Sports Medicine Specialist

What is sports medicine?

Sports medicine includes the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of common sports-related injuries. Such injuries may affect your bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, or joints. 

Getting treated for sports injuries is the best way to speed up recovery and reduce the risk of future injuries.

What are common sports injuries?

Common sports injuries you or a loved one may encounter include:

• Sprains
• Strains
• Fractures
• Tendinitis
• ACL/MCL injuries
• Other joint injuries
• Foot injuries
• Head injuries

You might sustain a sports injury after contact with another player, overtraining, cutting, jumping, or falling down.

What are the signs and symptoms of sports injuries?

Common signs and symptoms of sports injuries to lookout for include:

• Severe or ongoing pain
• Inflammation
• Decreased joint range of motion
• Bruising
• Redness
• Warmth
• Weakness
• Stiffness
• Inability to bear weight on a joint
• Decreased mobility

With some types of sports injuries, you might hear popping or crunching sounds while the injury occurs.

Which sports medicine services are right for me?

To find out which type of sports injury you have and its severity, the South Texas Family Medicine and Urgent Care Center team discusses your symptoms and medical history. 

They examine injured areas of your body and might recommend blood tests, X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, ultrasounds, or other imaging procedures to make a diagnosis.

What are common sports medicine treatments?

Common sports medicine treatments your provider might recommend include:

RICE therapy

Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) are steps you can take at home to reduce swelling and speed up healing of a sports-related injury.

Bracing and casting

Wearing a brace or cast can keep injured tissues in their proper alignment during healing and reduce your risk of reinjury. 

Regenerative medicine

Regenerative medicine uses stem cells or platelets from your blood to generate new cells and stimulate healing naturally. 

Physical therapy

South Texas Family Medicine and Urgent Care Center offers specialist referrals for physical therapy to aid in healing after sustaining a sports-related injury.

Surgery

If you need surgery after a sports injury, your South Texas Family Medicine and Urgent Care Center provider can refer you to an orthopedic surgeon to ensure you get the treatment needed to make a full recovery.

To learn more about sports medicine at South Texas Family Medicine and Urgent Care Center, call the office or book an appointment online today.