Sports medicine focuses on diet and exercise programs for athletes, monitoring
them as they train and compete, and helping to prevent or to treat sports-related
injuries.
The work encompasses four basic areas: preparation of the athlete, prevention
of injury or illness, diagnosis and treatment of injury, and rehabilitation.
Specifically, sports physicians give physical exams to athletes, treat injuries,
give advice on nutrition, and supervise other sports medicine professionals.
There are primary care sports medicine physicians, orthopedists (injuries
to bones, muscles and connective tissues), physiatrists (skeletal and muscular
problems, but no surgery), and sports medicine researchers. In recent years,
sports medicine has spread from orthopedics and the treatment of musculoskeletal
injuries, to almost all branches of medicine.
"You have to have a genuine interest in sports medicine," says Dr. Derek
Mackesy of the International Ice Hockey Federation. "It helps to have some
sports background, but it's not something that's absolutely required. When
you go to a game, you have to really watch to see how a player gets injured,
because that could help in treating it."
The sports physician must know the proper treatment for a wide variety
of sports-related injuries. Typical injuries include fractures, sprains, dislocations,
torn or pulled ligaments or muscles, cuts, bruises, abrasions and blisters.
X-rays and bone scans are important in the diagnosis of joint and bone injuries.
Arthrograms and arthroscopy, which provide visual information on the interior
of joints, are used to diagnose and treat many knee injuries. Neck and head
injuries can be evaluated by using computerized tomography (CT) scans and
tomograms.
Treatment methods vary depending on the injury. Sprains or dislocations
can be serious. Immobilization, ice or heat treatment, and anti-inflammatory
drugs, steroids or enzymes are used frequently.
Surgery is often used to remove bone fragments from joints, to lengthen
muscles and tendons, to repair tears and lacerations, and to relieve pressure
caused by swelling within muscle compartments. The sports doctor also must
learn about rehabilitation techniques, and when to introduce them as part
of the patient's overall treatment.
Nutrition is a critical aspect of sports medicine. The wrong diet can seriously
impair an athlete's performance and health. Counseling ensures that athletes
have what they need in terms of nutrient adequacy, energy requirements, protein
and carbohydrate distribution, timing of meals and fluid intake.
Sports physicians also play a role in preventing the improper use of steroids
or other substances by athletes. Practitioners of sports medicine must be
prepared to advise athletes about the serious health risks associated with
such drug use, and to help them deal with the pressures that encourage drug
abuse in sports.
Research leads to better prevention of sports-related injuries. Training
to wrestle, play baseball or swim all used to involve the same kinds of workouts.
"Now we have analyses of the motions and demands and activities inherent
in each sport. So we can better analyze what you need to do if you want to
be good in golf or swimming or whatever," says Dr. Jo Hannafin. She is the
orthopedic director of the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital
for Special Surgery.