Sports Medicine – Hand & Upper Extremity
Effective sports medicine takes a multidisciplinary approach, assessing an athletes overall well-being. Treatment plans are customized to the athlete for optimal outcome and rapid return to their sport. For both the traditional athlete (sports) and the non traditional athlete (musicians and performing artists), treatment must ensure a successful return to the same rigorous activity resulting in the initial injury or repetitive stress. What may work well in the non-athlete will not suffice for the recovering athlete returning to training/practice. Specialized protocols for athletes include both prevention and treatment. This is achieved through a collaborative effort with rehabilitation and physical therapy professionals as well as physicians within different disciplines.
An innate understanding of how the muscles, tendons and joints depend on one another and require their own type of balanced conditioning for optimal function is key in Sports Medicine. Education is a key part of an effective Sports Medicine program.
Common sports injuries in the upper extremity: