Sports Medicine

Sports medicine focuses on helping people improve their athletic performance, recover from injury and prevent future injuries. It is a fast-growing health care field, because health workers who specialize in sports medicine help all kinds of people, not just athletes.

 

 

 

 

 

Specializing in the treatment of athletes and other physically active individuals, sports and exercise medicine physicians have extensive education in musculoskeletal medicine. Dr. DeForest treats injuries such as muscle, ligament, tendon and bone problems. Dr. DeForest also treats chronic illnesses that can affect physical performance, such as asthma and diabetes, she also gives advise on managing and preventing injuries.

 

Specialists in sports medicine diagnose and treat any medical conditions which regular exercisers or sports persons encounter. The majority of her time is therefore spent treating musculoskeletal injuries, however other conditions include sports cardiology issues, unexplained under-performance syndrome, exercise-induced asthma, screening for cardiac abnormalities and diabetes in sports.

 

 

 

 

Here are just some of the injuries and conditions encountered by Dr. DeForest

Concussion

One of the safest and most reliable methods of treating this condition continues to be chiropractic care. Even in patients who are not suffering from a head or neck injury, chiropractic adjustments are often used to restore the spinal column to its proper alignment. While this helps virtually everyone to improve their health, it really can benefit patients in the aftermath of a concussion, since it often successfully restores function and mobility to the affected area.

Low Back Pain

For low back strain, Dr. DeForest can do adjustments to increase your range of motion and reduce pain. She can also take you through lower back exercises and core training to make your back muscles stronger and more supportive.

Muscle Cramps

There are a variety of causes that can lead to muscle spasms. One of the most common is prolonged or excessive exercise. Manipulation allows your spine and joints to restore normal motion, which in turn leads to reduced pain and a decrease in muscle spasms. Soft tissue manipulation is another common technique used when treating muscle spasms. Treatment can include therapeutic stretching and massage therapy. These types of treatments help to reduce fluid, decrease scar tissue and provide relief for muscle spasms.

ACL Injuries

Your knee relies on muscles and nerves all over your body, and suffers when you lose control over those. Your ACL injury may be the indirect result of broader problems with your muscles and spine. By adjusting your neck, back, hips and extremities, they’ll give you more control and power in your knee, mitigating the effects of ACL injuries and preventing further accidents.

Jumpers Knee

The main goal in caring for patellar tendonitis is to reduce inflammation and get the knee back to its optimal condition by rehabilitating underlying problems. To do this, Dr. DeForest may use joint adjustments, ultrasound therapy, ice applications and rehabilitative exercises. Your knee’s will be assessed for joint restrictions, and perform an adjustment if any are found. Adjustments involve quick, strategic thrusts to stuck or misaligned joints with either the hands or a device called an activator to help decrease pain and inflammation and improve mobility, flexibility and comfort.

Achilles Tendonitis

Running, jumping, cycling, and even standing on hard surfaces all day can place tremendous stress on the Achilles tendon.  Over time that repetitive stress can lead to tiny tears, called micro-tears, in and around the tendon.  The body produces scar tissue in response to these tears, leading to stiffness, inflammation and pain.Chiropractic can help restore normal motion to the joints of the foot and ankle, helping to reduce the stress placed on the tendon and lower leg.

Hamstring Injury

A common sports injury, hamstring train can be easily treated. Treatment can include adjustments to address tightness in the joints, muscle work to break up scar tissue, and stretches to increase flexibility. Dr. DeForest will also check to see if patients have muscular imbalances, which could lead to recurring hamstring injuries.

Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator cuff injuries are seen in everyone from baseball and football players to painters and carpenters. Chiropractic can aid in recovery with stretching, strengthening, and mobilization.