Sports Medicine Benefits for Any Athlete

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to seek the help and healing of sports medicine professionals. At Summit Orthopedics, we believe everyone who participates in physical activity—including weekend warriors, casual and competitive runners, even parents playing in the backyard with the kids—is an athlete.

For athletes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, our sports medicine team is focused on treating the whole patient and the whole family. No matter your age or degree of ability, when you suffer an injury to the joints, bones or muscles caused by physical activity, our sports medicine specialists are ready to help you get moving again.

The Benefits of Seeing a Sports Medicine Specialist

Sports medicine is a medical field concerned with sports and physical activity. The field of sports medicine brings exercise science and medical expertise together to help athletes perform their best. Sports medicine doctors diagnose, treat and rehabilitate sports injuries while helping people understand how to avoid future injuries.

Sports medicine professionals come from various backgrounds, but they all have one goal: To get you back into the game and moving like you again. Each specialist plays a role in treatment, recovery and rehabilitation, and typically works closely with your primary care provider to help you return to full function sooner.

Sports Medicine Specialists

Your Summit Orthopedics sports medicine team may include:

• Certified athletic trainers. Professionals with skills in injury detection, diagnosis, acute management and rehabilitation. They work with sports teams as a first line in player wellness and gameday readiness.
• Orthopedic surgeons. These physicians offer surgical care for sports injuries and other orthopedic conditions.
• Physical therapists. Physical therapists use active or passive (hands-on) exercises to help patients return to strength and mobility and teach them how to avoid injuries in the future. They also use therapies such as heat and cold to relieve pain.
• Sports medicine physicians. Doctors specially trained to manage conditions of the musculoskeletal system, they may set bones, provide bracing and give injections and other treatments. Sports medicine physicians also educate patients to help them avoid injuries, build strength and train safely. They may also provide medical care and guidance for sports teams.
• Sports medicine physician assistants. These professionals do many of the same things as a sports medicine physician, but under a doctor’s supervision.

What Injuries Does a Sports Medicine Provider Treat?

Sports medicine specialists diagnose and treat injuries that come with active lifestyles. From minor injuries that require rest and ice to more serious injuries that need surgery to techniques that help prevent future injuries, an experienced team of sports medicine professionals knows what it takes to help you heal.

Sprains and strains of tendons, ligaments or muscles are by far the most common sports injuries. Other injuries sports medicine professionals treat include:

• ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries
• Back pain
• Hip flexor strains
• Injuries to the tendons, the tissue that connects muscles to bones
• Knee injuries
• Musculoskeletal injuries
• Overuse injuries
• Rotator cuff injuries
• Tennis elbow

Live Life at Your Summit

When you team up with a Summit Orthopedics sports medicine physician, you’re working with a specialist who has concentrated expertise in treating your specific injury. Here, you’ll benefit from training and experience in injury treatment and prevention, strength training and conditioning, and healthy lifestyle promotion. We partner with our patients to design personalized treatment plans to accelerate recovery safely, so you spend less time in the doctor’s office and more time getting out on the field, court or backyard.