What is sports medicine?

Sports medicine treats, diagnoses, and prevents injuries related to exercise and sports.Exercise interventions can also be helpful in preventing and managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, and helping people with weight challenges.

At Sports, Pain & Regenerative Institute, Dr. Patel offers expert assessment and treatment of an extensive range of sports-related injuries. With his help, you can eliminate musculoskeletal pain and return to an active lifestyle.

What conditions can sports medicine treat?

Sports medicine covers many types of injuries, including:

Achilles tendon injuries

The Achilles tendon, which is at the back of your lower leg, is a strong, fibrous cord. It can rupture if it stretches too far, or repetitive strain could cause tiny injuries that build up over time (Achilles tendonitis).

Labral tears 

The labrum in your ball and socket joints (hip and shoulder) is a ring of cartilage that lines the inside of the socket to help keep the ball-shaped bone in place. Severe trauma, like a dislocation (where something pulls the ball-shaped bone out of its socket), can tear the labrum, causing pain and joint instability.

Knee ligament injuries

Four ligaments in your knee attach the bones to each other and stabilize the joint. Damaged knee ligaments are extremely painful, severely limit knee movement, and can cause the joint to become unstable.

Meniscus tear 

There are two large C-shaped pieces of cartilage in each knee called the lateral and medial menisci. They sit above the knee’s lower bone (the tibia or shin bone), where they help protect your knee joint when you’re bending, running, walking, and climbing. A torn meniscus is painful and can cause the knee to lock up.

Tendonitis

Tendons hold your muscles onto your bones. Acute injuries or pain that builds up over time can be due to irritation and inflammation in a tendon. Common examples include tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) and golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis).

What treatments are used in sports medicine?

Dr. Patel uses conservative approaches if possible when he creates a treatment plan for your sports injury. He also specializes in interventional treatments for more serious or persistent cases. Options include:

• Physical therapy
• Hot and cold compresses
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections
• Trigger point injections
• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet joint injections
• Nerve blocks
• Radiofrequency ablation
• Neuromodulation (spinal cord stimulation)

With some serious sports injuries, you might need surgery to restore full use to the affected area. Dr. Patel offers comprehensive rehabilitation services to help you recover from your operation.

To benefit from the expert sports medicine facilities at Sports, Pain & Regenerative Institute, call their office or book an appointment online today.