"Lexington-based orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Mary Lloyd Ireland has spent the last 30 years bringing the field of sports medicine from the courts of competitive athletics into the lives of everyday people. Thanks to those efforts and more, Ireland, of Kentucky Sports Medicine, was recognized in this year's April issue of Men's Health as one of America's Top Doctors for Men, a ranking of "those physicians who have the knowledge, the experience and the tools to maintain and repair the 21-century man."
That's not to say that Ireland's designation as a go-to sports medicine physician for men comes at the exclusion of women. She is also the co-author of The Female Athlete, a book focusing on the unique physiological and medical aspects of active women involved in competitive and recreational sport. Through her work on behalf of both sexes, Ireland has become a national leader in ensuring that, regardless of athletic ability, people with orthopaedic injuries get the same care that is afforded to top athletes.
Sports medicine growth spurt
The majority of athletic injuries are musculoskeletal: soft tissue traumas that affect the muscles, ligament or tendons. According to The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), sports medicine emerged in the 1960s, driven by the need for specialized care for youth and collegiate athletes. By the 1980s, the science of sports and exercise expanded to address treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of repetitive stress injuries for a broader range of athletes, and even non-athletes.
"In Lexington, we have the benefits of having very good sports medicine doctors, at Kentucky Sports Medicine, the Lexington Clinic and University of Kentucky," said Jim Rothbauer, regional vice president of Drayer Physical Therapy. "We have some very progressive physicians, they're in the literature, and they're nationally recognized. I think we're ahead of the curve compared to communities of similar size across the nation."
Drayer Physical Therapy is located in the same building as Kentucky Sports Medicine. Rothbauer and Scott Crook are both physical therapists who have been a part of the mainstreaming of sports medicine, especially in the Lexington region. Physical therapy is an integral part of helping patients regain performance levels — whether getting back in the game or going back to work.
The sports medicine model of physical therapy is based on individuals' goals and provides aggressive care through exercise and manual-type treatment to recover function, thoroughly and quickly.
The growth in the demand for sports medicine can be linked to changing attitudes toward fitness in the last decade. Rothbauer said that people have begun to take their fitness levels more seriously, yet injuries occur.
"Their goal is not just to feel better but to play or exercise like they did before they got hurt," he said.
Also, athletes who played competitively in high school and college continue to be involved in sports after graduation. Their competitive drive may not wane, but the time dedicated to training is shortened. High performers sustain injuries even when they are in good physical condition. Sports medicine is the fastest track back to regaining performance.
Another trend is that baby-boomers are stepping up to the plate to push for sports medicine treatment, too. Now the "age of arthritis" is slowing down boomers with degenerative joint problems. More focus is on prevention, preserving and restoring the joint functions for boomers who are active and intend to maintain physical fitness.
"With sports medicine, people reach their recovery goals faster, and they have a good experience in the process. For employers, that means employees have less down time and come back to work, ready to work," said Rothbauer.
Playing injured
Research reported in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2006 spotlights a trend that Scott Crook, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and manager of Drayer Physical Therapy center on Perimeter Drive, knows to be true: younger athletes are sustaining injuries that require medical attention earlier. Without proper care, these injuries can cause physical complications into adulthood.
"Ten years ago, we didn't see the injuries in high school athletes and middle school players like we do today," said Crook. "Back then, no one thought of seeing 12- or 13-year-olds getting ligament injuries from playing sports." Instead of playing a variety of sports to work different muscle groups, young athletes are specializing in one sport. Not only are these young athletes still growing, they're overusing certain muscles groups and putting too much stress on their bodies. Said Crook, "In baseball, soccer, cheerleading and other sports, young athletes are specializing earlier, and encountering injuries earlier as a result."
Crook pointed to year-round baseball as an example. Adolescents identified as "special'' talents are at risk of shoulder and elbow injury because of the volume of pitching and throwing required in year-round play. Even at the Little League level, there is a downside to injuries that have long-term repercussions: players miss being seen by scouts, coaches question the players' ability to perform at previous levels, and young people must deal with the emotional side of healing from a physical injury.
In the Lexington area, orthopaedics and physical therapists have joined together to promote injury prevention programs to parents and coaches of young players. In January, Ireland joined Drayer to offer a Little League Baseball Coaches symposium to help adults involved in youth athletic programs recognize injury and know when medical attention is needed.
A word to the wise: the old sports adage "push through the pain" may push up risk of injury.
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