Do I Need a Sports Injury Doctor? Pain Control Clinic Weighs In
A sports injury doctor, also known as a sports medicine physician, is someone who has special training in the conditions that affect people while playing sports. They’re well-versed in how to treat issues common amongst sportsmen such as tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, runner’s knee, jumper’s knee, swimmer’s shoulder, etc.
As such, a sports medicine doctor can treat sports injuries and help you prevent them altogether. You should also note that sports injuries don’t just occur to sportsmen — you can even sustain them while engaging in sports or activities occasionally.
In this article, we’ll discuss all the situations in which you need physical therapists or an orthopedic sports medicine doctor and how to find the best sports injury, doctors.
1. Sports Medicine Doctor for Acute Injury
Acute injuries are those that happen suddenly while playing sports or exercising such as sprains and strains. Some of the more serious sports-related acute injuries include knee injuries, dislocated joints, broken bones, or injuries to the tendons behind your ankles. Acute injury leads to symptoms like weakness, loss of movement, dislocated bone or joint, swelling, or sharp pains. If you suffer from any of these acute injuries, you need a sports medicine doctor.
2. Sports Medicine Physician for Chronic Injury
Chronic sports injuries are those that gradually develop over time. They may not have been serious initially, but they get worse with time and continue doing so till the pain is unbearable. Chronic injury often happens because of excessive training and it results in issues like tendinitis, fractures, or rotator cuff injuries. You must consult a sports medicine physician if you’re suffering from chronic sports injuries.
3. Orthopedic Physician for Surgery
If you have a broken bone, dislocated joint, torn tendons, rotator cuff injuries, or torn ligaments, you may need to find an orthopedic physician who can perform surgery.
4. Orthopedic Sports Medicine for Recovery
You may also need an orthopedic sports medicine specialist to help you recover after a sports injury or surgery. Physical therapists can help you slowly return to your usual activities while preventing stiffness or weakness. You need an orthopedic physician or sports injury doctor who can create a schedule for you because returning to sports immediately can lead to another injury. The right primary care doctor can also help with healing, medications to reduce pain, and stretching and strengthening exercises.
5. Preventing a Sports Injury
If you’re an active sportsperson, you should ideally see a sports injury doctor to prevent injuries as well. Whether you’re starting a new sport or physical activity or you’re a professional, a sports injury doctor can help you get better while avoiding injuries.
How to Find the Best Sports Injury Doctors Near Me?
Now that you understand why you need a sports medicine doctor, the following section will show you how to find the best sports injury doctors in your location.
Interventional Pain Specialist
There are three broad categories of pain and injury doctors — palliative specialists, chronic pain specialists, and interventional pain specialists. Sports injury doctors are generally interventional pain specialists.
Palliative specialists are focused on the emotional aspects of pain caused by underlying issues like cancer. Chronic pain specialists only provide opioid treatment, which is an extremely dangerous form of treatment because it doesn’t cure the underlying issue and simply papers over it with temporary relief, which can even lead to addiction.
Interventional pain specialists are specially trained to identify the root cause of pain and treat it with minimally invasive procedures. They focus on your long term well being, which makes them ideal as sports medicine doctors.
Fellowship Trained and Special Training
Your sports medicine doctor should ideally be fellowship trained and board-certified. This isn’t necessary to become a pain doctor but it’s an object guarantor of quality treatment.
To get board-certified, sports medicine doctors have to go through intense training, complete residencies, and they have to be fellowship trained. All of this guarantees that the doctor is highly qualified and experienced.
The sports medicine doctor should also have special training in the field of sports-related acute and chronic injuries.
Minimally Invasive Diagnosis and Treatment
As mentioned previously, sports pain and injuries can stem from various underlying issues such as acute injuries, osteoarthritis, tendinitis, bursitis, and many others.
The best sports medicine physician will diagnose the root cause of your pain using physical tests, laboratory tests, and screening tests like MRI scans, X-Rays, CT scans, and ultrasound scans.
Some of the best treatments for chronic pain include corticosteroids and viscosupplementation. Corticosteroids are anti-inflammation medication injected into your tissues to reduce swelling. Viscosupplementation refers to the injects of hyaluronic acid into your joint capsules if they believe you have a hyaluronic acid deficiency, which is necessary to facilitate smooth joint movement.
In addition to these, the ideal sports medicine doctor would also recommend physical therapists who can help you with strengthening and stretching movements to regain mobility in your injured joints and muscles.
Meet the Best Sports Medicine Doctor Today
Pain Treatment Specialists has some of the best interventional pain specialists who have also got immense experience treating sports-related injuries with a perfect track record. If you have any injuries or pain related to sports, please meet the best sports medicine doctor today.