What is sports medicine?
Sports medicine is an area of health care focused on treating musculoskeletal injuries that occur during participation in sports or when you’re training for sports activities.
Dr. Richardson has considerable expertise in treating and rehabilitating athletes to optimize their fitness.
Injuries are a common problem for people who are physically active, particularly those who play sports. Sports injuries can be painful — sometimes severely so — and cause swelling and bruising.
Sports injuries also affect your movement and strength and can cause immobility in some cases. You certainly won’t be able to play with a sports injury.
Accurate diagnosis of sports injuries is essential, as you might not know whether you have a fracture or sprain, for instance. Dr. Richardson can find out exactly what your injury is using his considerable expertise and experience, supported by the latest diagnostic technologies.
What kinds of sports injuries might I get?
Some of the sports injuries Dr. Richardson sees most frequently include:
- Tendon strains
- Ligament sprains
- Soft tissue tears
- Fractures
- Dislocations
- Torn cartilage
Some specific types of injuries happen more often in athletes. These injuries include ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) sprains and ruptures in the knees, rotator cuff tears in the shoulders, meniscus tears in the knee, and Achilles tendon strains in the lower leg and ankle.
Some injuries are so closely associated with sports that they have sports-based names. For example, tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is an injury of the tendon on the outside of your elbow. Golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) is an injury of the tendon on the inside of your elbow.
What sports medicine treatments are available?
Sports medicine treatments can vary depending on the cause of your symptoms. For instance, fractures might need surgery to realign and fix the bones, followed by immobilization in a cast. On the other hand, an ankle sprain is likely to respond well to physical therapy.
Wherever possible, Dr. Richardson uses conservative measures when treating sports injuries. Treatments could include:
- Physical therapy
- Joint injections
- Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy
If your sports injury is more serious or fails to respond to these initial therapies, you might need to undergo surgery. For example, a severed tendon or ruptured ligament could need surgical repair to ensure you regain full function.
All patients benefit from following a physical therapy and rehabilitation program at the appropriate stage of their recovery.
Find out more about the sports medicine services available by calling the office of Andrew B. Richardson, MD, today, or booking an appointment online.
