The vast commercialization of sports has rendered the need for the application of sports medicine. It is no longer uncommon to hear physicians, nutritionists and fitness experts as part of sports team personnel from basketball to hockey. The two-pronged goal of having sports medicine experts is to treat injuries among athletes and to prevent injuries from taking place. After all, injuries are very common – and can occur at anytime, including crucial points of a tournament — to athletes engaged in high-level physical warfare.
By conventional definition, sports medicine is concerned with the effects of exercise and sports on the human body, including treatment of injuries. By present usage, this field is functionally holistic as it involves various facets of keeping an athlete healthy and physically optimized to perform well during games. It includes the prevention and treatment of athletic injuries and the design of exercise and nutrition programs in maintaining peak physical performance – a sub-branch known as clinical sports medicine.
Dr. Pitchford’s Great Lakes Orthopedics & Sports Medicine offers sports medicine services to both elite and casual athletes. The services include treatment and rehabilitation due to sports injuries, including torn ACL’s, meniscal injuries, rotator cuff tears, and total joint replacements. Injury treatment aside, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Pitchford and his team of physiotherapists and fitness experts put emphasis on the value of being proactive as an essential sports medicine approach.
Instead of waiting for injuries to occur before visiting Great Lakes Orthopedics, athletes are invited to undergo a strength and fitness regimen. In combination with other factors like healthy lifestyle and and balanced diet, serious injuries may altogether be avoided by taking active part in sports medicine programs, and thus athletes can have more fun playing the game they love.
To schedule consultation or other inquiries, please contact us at (219) 365-0220 or via this page.
