Friday, February 09, 2007
An Athletic Approach to Health Care
I was recently invited to address the annual meeting of the Connecticut Association of Sports Massage Therapists. In preparing for my talk, it occurred to me that 20 years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a neurologist to speak about sports medicine, no less to a group of massage therapists specializing in sports medicine.
In the past, the area of sports medicine was the sole domain of orthopedic surgeons and athletic trainers. Today, it is rare to find a college or professional sports team without a family practice doctor who has done a fellowship in sports medicine, a sports psychologist, nutritionist, strength and conditioning specialist, chiropractor, and massage therapist. That’s in addition to the athletic trainer and orthopedist. It’s clear that sports medicine has adopted a team approach to caring for athletes.
The rewards of using this concept become more evident each week as we watch increasingly spectacular athletic performances. Sports medicine has evolved from diagnosing and treating injuries to preventing injury by adequately preparing athletes for competition. An added benefit has been the increased longevity of athletic careers, notably Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Vinny Testaverde and Doug Flutie. We have also begun to see athletes like Tiki Barber retire after successful careers — not because they are unable to perform, but because they wish to pursue another career.
These success stories have led traditional medicine to follow the example of sports medicine by applying this team approach. You can see how that team approach works in this very column, which is written not only by physicians, but nurses and nutritionists as well.
The team approach works at hospitals, too. At Backus, teams are used in our centers for the treatment of trauma and cancer patients. This proven concept involves a multi-disciplinary effort toward prevention, treatment and — ultimately — longevity.
Traditional medicine has learned a valuable lesson from sports. In my next article, I’ll discuss specific examples of how this athletic approach to treatment has paid big dividends in our community.
Anthony G. Alessi, MD, is a member of the Backus Hospital Medical Staff and neurologist in private practice at NeuroDiagnostics, LLC in Norwich. This column should not replace the advice of your personal physician. Reach Dr. Alessi and all the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org
In the past, the area of sports medicine was the sole domain of orthopedic surgeons and athletic trainers. Today, it is rare to find a college or professional sports team without a family practice doctor who has done a fellowship in sports medicine, a sports psychologist, nutritionist, strength and conditioning specialist, chiropractor, and massage therapist. That’s in addition to the athletic trainer and orthopedist. It’s clear that sports medicine has adopted a team approach to caring for athletes.
The rewards of using this concept become more evident each week as we watch increasingly spectacular athletic performances. Sports medicine has evolved from diagnosing and treating injuries to preventing injury by adequately preparing athletes for competition. An added benefit has been the increased longevity of athletic careers, notably Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Vinny Testaverde and Doug Flutie. We have also begun to see athletes like Tiki Barber retire after successful careers — not because they are unable to perform, but because they wish to pursue another career.
These success stories have led traditional medicine to follow the example of sports medicine by applying this team approach. You can see how that team approach works in this very column, which is written not only by physicians, but nurses and nutritionists as well.
The team approach works at hospitals, too. At Backus, teams are used in our centers for the treatment of trauma and cancer patients. This proven concept involves a multi-disciplinary effort toward prevention, treatment and — ultimately — longevity.
Traditional medicine has learned a valuable lesson from sports. In my next article, I’ll discuss specific examples of how this athletic approach to treatment has paid big dividends in our community.
Anthony G. Alessi, MD, is a member of the Backus Hospital Medical Staff and neurologist in private practice at NeuroDiagnostics, LLC in Norwich. This column should not replace the advice of your personal physician. Reach Dr. Alessi and all the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org
# posted by ----------------- @ 12:50 PM 
