You don't have to be a professional athlete to benefit from seeing a sports medicine doctor. In fact, you don't have to be an athlete at all. Dinesh Dhanaraj, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, says he sees patients of all athletic abilities, even those with no sports background. He says patients should understand that sports medicine doctors will try non-surgical therapies first, including physical therapy. They will turn to minimally invasive procedures, mainly arthroscopic techniques, if an operation is the only option. The goal is to get the person back to his or her best, active life.
Dr. Dhanaraj says he often sees patients with shoulder and knee issues, with injuries such as torn rotator cuffs or a torn ACL, an anterior cruciate ligament. These injuries can happen to anyone, from soccer players, to skiers, to volleyball players. But, he's also treated tennis elbow in patients who have never stepped foot on a tennis court. He adds that sports medicine doctors are used to treating injuries in high-performing athletes, so they can handle the needs of the weekend warrior, or less-active patient. He says the key is not to put off seeking treatment too long, because a delay could result in further damage.
Age is not an issue when seeing a sports medicine physician. Dr. Dhanaraj says part of his training was in treating children. He's also had experience with athletes involved in mixed martial arts and boxing, as well as treating dancers in a ballet company. He also has many older patients. With them, he tries to preserve the injured joint and prevent further damage while attempting to postpone or prevent the need for joint replacements.