What is a Sports Medicine Physician?
A sports medicine physician is a doctor with specialty training and board certification in sports medicine. These physicians have completed residencies in other medical specialties (such as family practice, pediatrics, emergency medicine, internal medicine, or physical medicine and rehabilitation) followed by a fellowship (an additional one to two years of training) in sports medicine. All the physicians at Carolina Family Practice and Sports Medicine are board certified in Family Practice and Sports Medicine.
A board certified Sports Medicine Physician has first completed a residency in Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine or Pediatrics then has gone on to complete a one or two-year fellowship in Sports Medicine. A specialty examination in Sports Medicine must also be passed before the physician can receive a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Sports Medicine. Sports Medicine Physicians treat a wide variety of injuries and illnesses common to athletes and other active people. The underlying belief is that physical activity is essential to the health of all people, and Sports Physicians are dedicated to helping people achieve and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle. Athletes represent a special population of active individuals with additional goals and physical demands specific to their chosen sport. Having a complete understanding of the nature of sport is needed to safely return an injured athlete to play as soon as possible or to optimize the athlete’s fitness
A sports medicine physician generally has a primary specialty in Family Medicine, Sports Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. They have then completed subspecialty training in sports medicine, caring for athletes and receiving education in sports medicine sciences. They then receive their CAQ (certificate of added qualifications) in Sports Medicine.
Before answering this question, one must define the field of sports medicine. Most people will identify muscle, bone/joint, or ligament injuries when asked to define a sports medicine problem. In truth, injuries represent a large percentage of the field of sports medicine. However, sports medicine is not limited to the bones, joints, and muscles. Often, there are medical conditions that affect participation in activities, like infection and illness, and concussions, for example. Athletes are people first, and can have chronic medical conditions like asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, and epilepsy, to name a few. Athletes often utilize supplements like creatine, protein, and many others, to enhance performance. Psychological problems like eating disorders and depression related to injury or illness preventing participation. The practice of sports medicine is probably best defined as the provision of orthopedic and medical care to active people, providing safe participation in their
They are experienced sports medicine physicians with a primary specialty in Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, most of whom obtain 1-2 years of additional training in sports medicine through accredited fellowship (subspecialty) programs in Sports Medicine. He or she is a leader of the sports medicine team, which also includes specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, other personnel and, of course, the athlete.
