Athletic injuries are simply part of the game. Whether you are an amateur, a weekend warrior or a dedicated athlete, the sports medicine-trained physicians at Premier Orthopedic Specialists Of Tulsa help you stay strong in a couple of ways. First, we treat athletic injuries – and through prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation that restore you to active health and fitness. Second, we help you compete at the highest level, as befits a professional athlete.
PRIMARY CARE SPORTS MEDICINE
Today, sports medicine physicians care for recreational athletes and people who strive to stay active and fit. Working with athletes from little leaguers to elderly exercisers and the weekend warriors in between, sports medicine is playing a key role in keeping them healthy.
While sports medicine physicians have continued their traditional care of musculoskeletal injuries sustained by professional athletes, its range has exploded. Today sports medicine influences millions of people. Primary care sports medicine physicians acquire special training in how athletics affect every aspect of the body — from cardiovascular and respiratory to dermatological and immunologic.
Some serve as team physicians to professional sports teams or are personal physicians to elite level athletes. Through research and advanced fellowship training, and extensive hands-on clinical experience, primary care sports medicine physicians have acquired the skills to care for athletes of all ages, sports and levels of competition.
All apply their broad knowledge – from team sports to extreme sports — to treat collegiate and high school athletes. Their interest is often a personal one, as sports medicine physicians were often athletes themselves with firsthand knowledge of injuries and illnesses and how they affect athletes. Injuries may be acute, chronic or from overuse. In any case, sports medicine physicians lean on their expertise to properly evaluate the injury and develop a strategic plan of care.
Unless surgery is necessary to achieve the goal, the preferred plan of care is non-surgical. Rehabilitation is stressed, using casting, bracing and injections as needed. This plan returns athletes to their previous level of activity after timely and appropriate injury management. With a special knowledge of return to play issues, your physician will also know when and how it is safe to return to your sport or activity.
Whether you are an amateur or a professional athlete you can be assured our orthopedic specialists will care for your orthopedic sports medicine needs. Your Premier Orthopedic Specialists Of Tulsa primary care sports medicine physician can help you:
- By caring for all illnesses and medical conditions related to sports – from a football game concussion to running-related asthma.
- By finding ways to help you improve your performance
- By optimizing your performance and maximizing aerobic and strength conditioning through sports nutrition and dietary supplementation
- By providing pre-participation physical examinations, including clearance for high school or collegiate sports or evaluation prior to beginning an exercise program
- By starting you on a treatment plan for pre-existing or newly discovered conditions that might interfere with your sports participation
COMMON SPORTS INJURIES
Common injuries that require an orthopedic sports medicine physician or orthopedic specialist may include:
- Low Back Pain. Lumbar strain is very common injury for many athletes, especially weight lifters. Often injury occurs with insufficiently warmed up or stretched muscles. Lumbar strain is often treatable with regular targeted exercises. More serious injuries including sciatica and bulging disks require immediate orthopedic medical attention.
- Runners Knee. According to the Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons approximately 1 in 4 injuries in sports medicine involve the knee. Runners Knee, or patellofemoral stress, can cause irritation of the tendons below the kneecap due to overuse, wear or arthritis.
- Pulled Muscles. Pulls or tears can occur in any muscle, however, they often occur most often in the hamstring, calf and groin area. Pulled muscles can most often be attributed to improper warm up.
- Ankle Sprains. They account for approximately 1 in 5 injuries in sports medicine. Twisting an ankle is very common for an athlete during a sporting event. Although ankle sprains heal with time, get the injury x-rayed by an orthopedic sports medicine physician to make sure that there are no fractures or chipped bones.
- Shin Splints. Refers to pain in the middle part of the shin. Shin splints can be caused by improper shoes for the activity and are often be treated with ice, anti-inflammatory and stretching of the lower legs muscles