Tag: Sports Medicine

What is Sports Medicine?

Sports medicine is a sub specialty of the medical field that is somewhat confusing to some people. Because of the fact that sports is not medicine, it is a bit of a misleading term however the term is intended to represent the doctors and other medical staff who are in the practice of treating and diagnosing athletes and sports related injuries.

The professionals who are actively involved in the sports medicine field ranges from standard doctors, physical therapists, surgeons, and even athletic trainers and other similar careers. Sports tend to be a highly competitive field, and as such most emphasis is placed upon speedy as well as complete recoveries from any injuries. This could mean that an injury that would take normally 3 months to heal can be reduced to only 2 months using the appropriate sports medicine techniques under a qualified doctors care.

Most doctors who practice sports medicine treat athletes both professional, amateur and often children for the various injuries that occur while playing any sport imaginable. The human body is designed to quickly heal following most injuries if an appropriate treatment is followed, and sports medicine is intended to speed the recovery process as much as possible. Many sports medicine doctors are also actively involved in giving athletes preventive care as well which is designed to reduce the occurrence of many common injuries.

Doctors who are interested in sports medicine come from a wide range of fields including cardiology, orthopedic surgery, biomechanics and even pulmonology just to name a few. The exact specialty of the doctor is often quite focused while the majority of patients are all involved in sports in one capacity or another. The roll of the doctor is often to work with the athlete to adjust training procedures to reduce the risk of injury while increasing the skill level of the athlete as much as safely possible.

There are some sports medicine doctors who are specializing in treating female athletes while others will treat both female as well as male athletes. Deciding upon the best sports medicine doctor for your needs can involve meeting several doctors before finding someone whom you are comfortable with. Many athletes develop a close relationship with their doctor so that the best possible athletic results are achievable.

By working together with training coaches and other athletic professionals doctors in the sports medicine field are able to help athletes achieve the best possible results performance wise, while still maintaining healthy standards in terms of overall health. Achieving spectacular sports results is often meaningless if the athlete is always injured in the process, or if the overall health is neglected and the athlete is unable to continue in their chosen sport.

As you can imagine, the number of athletes who only work with a single sports medicine doctor are very slim. Most athletes work with a team of doctors that comprise of various sub-specialties such as surgical, dietary, cardiogologist and anything else that may be needed. Each doctor is responsible for helping the athlete, and this helps to ensure that each doctor is well trained in their specialty. Using a single doctor as opposed to the entire team can greatly limit the options that you have for treatment.

However, while an entire team is generally used to treat patients in sports medicine, there is usually a general care doctor who is given the task of heading the team and sending each patient to the specific additional doctors that they need to see based upon their individual needs. This helps to avoid confusion, chaos and other problems from occurring. Over all sports medicine is a fascinating and very necessary field that most can agree is quite helpful for athletes.

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Using Strength Training for Children

What many sports medicine professionals realize that parents do not is that strength training can do so much more for your child than simply giving them muscle mass. Important in helping to ward off injuries as well as building overall strength a proper strength training program can benefit your child both in long term and short term goals.

From the very first athletic attempt your child has, to the very last having the strength necessary to execute the sport effectively is one of their single most important needs. Ensuring the proper strength levels can be beneficial in both normal life, as well as the athletic field and provides a great way to children to help avoid injury as well as create healthy strength habits for life. While the exact type of strength training varies from child to child, the far reaching benefits are attainable to everyone.

Regardless of whether your child is playing soccer, basketball, football, or even running track or swimming having the proper muscle strength necessary can often help avoid overuse injuries that are so prevalent amongst young children. Forcing the muscles to strengthen up allows the muscles to work harder before an injury occurs. Experts have all agreed the children as young as six can safely work on strength training when closely monitored by an adult.

The ability to start strength training at such a young age helps to ensure that while children are busy learning about sports, they are also able to embrace the benefits of proper safety precautions rather than merely learning how to treat injuries. While not all children become huge fans of strength training it is still a wise idea to teach it.

Overall, it is very important for the adults involved in strength training to closely monitor the child. The sports medicine doctor working together with a fitness coach can usually advise about the correct amount of time as well as repetitions for each exercise to ensure that the maximum benefits are achieved, without potentially causing the child injury.

It is vital to also ensure that your child understands exactly what is expected of them. While the idea of allowing a young child to life weights may not seem appealing to many, it is something that does appeal to others. However, setting limits to the amount lifted, as well as how long is very important to ensure that the child is not injured in any way.

Parents can also work with children and a fitness coach to work out the best strength routine for them based upon age, sports, and body type. It is important to only allow a child to engage in strength training with proper supervision both by a doctor and by a knowledgeable trainer. Your childs doctor should be aware that strength training is going to be occurring before your child starts so that a through check up can be conducted to ensure that your child is well enough to handle the rigors of strength training.

Other considerations that are very important is the equipment that your child uses. Most sports medicine professionals can agree that while a child is encouraged to engage in strength training they should almost always avoid using the same equipment as adults. Instead, it is vital that children engage in exercises and training that is designed for their smaller bodies. Most children are not big enough to safely use the adult sized equipment. It is essential that you find a gym that can accommodate your child has needs, or consider purchasing small sets of weights for your home.

With proper precautions, and careful supervision strength training for children can reduce the number of injuries, increase strength, improve endurance and provide excellent health benefits overall. By focusing on age appropriate exercises and ensuring that your child is properly supervised you can be assured that you are helping your child develop into the strongest possible, while fighting off injuries and other problems.

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Tips for a Successful Career in Sports Medicine

People are always looking for ways in which they can have a highly successful career and there are things that you can do to really increase the chances of being successful. However, if you simply overlook some tips you can still have a fulfilling career while other tips are quite necessary in order to succeed. Working towards a successful career often begins long before you actually start the career, and sports medicine is certainly no exception.

One of the first considerations that you should look into is ensuring if you are still in school that you are studying enough science to satisfy the needs of sports medicine. If you are someone, who hates biology class, and tries to figure out ways to avoid other science classes then sports medicine may not be the best idea for you. While sports medicine is not always about treating patients, it is still considered a medical field and someone who dislikes science is not likely to find happiness in the field. However, if you really do want to find a career in sports medicine you need to look into taking as many biology, anatomy and physics classes as your school possibly offers.

If you are not in school currently, look for a school that will offer excellent programs in the science fields that are required. If you have already completed your schooling, look and see if your classes that you studied will fulfill the science needs for getting started. If it does not, then it is best to start looking for a school that can satisfy your needs.

Another thing that you should closely look into is selecting the medical school you want to attend. Not all schools are created equally. Students who attend the best schools tend to get a higher quality education and are able to translate that higher education into better careers ultimately. You may have to compare prices of schools to find one you can actually afford, but attending the best school you can possibly afford will certainly pay off in the long run.

While you are looking for the perfect school to attend, consider which area of sports medicine you are interested in specializing in. Most doctors simply cannot attend to all of the medical needs of athletes; there are far too many specialties to even try so it is best that you look for a school that is excellent in your desired specialty. For example, a school that is highly regarded for their training of traditional medical doctors may not be as useful to you if you are looking into a career in orthopedics or even surgery. Ensure you are training for the correct field that you are really interested in.

Look for a residency program that is based in the exact specialty of sports medicine that you are interested in as soon as possible. While all doctors must do basic residency programs, many move on immediately from the residency program into sports medicine. This is not recommended at all, due to the complex nature of the body and the strains as well as considerations when sports are involved it is best to participate in a sports medicine residency program as well before fully starting in the field. This will allow you to maximize your hands on training and get the absolute most possible from all of your education. A career in medicine is certainly not cheap, so do your best to ensure you are putting that education to maximum usage.

Additionally, networking can be your best friend, especially for those who are beginning. Whether you offer your services to a semi professional team, or only to the little league team down the road it gives you the opportunity to help people learn who you are, and what you are capable of doing. You simply cannot purchase advertising that is as good for your practice. So volunteer some of your time monitoring games and helping ensure that athletes are taken care of; people will recognize your efforts and are much more likely to use you when they need a sports medicine doctor.

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Stretching Ways to Avoid Injury and Keep in Shape

Stretching Ways to Avoid Injury and Keep in Shape

Most sports medicine professionals can all readily agree that those athletes who take the time to really care for their bodies experience far fewer injuries than those who act reckless with regard to their health. It is really important to remember exactly what a benefit stretching provides when you are trying to decide if spending time stretching is worth it. The exact benefits are almost limitless, however there are some specific benefits that virtually all athletes should experience.

Amongst the benefits of stretching there are the improvements to your circulations, range of motions, posture, overall performance and even your ability to relax after working out. However this is not all that stretching provides, it also helps you decrease the tension in muscles and can even assist in reducing overall joint stiffness that can occur after a work out. The overall benefit of stretching is possible to achieve in as little as 10 minutes before starting an actual workout, which makes it very easy to work into any routine that you are exploring.

By properly ensuring that you are stretching, you are not only providing the benefits to your body, but you are also able to reduce the number of times you are forced to go to the doctor over an injury. Most athletes would rather be playing their favorite sport rather than sitting in a doctors office being treated. However, while most athletes would prefer not to spend time being treated, it is still important to seek treatment for all injuries that occur rather than leaving them unattended.

With proper attention paid to stretching in addition to an appropriate exercise routine it is possible to greatly reduce the number of injuries that occur. While not all injuries can be avoided by stretching, it can help to reduce the severity of many injuries as well as reducing the overall number of injuries. It is highly important to work with a coach or other sports medicine professional to develop a routing for stretching that is most effective for your individual lifestyle as well as body type.

Especially important for athletes is discussing their workout habits and any previous injuries when selecting a stretching routine. By carefully choosing the proper exercises and stretches it is possible to help protect against further injury, and really tailor the workout to your exact individual needs. However, just merely stretching to stretch can sometimes void the benefits if the stretches are not the proper type. For example, if you are a runner and focus more emphasis on stretching your arms you are going to see fewer benefits than someone who stretches their back as well as legs before actually running.

Deciding with your sports medicine team the appropriate exercises, number of repetitions and all other pertinent details of your stretching program also helps to ensure that your entire team knows exactly what you are doing, and can make modifications and adjustments based upon what you need as an individual, as well as what you need to improve your overall athletic ability. It is very important to carefully select exercises that are appropriate for your needs at the time of the warm up as well. This means specifically, if you have an injury to your hamstring muscle, you should give it some rest for a couple of days at a minimum.

This brings to light the importance of talking to your doctor and learning to listen to your body. If you feel as if the stretches you are doing cause you more harm than they help, it is time to rework your routine and change how you are treating your body. Remember, changing the types of stretches that you do is perfectly acceptable especially when you are healing from an injury. Working to keep your body in the best overall condition possible is your ultimate goal and working towards that goal often means having to make adjustments to a routine, often at the last minute.

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