When Should I See a Doctor for My Sports Injury? 

If you become injured from doing physical activity or engaging in sports, an orthopedic sports medicine doctor may be able to help you because they have specialized training in the treatment and prevention of injuries. They can help you regain your physical function and minimize your time away from work, school or sports. We can help treat conditions from shoulder pain and knee pain to hand injuries and more.

Sports injuries can happen during exercise or while engaging in a sport. Two types of sports injuries are:

• Acute traumatic injuries happen after a forceful blow, resulting in fractures, strains, cuts, concussions and sprains.
• Overuse injuries, also known as chronic injuries, occur from repeatedly repeating the same physical movement.

Sports injury symptoms may vary depending on the intensity and type of injury. If you have an acute injury, you may experience:

• Sudden and severe pain
• Extreme bruising or swelling
• Inability to place weight on a knee, leg, foot or ankle
• Inability to normally move a joint
• Extreme weakness of an injured limb
• An obvious dislocated bone or joint

If you have a chronic injury, you may feel:

• Pain when exercising or playing
• Swelling and a dull ache during rest

Some of the most common sports injuries we treat include:

• Achilles tendon rupture – this happens when the Achilles tendon ruptures, causing difficulty walking and sudden pain
• Dislocation – a bone is forced out of its socket, resulting in pain and swelling
• Fracture – a broken bone, including:
  • Acute fractures
  • Stress fractures
  • Growth plate fractures
  • Knee injuries – the most common of which are patellofemoral syndrome and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. A repetitive thigh bone and kneecap movement may result in patellofemoral syndrome or pain around the kneecap, while ACL tears happen when there is a sudden change in direction.Any of the following treatments may be needed to help restore knee function and stability depending on the affected area:
    • ACL injury treatment
    • Lateral collateral ligament injury treatment
    • Medial collateral ligament injury
    • Posterior cruciate ligament injury treatment
• Rotator cuff injury – damage in one of the four muscles that form the rotator cuff, which keeps your arm in your shoulder socket and allows you to lift and rotate your arm while keeping your shoulder stable.
• Sprains – tearing or overstretching of ligaments.
• Strains – tearing or overstretching of tendons or muscles.
• Swollen muscles – your body’s natural reaction to injury.

At Desert Care Primary and Specialty Care Orthopedics in Coachella Valley, CA, we have a team of highly experienced orthopedic physicians, nurses, physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists available to treat your injury or improve your joint mobility and strength. We will explore nonsurgical options first for your injury. Then, if you need surgery, we have advanced techniques to help you recover faster with minimal scarring.

Do Sports Medicine Physicians Perform Surgery?

Sports medicine doctors are generally trained to provide non-surgical treatment options, although some of them may further specialize in performing micro-invasive surgical procedures. A sports medicine doctor has the expertise to quickly identify if an orthopedic condition requires surgery and refer the patient to another provider.

Find an Orthopedic Specialist

Request one of our specialists to get a second opinion, or a really good first one. To find out more about Desert Care Network’s Sports Medicine Program, call 760-416-4511.