If you are suddenly injured while playing your favorite sport, visiting your family physician might not be the best option for you. Instead, seek a sports medicine doctor or an orthopedic doctor who specializes in sports injuries.

Sports medicine focuses on preventing, diagnosing and treating exercise- and sports-related injuries, and hence, a sports doctor is the best person to help you.

Apart from being able to quickly diagnose and treat these types of injuries, a sports medicine doctor knows how to utilize several non-surgical treatments in order to avoid surgery.

Who are Sports Medicine Doctors?

A sports medicine doctor is specially trained to quickly diagnose and treat injuries that are sustained from playing sports and any other type of orthopedic (musculoskeletal) injuries. In addition, they focus on getting you back in the game as swiftly and safely as possible.

Sports medicine doctors also guide you to exercise safely and effectively so that you can achieve optimum performance. This may include prescribing physical therapy and strength-training to strengthen your muscles and other tissues.

Sports medicine doctors not only treat your sports injury but also help you prevent a future injury by remaining in shape. Usually, these doctors treat injuries of muscles, bones, and joints, such as –

• Sprains and strains
• Fractures
• Knee, ankle, and foot injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Hand and wrist injuries
• Tendonitis

Treating Medical Conditions

A sports doctor can also handle chronic or acute illnesses, and nutrition and performance issues. They can also help patients in understanding how soon they can return to their regular activity levels, after treatment.
Their work consists primarily of –

• Facilitating and monitoring injury prevention
• Diagnosing an injury accurately depending on location and pathology
• Identifying the root cause of an injury to prevent a recurrence
• Prescribing rehabilitation and prescriptions as necessary to help heal and restore functionality
• Minimizing time away from the sport
• Maximizing long-term performance

Sport medicine doctors can work closely with other medical practitioners, such as physical therapists, and dieticians, among others.

A common misconception is that sports medicine doctors only treat pro athletes. However, sports medicine doctors can help anyone who wants to improve their overall health and wellness. Since most of them are specialists in orthopedic medicine, they are excellent at treating joint issues, such as arthritis and sudden musculoskeletal traumas and injuries, such as a twisted knee or a sprained ankle. They will not only treat your injury, but also help you maximize your performance.

To learn more about surgical shoulder treatments, call the best shoulder surgeon in Phoenix AZ, call Phoenix Shoulder and Knee at 480-219-3342. Dr. Adam Farber is a Fellowship Trained, Board Certified Phoenix and Scottsdale orthopedic surgeon specializing in Sports Medicine.