Have you ever wondered why there needs to be an entire medical practice devoted just to looking after athletes? After all, people who aren’t into sports suffer injuries all the time and get very good treatment from general practitioners and/or emergency care staff. People have been getting injured with or without sports forever. Why have a medical specialty in that field?
Sports medicine isn’t just for athletes
There are a number of answers, but the first one is: sports medicine doctors treat non-athletes, too. If you experience a car accident, your regular general practitioner may send you to a sports medicine doctor for additional or further treatment, just to make sure you heal the very best you possibly can and avoid the need for additional treatment (or even surgery) down the line.
You may be surprised to learn that even repetitive motion injury and chronic tension from, for example, sitting at a computer all day, can be aided by a sports medicine doctor.
And, of course, athlete or not, anyone can pull a muscle or experience some other mild injury. While general practitioners are fully capable of treating these injuries, many of them will refer you to a sports medicine doctor for a second opinion or further treatment, especially if the injury isn’t healing quickly or seems to have complications. They know sports medicine doctors have more specialized training than they do in this area, and part of the general practitioner’s job is to refer you when you need specialized treatment, so you always get the very best care possible.
Athletes need special care
Athletes use their bodies in ways most of us do not. They ask more of their muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. They put a great deal of stress on their bodies. They incur injuries that are sometimes unlike anything most of us will ever experience because of specific skills required in the sports they play. And they need instructions in how best to utilize their bodies efficiently, and with the least possible strain.
It’s not just the treatments but the research sports medicine provides that is making sports safer for athletes. As sports medicine advances, the chances of athletes being unable to play for the rest of their lives due to an injury decreases.
