Who is a sports medicine specialist?
A sports medicine specialist is a certified physician who treats sport-related injuries and illnesses in athletes. Overexertion while performing a physical activity or participating in a sport can lead to exhaustion, stress, injury, pain, or heart illness. Some specialists serve as team physicians at a youth level or may work with the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), and Olympic teams.
Holding a sports medicine specialty title doesn't necessarily mean the specialist is a doctor. The term applies to multiple disciplines related to sports medicine. Some non-medical professionals involved in sports medicine are physical therapists, certified athletic trainers, and nutritionists.
They work with professional athletes and treat and prevent injuries in active people of all ages, from adolescents to older adults, who perform physical activities for personal fitness.
Additionally, they may provide care to those more likely to have an occupational injury, such as construction workers with physically demanding jobs.
Due to their highly dynamic nature, children are more likely to endure sports injuries than teenagers and adults. Sprains and strains are children's most prevalent injuries, followed by those caused by contact sports like football and basketball. Other injuries from non-contact sports like swimming and running are less frequent.
What does a sports medicine specialist do?
Regardless of the type of facility they are working in, most sports medicine specialists are responsible for the following:
- Diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal disorders
- Educating athletes and team coaches about hydration, nutrition, exercise regimens, and injury prevention
- Examining injured athletes to design treatment plans for their recovery
- Prescribing medications for the treatment of athletic injuries
- Performing physical evaluations and recording athletes' medical histories
- Ordering laboratory tests or diagnostic imaging procedures and analyzing the results
- Overlooking the rehabilitation of injured athletes
- Coordinating with other professionals, such as coaches, athletic trainers, and orthopedic surgeons, to provide the best care to their patients
- Performing procedures, such as injections and diagnostic ultrasounds
How do you become a sports medicine physician?
To become a qualified sports medicine physician, doctors must complete at least 12 years of education. Typically, their education includes:
- Four years of undergraduate study
- Four years of medical school
- Three years of residency
- One year of fellowship
Upon completing their education, sports medicine doctors must clear national certification exams in sports medicine. A sports medicine doctor typically holds board certifications in one or more of the following areas in addition to sports medicine:
- Pediatrics
- Emergency medicine
- Family medicine
- Internal medicine
- Physical rehabilitation
How do sports medicine doctors and orthopedic surgeons differ?
Both orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine specialists specialize in the musculoskeletal system, which encompasses bones, muscles, and joints. However, there is a critical distinction between the two: orthopedic surgeons primarily focus on performing surgical procedures to address musculoskeletal issues. In contrast, sports medicine physicians do not perform surgery as part of their practice. Remember that sports medicine doctors can treat 90% of sports-related injuries without surgery.
Which body parts are most prone to injuries during sports?
Injuries can happen in many parts of your body during sports. Some common areas include:
Achilles tendon: This joints your calf muscle to your heel. It can get swollen or torn, causing Achilles tendonitis or rupture.
- Ankle: The joint where your leg and foot meet. Sprained ankles are common and can cause pain.
- Elbow: The elbow is the joint between your upper and lower arm. Overuse can lead to ailments like tennis elbow.
- Head: Includes your face, skull, and brain. Concussions are a common type of head injury.
- Knee: A complex joint connecting your thigh and lower leg. Injuries like jumper's knee or ACL tears are common.
- Shoulder: The shoulder attaches the upper arm to the body. Rotator cuff injuries, like tendinitis or tears, are frequent in sports.
Make sure you seek medical help when injured during sports.
Treatments offered by sports medicine specialists
A sports medicine specialist near you has training in spotting problems with every body component — knees, shoulders, hips, and back. To treat common sports injuries, they often turn to non-surgical procedures, including steroid injections, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and osteopathic manipulation treatment (in which doctors apply pressure to a body region to rectify structural problems).
Some problems they treat are ankle sprains, strains, stress fractures, dislocations, exercise-induced asthma, eating disorders, cartilage injuries, and traumatic head injuries — concussions and heat exhaustion.
Although sports medicine doctors may cure and assist you in managing sports injuries and other diseases, we must take measures equally. Wearing proper gear, using the right sports or gym equipment, and not stretching or training before playing a sport can result in sudden (acute) injury or even long-term impact on your athletic performance.
Ways to avoid sports injuries
Avoiding sports injuries is often easier than treating them. A few changes in your exercise or training routine can significantly affect your athletic performance and decrease the chance of sustaining long-term or sudden injuries. Here are some ways you can avoid sports injuries:
- Use proper techniques while exercising or training: The correct methods for learning an exercise or sport can prevent injuries. A qualified sports coach or fitness trainer can help you perfect your technique, balance your body weight, and learn the proper footwork to maximize your training.
- Get adequate rest and cool down post-exercising: Overexposing your muscles to constant movement and intense workouts can lead to stress fractures, sprains, or strains. Therefore, giving your muscles a break and getting enough sleep between two games, tournaments, or seasons to improve your athletic performance is essential. Resting also prevents serious injuries. Cooling down exercises like stretching can also help relax the muscles after participating in intense activities.
- Wear protective gear and use the right equipment: Fractures, concussions, bruising, and oral injuries are common among players in contact sports like football, wrestling, or boxing. Wearing safety gear — wrist, elbow, shin, eye protection, mouth guards, helmets, pads, and eye goggles that cover all exposed body parts can help you avoid injuries and focus on the sport or physical activity. It is also essential to get the gear that fits your size correctly.
- Keep yourself hydrated: Life-threatening heat illnesses like heat stroke are more likely to occur on scorching and humid days and require immediate medical attention. However, you can prevent a heat stroke by drinking plenty of water before, during, and after a game.
How to recover mentally after a sports injury?
Sports injuries and more extended recovery periods may lead to feelings of anxiety, isolation, frustration, and depression. Here are the tips for recovering mentally after a sports injury.
When you are injured and out of action, you want to return to playing competitive sports as soon as possible. However, injuries take time to heal, which may make you feel frustrated and dissatisfied. During such times, it helps to focus on the now rather than the future. Honor your feelings, accept your current health status, and focus on recovery. It will help calm your mind and improve healing.
Many studies show that the brain cannot distinguish between an imaginary action and an actual physical action. For example, when you visualize an activity, like walking, the same areas of the brain get stimulated as when you do the activity.
Therefore, visualize yourself as healthy and at your best, like before the injury. For example, if you have a knee injury, visualize yourself jumping and running across the field with full strength as if you are healthy and fit.
During the recovery phase, self-doubts and negative thoughts may creep into your mind. Don't let these negative thoughts and feelings overpower you. Seek out ways that make you think and feel more optimistic. Practice positive affirmations and read positive, inspiring stories and quotes. When you feel low, shift your focus and indulge in an activity that makes you more optimistic.
Athletes are used to setting goals and tracking progress to achieve results. However, a more extended recovery time could affect your routine and make you feel more vulnerable. You can overcome this by creating realistic recovery goals. Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goals to ensure achievable progress. You can seek the help of a coach or therapist to assess your current mental health status and plan your progress.
When should you see a sports medicine specialist?
If you need help determining when to see a sports medicine specialist, here are some signs it might be time. If you've had a sudden injury, they can decide what's wrong and whether surgery is needed. For long-lasting pain, they can help with rehab and find out what's causing it. They can prevent future injuries by understanding why they happen. Whether you're starting a new fitness routine or want to improve, they are experts who can help.
Kids with a significant injury during sports should go to the emergency room. If not, let them rest at home and call your healthcare provider for advice. Most injuries don't need surgery, but sports medicine specialists can help relieve pain and heal. If surgery is necessary, they will discuss it with you. They also advise on nutrition and exercise to keep you healthy and prevent injuries.
Finding a sports medicine specialist near you in White Plains, New York
Suppose you or your child are starting a sport or an intense physical activity. In this case, you must consider consulting a sports doctor who can help determine your physical readiness by conducting a physical examination. Further, the specialist can also enhance your athletic potential and help reduce the risk of injury.
Finding an experienced sports medicine specialist in your area can be challenging. But, with the help of Zocdoc, you can easily find one from the comfort of your home within a few minutes. Visit the Zocdoc website and enter the symptoms of your condition and location.
Click "find" and browse a list of top-rated sports medicine specialists. You can filter your results by the appointment time, gender, hospital affiliation, language, and whether a provider treats children.
If you want to find a provider who accepts your insurance, add your insurance information (your provider and plan) on the Zocdoc search. It will help you see providers who accept your plan. You can find accurate results from in-network sports medicine specialists. Check out Zocdoc's patient help center for more information and solutions related to insurance.
To help you find the best care for yourself and your family, Zocdoc provides each healthcare professional's educational background, including their clinical experience, certifications, awards, licensures, expertise, and accreditations. Besides that, you can also read through candid and verified reviews by past patients to solidify your choice. You can then book a virtual or in-person appointment based on the doctor's availability. Just look for a purple icon on the profiles of physicians who allow video consultations.
Depending on the specialist's availability, you can book appointments before, during, and after office hours. If the doctor's schedule permits, you can also book appointments on weekends and holidays.
Booking appointments with sports medicine specialists near you through Zocdoc is fast, free, and secure!
Statistics for sports-related injuries in New York
Data collated by the National Highway Safety Administration showed around 1046 traffic fatalities in New York State in 2020, of which nearly 47 were pedal cyclist fatalities. It accounted for about 2% of the total traffic fatalities. Pedal cyclists also comprised almost 7.2% of the total fatalities in New York City. It also showed that most fatal pedal bike crashes occurred in urban areas, with seniors 65+ having the highest rate of deaths.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) like concussions can temporarily alter your brain functioning. It commonly occurs due to contact sports such as rugby, football, and ice hockey. According to the 2019 New York State Department of Health report, about 4000 children aged 19 and younger sustain sports-related traumatic brain injuries yearly and require hospital treatments. Falls (51%) were the dominant driver in the top ten causes of TBI-related emergency department visits in New York from 2012 to 2014. Pedal cyclists ranked sixth on the list.
A 2019 National Library of Medicine study observing over 30,400 high school students (average age 16) from 49 New York City schools found that children reporting exercise-induced wheezing (EIW) were likelier to have urgent medical visits and hospitalizations for asthma. Girls (7.08%) had a higher hospitalization ratio for asthma-experienced EIW than boys (6.16%).
A 2022 New York City Health Department report on heat illnesses shows that, on average, approximately 370 heat-related deaths occur every year in NYC. These account for nearly 2% of the deaths from May to September (the warm seasons). From 2011 to 2020, an average of 10 deaths were caused directly by heat.
Sources
University of Rochester Medical Center[1]
University of Rochester Medical Center[2]
Healthline
Cleveland Clinic
American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
University Hospitals
Penn Medicine
Insurance Information Institute
New York City Health
New York State Department of Health[1]
New York State Department of Health[2]
National Library of Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
St. George's University School of Medicine
Henry Ford Health
