What is a Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician?
Sports Medicine doctors have special expertise in sports injuries but also in exercise medicine. A Fellowship Trained Sports Medicine Physician has completed one to two years of additional training through an accredited Fellowship Program and has passed a National Board exam to earn a Diploma in Sports Medicine. Many Fellowship programs require fellows to complete a Masters of Science in addition to their speciality training in Sports Medicine.
Sports Medicine doctors can help with the diagnosis and the non surgical management of injury. 90% of all sports injuries do not require surgical management. Sports Medicine doctors see both acute injuries, such as sprains and fractures and overuse injuries, such as bony stress injuries and tendinopathy.
Sports Medicine doctor helps patients maximize function and minimize disability and time away from work and sport. They can do this through accurately diagnosing your problem and making specific recommendations with regards to appropriate rehabilitation and assist with a durable return to sport. Often athletes undergo inadequate rehabilitation from injury and return to sport too early and in suboptimal condition. This can be prevented by getting an accurate diagnosis with education and appropriate rehabilitation and RTP plan.
Exercise medicine deals with issues such as overtraining, performance optimization, iron issues, sports endocrinology, and exercise physiology. These issues are often critical to athlete performance and well-being. Diagnosis and management are within the scope of expertise of Sports Medicine doctors.
To find a Sport and Exercise Medicine doctor you can search for one in your area on the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine website.
https://casem-acmse.org/public-directory/find-a-sport-medicine-doctor/
