Can Non-Athletes Benefit From Seeing a Sports Medicine Specialist?

Can Non-Athletes Benefit From Seeing a Sports Medicine Specialist?

Sports medicine specialists are best known for their ability to help athletes get back into the game. What many patients do not realize, however, is that these medical professionals work with more than sports injuries. They treat any kind of joint pain, including workplace injuries, hard falls, and more. Bergen Medical Associates provides care in many medical specialties, including sports medicine, at locations near you in northern New Jersey. Learn more about sports medicine specialists, what they do, and how they can help non-athletes live free from pain.

What Is a Sports Medicine Specialist?

A sports medicine specialist is a board-certified physician who diagnoses and treats issues with the musculoskeletal system. The musculoskeletal system includes the bones and muscles, as well as the tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues that hold them together. It provides stability and movement for the body while protecting other vital organs.

Orthopedic practitioners also work with the musculoskeletal system, but with a key difference. These experts specialize in performing surgical interventions for different types of injury and joint pain. Sports medicine specialists, meanwhile, provide non-invasive treatments. Most sports injuries do not require surgery to heal. Sports medicine specialists start with a conservative approach. If this does not provide relief, then the patient may be referred to an orthopedic surgeon for more aggressive care.

What Do Sports Medicine Specialists Treat?

Sports medicine specialists treat all types of orthopedic and musculoskeletal problems, from traumatic injuries to chronic joint pain. While they do treat sports injuries, they also work with workplace injuries, everyday accidents, and a wide variety of chronic conditions. Common conditions treated by sports medicine specialists include:

• Sprains and strains: When joints move in ways they shouldn’t, the connective tissue that holds them together can become stretched or even torn.
• Fractures: This is the medical term for a broken bone, which may occur due to a traumatic injury or repeated stress.
• Tendonitis: Chronic overuse can cause tendons to become inflamed, resulting in pain, swelling, and stiffness around the affected joint.
• Osteoarthritis: A lifetime of wear and tear causes cartilage in joints to break down, becoming brittle and prone to aching.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: Similar to osteoarthritis, but this condition is instead caused by the immune system attacking healthy joint tissue.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome: The carpal tunnel allows the median nerve to leave the hand. Overuse inflames the surrounding tissue, compressing the nerve.

Sports medicine specialists also work with all parts of the body. When most people imagine a sports injury, they picture pain in the arms or legs. Sports medicine specialists work with these parts, but also with the hands and feet, hips, back, and neck, treating pain wherever it occurs in the body.

What Types of Treatments Do Sports Medicine Specialists Perform?

When treating injuries and painful conditions, sports medicine specialists develop personalized care plans designed to meet patients’ unique needs. They perform thorough evaluations to diagnose the patient’s condition, learn more about their overall health and habits, and find out their goals for treatment. They then design a custom plan that uses multiple methods to address pain effectively and comprehensively. Types of treatments they offer include:

• Medication: Over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications can relieve pain and inflammation, helping patients stay comfortable.
• Injections: When injected near an inflamed joint, corticosteroids or orthobiologics can provide fast-acting and long-lasting relief.
• Activity adjustments: By resting and avoiding movements that make pain worse, patients give injured tissues time to heal properly.
• Physical therapy: Targeted stretches and exercises work to restore strength and flexibility in joints that are affected by a condition or injury.
• Nutrition: Proper nutrition helps to reduce inflammation while giving muscles and bones the materials they need to rebuild.

Very rarely, the patient’s condition may require more aggressive care. When this happens, sports medicine specialists work with orthopedic surgeons and other medical professionals to determine the best surgical approach. Surgery is recommended only when other methods don’t work or when it is deemed necessary to treat the patient’s pain. If a patient needs surgery, they meet with Dr. Paul Kovatis. He has over 24 years of experience delivering award-winning procedures to relieve pain caused by sports or other injuries.

What Other Services Does a Sports Medicine Specialist Provide?

Sports medicine specialists don’t just treat pain. They also provide proactive care to prevent injuries before they occur. Specialists advise their patients on how to avoid injuries in sports, physical jobs, hobbies, and everyday activities, helping them stay healthy and function at the highest possible level. These are some types of guidance a sports medicine physician may provide:

• Properly warming up muscles before physical activity
• Cooling down slowly to prevent soreness and stiffness
• Correcting movements to avoid overextension
• Building muscle groups that work together
• Intensifying workouts or physical labor gradually
• Strengthening the whole body, instead of just one area
• Controlling movements to minimize overuse
• Managing chronic conditions to reduce symptoms

This guidance is invaluable for athletes to maximize their performance on the field. It is also useful for people with hard labor jobs, who participate in active hobbies, or whose aging bodies require an extra level of care. It may even help people perform housework, yardwork, and other everyday tasks more effectively. Almost everybody can benefit from visiting a sports medicine specialist who can help them maintain a healthier body and higher quality of life.

Find Sports Medicine Specialists Near You in New Jersey

Patients who could benefit from seeing a sports medicine specialist should reach out today to Bergen Medical Associates. We have a team of over 40 board-certified physicians and medical professionals covering a wide array of specialties for patients in northern New Jersey. Among them are experienced sports medicine specialists, physical therapists, and more, who work together to ensure that patients receive appropriate care. Request an appointment to find out more or to begin your personalized care plan and experience life with less pain. We have locations in Emerson, Montvale, Northvale, Paramus, and Ridgewood, NJ, making it easy to find treatment near you.