Sports medicine

Many athletes and active people try to work through injuries, seeking health care only after an issue worsens. 

At Advocate Health Care, our sports medicine physicians provide timely, nonsurgical care to treat and prevent injuries. Our services build your strength, function and skill. We can help you maximize your performance – no matter your level of athletic ability. 

What is sports medicine?

Sports medicine specializes in treatment and prevention of injuries related to exercise and sports. Our sports medicine doctors treat injuries and conditions that affect bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments. 

We also provide comprehensive primary care, customized to keep athletes and active people healthy. Primary care sports medicine doctors:

• Treat sports-related injuries
• Prevent or reduce the risk of injury
• Help you improve your sports performance
• Enhance your overall health and wellness

Sports medicine: Our team of specialists

At Advocate, our specialized sports medicine doctors have completed advanced training in sports medicine plus primary care, including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. They’ve built their expertise through years of treating athletes at all levels for a wide range of health conditions and sports injuries. 

Our sports medicine doctors have experience as team physicians for semipro and professional teams. Together with our certified athletic trainers, they help people at any level of athletic ability who want to stay active and improve performance.

Sports medicine treatments and services

When you contact us for an appointment, we get you in quickly – usually the same day. Our fast, accessible care helps you get treatment and relief as soon as possible, so you can heal and get back to the activities you enjoy.

Diagnosis and treatment for sports injuries

Our diagnostic and treatment options include:

• Thorough evaluation with in-office ultrasound and other on-site diagnostic imaging, such as X-ray, CT and MRI 
• In-office, ultrasound-guided procedures, such as corticosteroid injections to relieve pain and inflammation and platelet-rich plasma injections to improve healing
• Concussion treatment and management, including symptom assessment, testing and return-to-activity recommendation
• Customized exercise prescriptions for people who want to become more active 
• Preventive care that works on movement mechanics to help people avoid future injury 
• Therapy with physical, occupational and vestibular (balance) therapists to improve strength, function, balance and coordination
• Microinvasive procedures (percutaneous tenotomy) with ultrasound guidance to treat tendon injuries, such as Achilles and rotator cuff tendinopathy, tennis elbow and plantar fasciitis 

Specialized services for athletes and active people

We offer other services for athletes, community sports organizations and individuals, including:

• Patient education to help you understand the condition, answer your questions and know what to do (and not do) to improve
• Return-to-play and return-to-academics guidelines for school districts to help student athletes get back to a healthy level of activities at the right time
• Preseason neuropsychology testing as a baseline for comparison in case of later concussions for children starting at age 4 through adults
• Preventive and first-line care during practices and games for high school, recreational and professional league athletes
• Collaboration with podiatrists and orthopedic surgeons in the same location – often during the same visit – for surgical care as needed
• Referrals to other specialties, including:
• Nutrition services with registered dietitians
• Behavioral health specialists
• Ophthalmologists
• Cardiologists
• Neurologists 
• Neuropsychologists 

Sports injuries and conditions we treat

Our specialists treat people with almost any kind of sports or orthopedic injury that doesn’t require surgery. Some conditions we commonly see include: 

• Arthritis
• Back pain and conditions, such as scoliosis (spine curvature)
• Bone fractures and dislocated joints, such as the shoulder
• Concussions
• Overuse injuries, such as plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, tennis elbow and rotator cuff tear
• Strains and sprains, such as a pulled or torn muscle or ankle sprain
• Pain and injuries to bones, joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments