Sports Medicine Specialist

What is sports medicine?

Sports medicine concentrates on preventing and treating sports injuries and helping athletes improve their performance through exercise and physical fitness.

The Hannon Orthopedics team’s board-certified and fellowship-trained sports medicine experts treat all kinds of athletes and other physically active patients for muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone injuries. They also advise you on how to prevent sports injuries.

What kinds of injuries does sports medicine treat?

Among the most common sports injuries are:

Muscle injuries

Muscle cramps, strains, and tears are some of the most widespread types of sports injuries.

ACL injuries

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) helps to stabilize your knee. ACL sprains typically happen when you twist your knee to change direction when running. The ACL can tear completely, causing severe pain and collapsing your knee. Three other ligaments in your knee can also suffer similar damage.

Ankle sprains

Sprains happen when you overstretch the ligaments holding your ankle bones in place.

Shin splints

Shin splints arise when the tissue that connects your lower leg muscles to the shin bone at the front of your leg becomes inflamed from overuse or pulls away from the bone.

Acute injuries like fractures (broken bones) and joint dislocations are also common. Chronic pain is usually caused by repetitive strain or overuse, causing problems like Achilles tendinitis or tennis elbow, or by previous injuries that fail to heal correctly.

What treatments are used in sports medicine?

Many kinds of sports injuries respond well to a combination of conservative treatments that can include:

• Rest
• Activity changes
• Medication
• Braces and splints
• Ice and heat
• Physical therapy
• Therapeutic massage
• Stretching and strengthening
• Steroid injections
• PRP (platelet-rich plasma) therapy
• EPAT (extracorporeal pulse activation technology)

If you suffer a severe, acute injury like a fracture, you’ll probably need to wear a cast once your bones are in the correct position.

Would I need surgery for a sports injury?

Some sports injuries involve damage too severe to heal without surgery. Complete separation of a ligament from the bone and tears in areas of cartilage that have a limited blood supply are common examples.

The Hannon Orthopedics team excels in performing surgery to repair these injuries, using grafted tissues or transplants to restore function. In most cases, they’re able to use minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques that reduce pain and scarring and promote faster recovery.

For all your sports medicine needs, call Hannon Orthopedics today or book an appointment online.