Sports medicine is the practice of diagnosing, healing and rehabilitating patients from injuries or illnesses that occur through their participation in sports or athletic activities. Young athletes of all ages, weekend warriors and seniors who wish to keep fit can all benefit at times from sports medical services.
Treatment for sports injuries can involve certified athletic trainers, primary care physicians and osteopaths, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and exercise physiologists. They treat sports related injuries of the neck, back and spine, hip, knee, foot, ankle, shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist, and hand. Though many might call themselves a “sports medicine” specialist, this category is not recognized as such by the medical community in the U.S. So sports medicine doctors begin achieving such recognition by initially completing medical training, residency and certification in another area of study: most often in the fields of Orthopedics or Osteopathy.