A Team Approach
Sports Medicine emerged as health care professionals learned that the complex physical demands of the athlete required unique treatment. The Sports Medicine "team" is made up of individuals from a variety of fields such as orthopedic surgery, primary care medicine, athletic training, physical therapy and nutrition. Experts from these fields strive to prevent and treat injuries in physically active individuals.Is Sports Medicine For Athletes Only?
Absolutely not. Sports Medicine has evolved into a scientific discipline that has led to tremendous innovations in the way medical professionals treat all types of individuals. Orthopedic surgeons with specialized training in Sports Medicine have expertise in arthroscopic surgery, or "arthroscopy." Arthroscopy allows surgeons to perform procedures in ways that are dramatically less invasive than "open" procedures. Arthroscopy is beneficial to patients of all ages and activity levels, as it can be used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions.
Sports Medicine In The Workplace
Treating the injured athlete is very similar to treating the injured worker. Sports Medicine specialists strive to get the injured athlete back on the playing field in a safe and timely manner. When surgery is needed, arthroscopic surgery minimizes soft tissue trauma and in many cases may allow for a quicker recovery than similar, open procedures. This can help the injured player and injured worker alike get back to their respective "teams" quickly.
One of the most important aspects of treating injured athletes is deciding when it is safe to return to the pre-injury level of activity. A premature return to action can lead to further injury and ultimately more missed time. These same principles apply to the injured worker.
Where Would We Be Today Without Sports Medicine?
Some of the finest examples of innovation in Sports Medicine come from the baseball diamond. Baseball pitchers put extraordinary demands on their elbows every time they throw a baseball. Those demands can exceed the physical strength of the elbow's supporting structures, causing breakdown and tears of tissues around the elbow. A tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow was once considered devastating and career-threatening until Dr. Frank Jobe, a pioneer in Sports Medicine, designed a way to reconstruct the ligament. Dr. Jobe's first ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction done on Los Angeles Dodger pitcher, Tommy John, was a clear success. Tommy John went on to win 164 games after the surgical reconstruction of his elbow. The revolutionary procedure, now called the "Tommy John Procedure" has revived hundreds of baseball careers.
Much like a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow, a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the knee was once a career threatening injury. The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is crucial for people who need to twist or change directions with their legs. Sports Medicine specialists have refined the treatment of tears of the ACL, allowing elite athletes like Tiger Woods to return to competition after successful ACL reconstruction. Woods underwent knee surgery to reconstruct a torn anterior cruciate ligament in June, 2008. In less than a year, he returned to golf and resumed winning tournaments.
Saint Louis Blues Defenseman, Erik Johnson is soon expected to return to the ice a year after he underwent reconstruction of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Over 100,000 ACL reconstructions are performed each year in the United States. Many of these procedures are done in casual athletes and injured workers in order to keep them safely participating in both recreational and occupational activities.
These are just a few examples of how innovations in Sports Medicine have had a profound impact on the health care team's ability to successfully return people from all walks of life to the top of their game.
