What does a sports medicine physician treat?

Sports injuries: Sports physicians use operative & nonoperative methods to treat mostly acute injuries which may potentially hinder optimum performance of an amateur or professional athlete and/or prevent such injuries.

The athlete: Orthopedic sports medicine physicians limit their practice to the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries in the athlete. This includes sprains/strains, ligament tears /fractures. Non-surgically trained sports medicine physicians treat the musculoskeletal conditions (refer those that need surgery to their orthopedic colleagues), concussions, exercise related asthma, ppe, nutritional counseling, etc.

Musculoskeletal: Sports medicine physicians treat musculoskeletal conditions, e.g. Joint pain (knee, shoulder, elbow, hip, foot/ankle, back) ; sports-related injuries (including concussion). Some in orthopaedic sports medicine, may specialize in a body region (e.g. Shoulder/knee, foot/ankle, hand). Physiatrists that specialize in sports medicine treat most joints and sports injuries, as well as arthritis.

Comprehensive care: for all musculoskeletal and sports specific complaints / injuries can be managed by a sports medicine physician. Additionally some may have additional training / focus in sports ultrasound, regenerative medicine and use of other modalities to treat chronic tendon pain/injuries.