What is Primary Care Sports Medicine?
Primary Care Sports Medicine is a dynamic and rapidly growing subspecialty in the medical field. Traditionally, sports medicine has dealt with musculoskeletal injuries sustained by athletes and thus has been a responsibility assumed by orthopedic surgeons. However, as our general population has become more active, it has become quite clear that sports medicine is a specialty that can have a far-reaching appeal to people of various backgrounds, ages and activity levels. Today, sports medicine is a service not limited to just Olympic-caliber, high-performance athletes but one that also addresses the needs of recreational athletes, “weekend warriors” and people just looking to stay fit or people who have been largely sedentary but want to become more active. With this expanded approach to injuries of activity comes the need to be able to diagnose and manage common medical conditions that may occur acutely or chronically such as diabetes, hypertension and respiratory illnesses in these patients. Primary Care Sports Medicine physicians, based on their background and training, can care for these active patients with an approach that focuses on a patient's overall well-being and health.
At Saint Mary's Center for Sports Medicine, Dr. Todd Lorenc brings this “whole health” perspective to providing comprehensive medical care to active populations of all ages and skill levels. He is a Board Certified Family Medicine Physician who completed his residency training at the St. Joseph's Family Medicine Residency in Syracuse, New York. He also completed his Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Nevada, Reno and holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine. In addition to his own athletic endeavors that have included rugby, baseball, football, hockey and running, Dr. Lorenc has worked extensively with athletes at the University of Nevada and Syracuse University and currently serves as the Team Physician of the NBA Development League's Reno Bighorns. As a result of his personal and professional experience, Dr. Lorenc is able to provide personalized, multidisciplinary care that is committed to maximum healing, fast recovery and maintenance of peak performance.
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Do orthopedic surgeons and primary care sports medicine doctors compete for the same patients, often creating an air of ill will?
No. Most orthopedic surgeons are more than happy to get assistance in managing the many non-surgical patients that would normally be referred to them. Sometimes, patients end up being referred to an orthopedic surgeon for a problem that can easily be managed by a sports medicine physician simply because the referring physician was unaware that primary care sports medicine doctors exist.
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So who should I see first for my injury: a primary care sports medicine doctor or an orthopedic surgeon?
In some instances, your injury will be one that can only be treated by surgery so you would be better off seeing an orthopedic surgeon first, if your insurance allows it. However, most activity injuries and fractures can be easily managed by a primary care sports physician. If, despite conservative treatment, your injury requires surgery, a primary care sports medicine physician can often make this determination. As you can imagine given their scope of practice, sports medicine physicians know the local orthopedic community very well in case you need a good recommendation for a surgical referral.
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Do sports medicine physicians only treat competitive athletes?
No. An individual does not have to swing a racket, run down a track or shoot a basketball to get a sports injury. Rather, sports-type injuries can occur in everyday life, such as carrying a toddler up the stairs or lifting bags of topsoil while gardening. Sports medicine physicians are ideal physicians for the non-athlete as well and are excellent resources for the individual who wishes to stay active or become more active. For the “weekend warrior” or "industrial athlete" who experiences an injury, the same expertise used for the competitive athlete can be applied to return the individual as quickly as possible to full function. From hard-core sports injuries to recreational over-use injuries, Dr. Lorenc provides comprehensive care for patients of all ages and is committed to maximum healing and fast recovery.
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