Sports Medicine

Engaging in sports or exercise is one way to keep your body healthy. You may be at risk of injury when you push yourself beyond your strength or make a misstep. Our sports injury doctors at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto can help get you back to your routine if you injure yourself during sports or workouts.

Get Back in the Game

Whether you’re an athlete or a physically active person, take advantage of our Sports Medicine Program at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto. We have a team of physicians, nurses and sports medicine doctors in Modesto, California available to improve your joint strength and mobility and treat your injury. We will recommend nonsurgical options first for sports injuries. If you need surgery, a sports orthopedic surgeon may use advanced techniques to help you recover faster with minimal scarring.

We want to ensure you receive the proper treatment to maintain a great quality of life for years to come. Whether you have a torn ligament, a sprain and other injuries, we can perform assessments and therapies to help you restore your agility and mobility. Find relief and improvement from our range of services designed for both athletes and non-athletes.

Let our team help you get moving without pain.

What Is Sports Medicine?

Sports medicine focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation due to illnesses or injuries from participating in sports, exercises and physical activities at all levels. Its main goal is to promote practical and safe exercises to help individuals achieve their fitness goals. Medicare and the American Board of Medical Subspecialties recognize sports medicine as a subspecialty.

What Does a Sports Medicine Doctor Do?

Sports medicine doctors in Modesto, CA have specialized training in preventing and treating physical activity and athletic injuries. They can help you minimize time away from work, school or sports due to injury. They are certified in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics and physical medicine or rehabilitation.

A sports medicine doctor has obtained up to two years of additional training in sports medicine via a Sports Medicine Fellowship or subspecialty programs. They improve in their field by participating in a re-certification exam every ten years and joining continuing medical education. While some sports medicine doctors specialize in non-operative options, sports medicine orthopedic specialists focus on surgical procedures for sports injuries.

You may find a sports medicine doctor or orthopedic specialist working exclusively with sports teams or athletes in Modesto, CA. Others cater to all types of patients at Doctors Medical Center.

What Is the Most Common Sports Injury?

There is no single most common sports injury, as the body part at risk of injury will depend on what a person uses during sports or physical activity. Most sports injuries may involve one or more musculoskeletal injuries.

Here are the common sports injuries:

• Sprains: ligament tearing or overstretching
• Strains: tendon or muscle tearing or overstretching
• Achilles tendon rupture: the Achilles tendon ruptures, resulting in sudden pain and difficulty walking
• Dislocation: a bone is displaced from its socket, causing pain and swelling
• Fracture: a broken bone, including:
  
  • Acute fractures
    
  • Stress fractures
    
  • Growth plate fractures
    
• Knee injuries: the most common are:
  
  • Patellofemoral syndrome due to repetitive thigh bone and kneecap movement that may cause pain around the kneecap
    
  • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears happen when there is a sudden change in direction
    
• Rotator cuff injury: damage in one of the rotator cuff’s four muscles, which keeps your arm in your shoulder socket and allows you to rotate and lift your arm while keeping your shoulder stable
• Shin splints: pain along a person’s shinbone inner edge
• Swollen muscles: the body’s natural reaction to injury

What Are the Causes of Sports Injuries?

Sports injuries can happen before, during or after physical activity. There are two types of sports injuries:

Acute: happens when a joint, bone or muscle receives an impact more significant than it can tolerate

Chronic: also known as an overuse sports injury, chronic sports injury occurs from making a certain physical motion repeatedly

People at risk for a sports injury are those who:

• Engage in contact sports>
• Are overweight
• Do not perform warmups and/or cooldown exercises
• Do not practice proper exercise techniques
• Do not wear shoes appropriate for exercise or sports
• Are not using the right equipment
• Suddenly increase the intensity of their physical activity
• Have anatomical features not ideal for a particular activity
• Are taking medications associated with tendinitis and tendon rupture

Diagnosis

Some injuries may cause immediate discomfort or pain. However, chronic sports injuries tend to be more noticeable after long-term damage. A Modesto sports medicine doctor may follow these steps for diagnosis:

• Asking you questions about how you got injured, what you have done since the injury and more.
• A physical examination where your doctor may try to move your injured part.
• Imaging tests such as CT scans, MRIs and X-rays confirm your injury's severity.

Sports Injury Treatment Options

Do the PRICE method for mild injuries like sprains and strains:

• Protect your injured area by applying support to it.
• Rest and avoid intense activities for the time being. Wait for your injury to heal fully.
• Ice pack application to the affected area can ease the pain. Do this for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours.
• Compression bandages can help control the swelling from your injured part. Make sure to choose elastic ones to wrap around your injury.
• Elevate your injured limb above your heart or higher.

Contact us if your injury does not improve even after performing the PRICE method. Non-operative treatment options for sports injury include:

• Corticosteroid injections – to relieve severe or persistent inflammation
• Medications – for pain relief
• Immobilization – casts, slings and splints will be used to restrict movement and prevent further damage to the injured area
• Physical therapy – the use of exercise, massage and other techniques to help regain the injured area’s normal movement

Surgical options may include using wires, plates, screws or rods to treat severe injuries such as badly broken bones. Sports medicine surgical procedures include:

• Anterior cruciate ligament repair
• Hip arthroscopy
• Knee arthroscopy
• Knee cartilage repair
• Ligament reconstruction and repair
• Shoulder arthroscopy

The Sports Medicine Program at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto has been designed to help you get active again. We perform assessments and therapies that may help you restore your mobility and agility. Book an appointment with one of our sports medicine or orthopedic specialists to get a second opinion on your condition or a really good first one.