Sports Medicine

The same injury means different things to a pitcher, a midfielder and a guard. Evaluation starts with the sport, the position, the point in the season and what the athlete is trying to get back to, because those factors change both the diagnosis being considered and the treatment worth recommending.

Fellowship training in sports medicine at Rush University Medical Center and experience covering professional athletes with the Chicago Bulls, Chicago White Sox and Chicago Fire set the standard for how these injuries are worked up and communicated. That same standard applies to collegiate, high school, masters and recreational athletes.

Sports injuries cluster into acute structural injury and overuse. Both are treated here, and the distinction guides how quickly imaging and intervention are appropriate. Joint-specific detail — including surgical technique and recovery timelines — lives on the pages below.

Many athletic injuries do not require surgery. Targeted rehabilitation, load management, bracing and time-limited activity change resolve a large share of them, and in-season decisions often weigh whether an athlete can safely finish a season before definitive treatment.

Where biologic treatment is a reasonable option, platelet-rich plasma is discussed honestly — including which conditions it is most reasonable for, what the evidence does and does not show, and the fact that it is self-pay because insurers do not currently cover it.

Clearance is a criteria-based decision. Motion, strength symmetry, hop and landing testing, sport-specific movement quality and the athlete's own confidence all factor in, and the criteria are shared with the athlete, their family and their trainer at the outset so the goalposts are clear.

Communication with athletic trainers, therapists and coaching staff is deliberate throughout, and progression is documented in written protocols rather than passed along verbally.