During a three-year study by the CDC, they found that there were 8.6 million sports-related injuries in the United States.
If you’re an athlete, you may already be familiar with sports medicine and all that it entails. However, if you’re not, you may not have had to go for a sports-related injury.
If you have recently had a sports injury, you should probably go to see a sports injury specialist. It can be scary at first, but we’ll break down all of it here.
What Is It?
Sports and exercise medicine is just another branch of care that helps people who have some sort of physical fitness-related injury. If you have this injury, you’ll receive treatment for your injury and tips on how to prevent more in the future.
While exercising can be good for you, when you move that much and force your body, you may end up injuring yourself. With sports and exercise medicine, you’ll learn how to train and exercise in a safe way.
It can also help you to achieve your fitness goals.
While there are all kinds of advanced physicians in the field, you’ll be able to find some that can treat the specific injury that you are experiencing. They can help treat injuries like:
- Dislocations
- Torn ligaments
- Fractures
- Strains
- Sprains
- Degenerative diseases
- Overtraining
- Tendonitis
With sports and exercise medicine, your doctor will have the normal training that comes with being a doctor. However, in addition, they’ll have to take extra classes that are specific toward sports nutrition, helping the muscular system, and even sports psychology.
Who Will You Visit?
If you do have to get some care for a sports or physical fitness-related energy, you’ll likely visit with some different doctors depending on the injury.
For example, you may see a physical therapist is you’re rehabilitating after an injury. You might have to meet with an athletic trainer who will help you make sure that you don’t overtrain or injury yourself.
If you’re struggling mentally due to sports, you may even be referred to a sports psychologist.
Who Do They Treat?
You might think that this type of medicine is only for active athletes, but you don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from sports and exercise medicine.
These doctors are trained in how to treat non-athletes as well. In fact, those who aren’t athletes may need this care most of all if they don’t have the proper training to do their workout correctly.
What Are the Benefits?
Lastly, what even are the benefits of seeing someone like a sports physician?
Well, because these experts are specifically trained to help with sports-related injuries, they will be able to treat you better and offer you specialized care. They’ll understand more fully how exercise impacts the body and may be able to pinpoint exactly what injury you’re going through.
Learn More About Sports Medicine
These are only a few things to know about sports medicine, but it’s very important for your physical health.
If you’re active, you should consult a trainer or a physical therapist to ensure that you’re training properly and not hurting yourself.
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