What Is a Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician?
I cannot believe how often I must answer this question, even within the medical community. But I guess that means that it hasn’t been communicated well throughout the profession and to patients. An accrediting body of Sports Medicine has even had to launch a ‘rebranding’ campaign to spread the word on what the profession is and offers, so there is no wonder that not many people truly know what a sports medicine doctor actually does..
When you hear sports medicine, what first comes to mind? I bet it was a doctor associated with a team on the sideline at a high school on Friday night covering a football game (back in those good old days when group sport was okay and wasn’t a vector for contagion spread). This picture is not incorrect. That is a very big part of the specialty, but like many people with many talents, the profession isn’t a ‘one-trick pony’.
Sports Medicine is a very versatile specialty and takes doctors from many backgrounds. I am trained in Sports Medicine, having completed a Fellowship. I originally complete my residency in family medicine and then went on to the specialty. You can see all that in my “about” section, if you took time to read that. If someone looked up sports medicine, they’d probably get a bunch of orthopedic offices, because they are the best at branding and have recognition in the field. However, not all sports injuries need surgery. In fact, MOST sports injuries are ‘non-operative’ and don’t require a surgeon. In the 1980’s the specialty for primary care sports medicine was formed to offer services to people in the non-operative category and can include family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) doctors (those doctors specialize in rehabilitation).
Do you have to be an athlete on an organized team? Short and sweet, no. Patients can be an athlete on a team training, or they can be an ‘active’ individual. We are in the business of keeping our patients moving and attaining their goals: from playing their favorite sports, being able to work in the yard, playing an instrument, or starting to exercise for the first time to improve their health.
Sports Medicine doctors also are trained to handle common medical conditions as it pertains to exercise. How to modify medications, how it can help those conditions, and how it can be dangerous. There is a board certification exam at the end of the fellowship, so someone like myself is dually certified in family medicine and sports medicine (or whatever specialty someone decided to certify in prior to fellowship). After training, a sports medicine doctor can help a patient regulate insulin while exercising, can help someone prepare for altitude racing or scuba diving, can help a musician with pain while playing, and can counsel patients on how to start exercising and what to expect on improvements in blood pressure and sugar control.
Don’t get me wrong, sport docs love bones and joints as well, which is why people tend to assume they are associated with orthopedics. While sport docs often work closely with orthos and physical therapists, they can evaluate and treat right in the primary care office. They also usually have a pretty good handle on Ultrasound use, so don’t be surprised if they bust one out and get a cheaper and safer image (no radiation) to see what is possibly going on.
Attached in the hyperlinks are advertising materials from the AMSSM (American Medical Society for Sports Medicine) to try and promote the specialty and educate patients about primary care sports medicine. Take a look, and maybe next time there is nagging injury or question on what is safe to do with a particular medical condition, come see a sports medicine doctor.
Here is a YouTube link to the AMSSM video about the specialty:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FExwzFWvpE4
If print is more your style then here is a brochure:
https://www.amssm.org/MemberFiles/PatientBrochure.pdf
Stay safe out there and keep moving!