal healthcare providers to visit if you’re considering starting an exercise program or have been injured while exercising. They can provide guidance and tips on proper technique to prevent injuries from occurring.
