Committed to Peak Performance and Injury Prevention for Student AthletesStudent athletes have a lot on their plates: practice, training, studies, class time, sports events. One of the top priorities for a student athlete is maintaining good grades – both for future endeavors and current sports eligibility – but a close second is maintaining overall health to remain competitive.If you’re a parent of a student athlete, you know how much time, effort, and heart your child puts into their sport. And as a parent, you’d do anything to keep your child healthy and competitive. In addition to helping them successfully juggle multiple priorities and responsibilities, you can also help them maintain the physical health and strength to thrive by considering working with a sports medicine specialist.What is sports medicine?Sports medicine is a specialized branch of healthcare focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating injuries related to physical activity and sports, designed to keep young athletes performing at their peak while minimizing the risk of injury. Specifically, the sports medicine physicians at DOC Orthopaedics provide tailored guidance and solutions to help your teen reach their full potential:Injury Prevention and Education, including proper warm-up techniques, body mechanics, and techniques to prevent overuse injuries.Personalized Training Plans that include assessing your athlete’s physical condition, strengths, and areas of improvement to help athletes build their stamina, strength, and agility in a balanced and safe manner.Early, Accurate Diagnosis for a wide range of injuries and conditions to drive a healthy recovery.Maximize Nonsurgical Treatment for injuries and conditions that can be improved through alternatives such as injection therapies, physical and occupational therapy, medication management, immobilization and injury prevention strategies for specific sports.What types of injuries do sports medicine doctors treat?Sports injuries are not always traumatic or sudden—they can have subtle symptoms that progress over time. Sports doctors treat the full spectrum of musculoskeletal problems or anything that affects a student athlete’s bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and nerves. Some of the most common include:• Acute injuries, such as ankle sprains, muscle strains, knee and shoulder injuries, and fractures• Overuse injuries, such as rotator cuff and other forms of tendonitis, as well as stress fractures• OsteoarthritisIf your student athlete has experienced a recent minor injury – or has ongoing sports-related pain – that might benefit from the expertise of a sports medicine specialist, drop by our weekly Saturday Injury Clinic at our Decatur location.Visit the sports medicine experts in North Alabama.The sports medicine specialists at DOC Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine are committed to supporting our community’s student athletes. We have physicians who work closely with local community sports teams and schools including Austin High School, Decatur High School, West Morgan High School, Priceville High School, Hartselle High School, Danville High School, Falkville High School, Decatur Heritage Christian Academy, Brewer High School, Lawrence County High School, East Lawrence, and Hatton. DOC is also proud to be the team sports medicine provider for the Calhoun Warhawks.Since 1972, the specialists at DOC Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine have been committed to providing exceptional orthopaedic care through innovative techniques, quality services, patient communication, and education. With specialties ranging from general orthopaedics and physical therapy to sports medicine, joint replacement and more, the doctors at DOC Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine can provide local expert care for any orthopaedic disorder or injury and help put your life back in motion.
