A healthy lifestyle is important for everyone. Whether you are young or old, an orthopedic specialist can help maintain your fitness and well-being. As a matter of fact, orthopedics clinics provide comprehensive medical care for musculoskeletal injuries and disease. These can include sports injuries, broken bones, and hip replacements.
What is orthopedics and sports medicine?
Orthopedic medicine and sports medicine is a branch of medical science that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of orthopedic or sports-related conditions. Orthopedics specialists provide comprehensive medical care for musculoskeletal injuries, such as fractures, sprains, dislocations and spinal abnormalities. Sports medicine physicians specialize in prevention, evaluation and rehabilitation techniques to help athletes maintain their physical health.
Common Orthopedic Injuries
Common orthopedic injuries include broken bones, sprains and dislocations. Orthopedic specialists may prescribe rest for minor injuries, immobilization with a cast or brace for more serious injuries such as fractures and surgery to repair complex joint problems
Sports medicine physicians specialize in preventing injury through strength training exercises and evaluating an athlete’s ability to compete after any orthopedic injury
Injuries can also occur during the game itself. Common examples of sports-related orthopedic issues are turf toe (bruising on the big toe caused by contact between shoe upper and ground), bursitis (swelling around an area where tissues meet) or tendonitis (inflammation from repetitive stress). As these conditions worsen, they can lead to inflammation in other parts of the body and be painful for patients to walk.
Sports Medicine Injuries
Sports medicine deals with injuries sustained in athletic competitions or in training.
Sports medicine physicians specialize in preventing injury through strength training exercises and evaluating an athlete’s ability to compete after any orthopedic injury. They are knowledgeable about the mechanics of the sport, as well as injuries specific to a given sport or activity such as football players with knee problems or mountain climbers with finger fractures. Sports medics also provide pre-participation physicals for athletes at risk due to previous injuries including cardiovascular exams, joint examinations, and counseling on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Preventing An Injury
One key component to orthopedics and sports medicine is the focus on injury prevention.
Sports medicine physicians specialize in preventing injury through strength training exercises and evaluating an athlete’s ability to compete after any orthopedic injury. They are knowledgeable about the mechanics of the sport, as well as injuries specific to a given sport or activity such as football players with knee problems or mountain climbers with finger fractures. Sports medics also provide pre-participation physicals for athletes at risk due to previous injuries including cardiovascular exams, joint examinations and counseling on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A sports physician will perform a full medical evaluation if they suspect that you may have sustained one or more orthopedic conditions during your participation in their particular event.
Maintaining an active lifestyle with a chronic condition or disability
Doctors working in the orthopedics field have the goal of treating patient’s conditions so they can live their lives as independently and comfortably as possible.
This will often be done with the use of orthopedic devices, such as braces or splints to immobilize a joint that is not healing properly on its own. It may also include an assistive device like crutches if your mobility has been impaired by surgery or injury. The goal for every patient is to live life in the way it was meant to be lived: without limitations caused by pain or disability.
The orthopedist you choose should have experience treating patients who suffer from chronic illnesses, are elderly, have disabilities, and are accident victims due to automobile accidents more than other types of injuries because this type of training is most important when dealing with these specific injuries.
Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Changes With Technology
As with most medical fields, orthopedics is quickly changing through research and technology. Patients with orthopedic injuries or diseases are now able to get implants, surgical treatments, and even joint replacement surgery that were not available in the past.
Injury analysis and treatment have changed with the advent of MRI
Examination and treatment can now be done more quickly than before because of new technologies such as X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, and nuclear medicine. All these changes have helped to better diagnose orthopedic injuries or diseases in patients who were suffering from chronic pain or disability.
Athletes are using technology that is not only helping them train for their sport but also prevent injury during a game to reduce downtime due to an accident. This includes things like GPS devices so they know how far they ran on foot while playing soccer; Nike+ FuelBand which monitors exercise intensity by tracking the number of steps taken and calories burned through movement sensors; Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity Tracker that counts your daily activity and each step a person takes.
These technological advancements help orthopedists track their patients’ activity levels and provide advice for the best way to continue exercising.
