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Tips To Recover From Sports Injuries Faster

Tips From a Bay Area Orthopedic Doctor for Your Sports Injury?

Sports medicine addresses injuries and provides rehabilitation with the goal of maintaining activity and exercise while healing progresses. Seeing an orthopedic doctor in San Francisco that specializes in sports medicine can get you back to the sports you enjoy as quickly as possible.

Twisting motions are usually the cause of sports injuries, especially soccer, basketball, football, and skiing. Sprains and tears to joints can occur, particularly the knee or ankle. Muscle strains or tears and overuse injuries such as tendonitis are also common.

Symptoms of Injury

Experiencing any of these symptoms means stop exercising and make an appointment with your Bay Area orthopedic doctor to get evaluated:

Swelling or significant bruising
Limping or other reduced mobility to limbs
Sharp pain with activity
Sharp acute pain or persisting soreness that lasts longer than 2-3 days
Pain that radiates or makes you limp, such as ankle or hip pain after a knee injury

Use RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) to promote healing until you can see a doctor.

Rest Stay off the injury and avoid any motion that causes discomfort.
Ice Apply ice to injury for 20 minutes every 2 hours.
Compression Apply pressure, using a compression sleeve or stocking.
Elevate Keep the location of injury above your heart.

The first 72 hours is critical if you have a muscle tear. Receiving medical care will have a major impact on the speed of recovery. A Bay Area sports medicine physician can help you reduce swelling, keep scar tissue from forming, and start you on physical therapy.


Preparing for a Meeting With A Sports Medicine Physician

Be ready to describe how the injury occurred. Photos or video footage can be helpful. This helps your doctor know what muscles and ligaments are affected and the severity of injury.

Eighty percent of making a diagnosis is based upon your medical history and exam. An MRI is not automatically necessary. It is used to confirm that a serious injury needs surgery, and clarifies the existence of other injuries. Surgery is typically not needed for a minor sprain or muscle injury. However, a torn meniscus or ACL in the knee, or the rotator cuff in the shoulder, will likely require surgery.

When in doubt, see a physician. An orthopedic surgeon in San Francisco will help you recover faster. Putting off medical care will only result in longer healing times.


Resuming Activity


Our doctors will want to make sure the following conditions are in place before returning to the sport: Full motion of the joints or muscle, normal strength, and no sharp pain during the activity.

As you recover, your doctor will provide you with options to keep you active and healing. A sports medicine physician can tailor an exercise program to meet your needs and offer suggestions of activities in the interim while protecting the joint or injury area.

Have You Injured Yourself and Need a Bay Area Orthopedic Doctor?

Contact IASM to get evaluated by one of our skilled sports medicine physicians. Wether you see Dr. Jeffrey Halbrecht or Dr. Ephraim Dickinson for a consultation, you will be in good hands! They will help get you back to your daily activities as quickly as possible. You can call 415-923-0944 to schedule a visit or use our convenient online form to schedule a virtual initial consultation from the comfort of your own home HERE

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