Sports Medicine

What is sports medicine?

Doctors specializing in sports medicine have undergone specific training to restore function and alleviate pain in patients suffering from sports injuries. Most sports medicine physicians treat a wide range of athletes, from middle school players to professionals.

Dr. Bulczynski provides pain management expertise, orthopedic care, and spine care to help you recover from your injury, relieve pain, and maintain peak performance throughout your treatment plan. Some of the most common sports medicine specialties include:

• Rotator cuff tear
• ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery
• Bursitis
• Tendinitis
• Degenerative joint disease
• Meniscus tear
• Back pain
• Shoulder pain
• Knee pain
• Tennis elbow

Sports medicine doctors can also help prevent telltale injuries before they even occur.

When should I see a doctor?

Supervised treatment under a trained specialist raises your chances of a full recovery without complications. It’s important to see a doctor right away if you experience any of the following sports injury symptoms:

• Joint inflammation and swelling
• Unbearable pain
• Sudden pain from an old injury
• Inability to put weight on your injury
• Extreme muscle weakness

If you notice mild inflammation, slight bruising, and redness surrounding the injury, you can try a few at-home treatments before seeing a doctor:

Rest

After an injury, rest and elevation are extremely important to your recovery. Proper rest can help repair tissue damage, reduce inflammation, and alleviate pain. Call Dr. Bulczynski if your pain doesn’t improve after a few days of rest.

Ice and heat therapy

Ice helps reduce pain and inflammation, allowing your injury to heal better on its own, while heat therapy keeps your joints flexible and loosens tight muscles. When used intermittently, ice and heat therapy alleviates pain and expedites the recovery process.

Compression

An elastic bandage, compression sleeve, and compression socks all work by putting pressure on your sports injury to reduce swelling. However, if instability is the issue at hand, it’s important to contact Dr. Bulczynski, as he may recommend fitting you for a brace.

Your injury may require more in-depth treatments such as surgery. However, if you want to avoid further surgical procedures, Dr. Bulczynski is trained in groundbreaking treatments such as:

Stem cell therapy

Stem cell therapy is a minimally invasive procedure that allows trained physicians to repair damage to your ligaments, tendons, muscles, and cartilage. During the treatment, stem cells are injected directly into your injury site to stimulate your body’s natural healing process.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy

PRP therapy involves taking your own blood and isolating its platelets, then reinjecting plasma with extra levels of platelets to repair damage to your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Much like stem cell therapy, PRP is designed to stimulate your body’s healing process to help you recover sooner.

Dr. Bulczynski can diagnose your sports injury and get you back to playing the sports you love. Call Andrew Bulczynski, MD, or book an appointment online today to learn more about your treatment options.