Do you know when you need to see a sports medicine doctor instead of a surgeon? Many people don’t so Naomi Albertson, M.D., breaks down the differences below.
Understanding Your Sports Medicine Team: Physician vs. Surgeon
When you’re dealing with a sports-related or joint injury, it’s easy to feel confused about how to get help. Do you need a doctor with nonsurgical solutions, or is a surgeon your best bet? As a sports medicine physician, I want to help you understand the two key players in sports injury care: the sports medicine physician and the sports medicine surgeon. While both are key to getting you back in the game, our roles, training, and approaches are quite different.
Our Training: How We Become Your Sports Injury Experts
Sports Medicine Physician
My journey to becoming a trusted sports medicine physician involves a lot of dedicated training.
- Medical School: Just like any doctor, I started with four years of medical school.
- Primary Care Residency: Next, I completed a residency in a primary care specialty, specifically family medicine. This broad training gives me a deep understanding of your overall health.
- Sports Medicine Fellowship: After residency, I completed a specialized fellowship specifically in sports medicine. This is where I gained in-depth expertise in all aspects of sports-related injuries and conditions.
This extensive training means I’m equipped to handle a wide range of sports issues, not just muscle and joint problems. I can also diagnose and manage concussions, and address heart, lung, digestive, kidney, and hormone issues that can affect your activity levels. Plus, I’m a specialist in figuring out musculoskeletal problems and, most importantly, providing you with NON-surgical solutions. And because men and women often experience injuries differently due to their unique anatomy, physiology, psychology, and nutrition, I’ve received specialized training to address gender-specific concerns.
Sports Medicine Surgeon
A sports medicine surgeon’s path is rigorously geared toward surgical solutions:
- Medical School: They also begin with medical school.
- Orthopedic Surgery Residency: Their residency is specifically in orthopedic surgery, focusing on bones, joints, ligaments, and tendons.
- Sports Medicine Fellowship: Like me, they complete a sports medicine fellowship, but their focus within this fellowship is on surgical interventions for sports injuries, such as repairing a torn rotator cuff or reconstructing an ACL.
What We Do: Our Scope of Practice
Sports Medicine Physician
Think of me as your primary care provider for all things sports injury. My goal is to get you better without going under the knife, if at all possible. My scope of practice includes:
- Diagnosing and treating your sports injuries without surgery.
- Designing personalized rehabilitation and exercise programs to help you recover and get stronger.
- Evaluating your body’s response to exercise (physiologic evaluation/exercise physiology assessments).
- Focusing on preventing injuries before they happen and educating you on how to stay safe.
- Managing your care from start to finish, including reviewing X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans, performing injections for pain or to help tissues heal, and treating ongoing conditions such as arthritis or chronic tendonitis.
- Guiding you on important aspects of your health, including nutrition, concussion management, and proper exercise techniques.
- Addressing those specific injuries and conditions that affect women differently from men.
Sports Medicine Surgeon
Sports medicine surgeons are specialists who step in when surgery is the best or only option. Their focus is on:
- Surgical treatment of both sudden (acute) and long-standing (chronic) sports injuries.
- Performing procedures such as arthroscopy to repair cartilage or ligaments.
- Overseeing your care after surgery and ensuring you’re referred to the right rehabilitation specialists.
In essence, surgeons are experts who can skillfully repair complex musculoskeletal injuries that truly require an operation.
Approaches to Getting You Back in Action
Sports Medicine Physician
My approach is all about looking at your whole health and finding the least invasive way to get you back to your activities. I’ll:
- Create a detailed rehabilitation program tailored just for you.
- Utilize medications and injections to manage your pain and promote healing.
- Work closely with physical therapists, athletic trainers, and even your coaches to ensure a coordinated recovery plan.
Sports Medicine Surgeon
Sports medicine surgeons are focused on the surgical solution and your recovery from it:
- They’ll carefully assess if surgery is truly necessary based on how severe your injury is.
- They perform surgical procedures to fix the damage.
- They monitor your recovery after surgery and make sure you’re getting the right rehabilitation to heal properly.
The Takeaway: Who to See When
As an active person or athlete, both sports medicine physicians and sports medicine surgeons are important in caring for your musculoskeletal health. As a sports medicine physician, my priority is to help you recover and prevent future injuries using non-surgical treatments and comprehensive care. If your injury truly requires a surgical fix, that’s when a sports medicine surgeon becomes your specialist. By understanding our separate roles, you can confidently seek the best care for your specific needs and get back to enjoying your active life.