Whether you’re a professional athlete, you’ve joined a local school team, or you play pickup basketball at your local YMCA, sports medicine is a branch of health care that offers a range of services to serve and support you. No matter your level of play, a few common sports injuries can take you out of the game:
- Dislocated joint
- Achilles tendon injury
- Ligament tears
- Shin splints
- ACL tears
- Tennis elbow
- Sprains
- Strains
At Premier Spine and Sports Medicine, our knowledgeable doctor, Christopher Clark, MD, specializes in prevention therapies, pain management, regenerative treatments, and musculoskeletal medicine to help you exercise and play sports safely. Here, he outlines a few of the top therapies that can help you stay at the top of your game.
Platelet-rich plasma injections
If you have injured joints, ligaments, muscles, or tendons, you might be a candidate for an innovative, natural therapy known as platelet-rich plasma therapy (PRP). The treatment uses your own concentrated blood platelets, which Dr. Clark injects into the target area, to speed up healing of the following conditions:
- Tendon tears
- Inflammation from a sports injury
- Muscle injuries
- Golfer’s elbow
- Chronic tendinosis
High-profile athletes like Tiger Woods have popularized PRP therapy in recent years.
Radiofrequency rhizotomy
If you have persistent facet joint pain that hasn’t resolved with other treatments, minimally invasive radiofrequency rhizotomy can interrupt pain signals from the joint to the brain. The therapy works by heating up and destroying your medial branch nerves so they can’t communicate pain.
Spinal manipulation
Spinal manipulation is a complementary medicine technique Dr. Clark uses to apply force to your spinal joints to realign your spine. It’s commonly used for sciatica, lower back pain, and neck pain. Many athletes use spinal manipulation therapy to enhance their performance, while others seek spinal manipulation for its pain-relieving effects.
Acupuncture
Dr. Clark offers medical acupuncture to treat acute and chronic sports injuries and relieve pain. During your acupuncture session, he places dozens of ultra-thin needles at specific pressure points linked to energy pathways in your body. The needle stimulation causes your body to release endorphins, which improves how you feel.
Talk to Dr. Clark about your specific sports injuries or pain condition so he can customize a treatment plan for you. Call Premier Spine and Sports Medicine today to set up a personal consultation with Dr. Clark, or use the online scheduling feature.