Happy Monday, and welcome to Medical Mondays! I’ve gotten to do a Sports Medicine rotation before by way of working the Little League World Series back in 2015…but I’m back again, this time with a full month’s worth of Sports Medicine! :]!
So commences my “recap” of sorts of one of the rotations I’d been most looking forward to! <3 Of all the things I love about Family Medicine, Sports Medicine + Community Medicine (+ outreach) are probably the two I adore the most, so you can probably see why I was especially looking forward to in 2nd year!
Day in the Life: Sports Medicine
My former chief resident from last year is one of the Sports Medicine fellow this year, so I’ve been getting to work with him a lot!
Fall is probably the busiest time of the year for Sports Medicine, what with all the sports physicals for school and the start of Rutgers Football/Soccer/Field Hockey/Volleyball.
As part of the Sports Medicine fellowship track that I was accepted into earlier this year(!), I was assigned a high school to cover football games for.
It decided to start pouring from halftime and on. Guess who didn’t bring rain gear? :'( (Jason lent/gave me an umbrella and then snapped this photo.)
7:40/9am-5/6pm
In the daytime, I’m either at the office seeing my own patients, working with one of the sports medicine preceptors and seeing their patients, or over at Hale Center (for Rutgers Athletics) seeing their student athletes!
I’ve gotten to do a subacromial injections, carpal tunnel injections, trigger finger injections, knee injections + and hip injections. As you might know, MSK is and always has been my favorite body system. I’ve missed anatomy a lot and I’ve gotten rusty since the days where I used to tutor other med students in it, so that’s definitely something I need to refresh my memory on again!
Something to confess: I actually rarely watch sports. The only two I willingly follow are women’s gymnastics and MMA. (Once upon a time, I consented to sitting through football games because my then-SO was an avid fan. One of my former co-residents is now the one in charge of taking care of that very team! :O )
6/7-10/11pm (or weekend afternoons)
I’ve been trying to cover as many games as possible and it’s definitely interesting, to say the least! I already kindasorta mentioned the “first line of defense” in my post when I was covering the Little League World Series 2(?!) years ago.
The Athletic Trainer lets us know whether or not we’re needed on the field, and we also have EMS hanging out on the sidelines just in case.
Thus far during this rotation, I’ve covered…
-1 high school football game
-1 women’s soccer game
-1 men’s soccer game
So while it’s been busy, it’s definitely been interesting. We keep our fingers crossed for uneventful games, but are on standby in case we’re needed!
I do get most weekends free unless I choose to volunteer or cover games if I so choose. We got to celebrate my friend’s birthday over the weekend (and also go apple picking! :D )! Twas definitely an awesome time! We try to get all of us together to hang out once a month, but that unfortunately hasn’t happened since…April or May. Hopefully now that we’ve all taken our boards, that will change!
Things that have happened include:
- Concussions
- Ankle sprains
- Grade V shoulder separation
- Glenohumeral subluxation
- Cardiac arrest
- Syncopal episode
- Rib contusion
- Complete ACL tear
On my second-last day of this rotation, I went back + forth between student athletic centers to administer flu shots and see patients, then ran off to my regular clinic to see patients for sports med-related issues (got to do hip + knee injections!) and towards the end of the day, found out one of my continuity maternity care patients was in labor (I’ve been taking care of her since March!), so I camped out at the hospital until her son was born, then ran off to salsa night for a couple hours. The packed days are exhausting but definitely a ton of fun!
Overall, this has been a tiring rotation, more so because I want to try to attend and cover everything that I can. I’m exhausted, but really happy, which seems to be the general sentiment for all the sports med fellows I’ve talked to!
P.S. If my pregnant patient’s baby decides to be cooperative, guess who might get to help cover the the Rutgers vs. Purdue homecoming game on the 21st!? :D!! (Please send good thoughts, because I would lovelovelove to be able to go!)
- Did you play any sports in college?
- What’s your favorite sport?
- Check out previous Day in the Life’s!
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Ooh…tell me more about carpel tunnel injections? I have occupational injuries from using a mouse to click and drag for years…ugh. I will be in so much pain when I get old.
Joanne | No Plate Like Home recently posted…One Pot Ham, Potato and Corn Chowder
Standard treatment for carpal tunnel starts as conservatively as possible, but if taking anti-inflammatories (e.g. ibuprofen, naproxen) don’t help and wrist splinting (cock-up splints) don’t provide any relief either, you can try getting a steroid injection to calm down the inflammation for the median nerve! Relief likely won’t be permanent if no other changes are being made (e.g. if you have a job that requires you to do a ton of repetitive movements), but for a lot of people, it does provide at least a couple months of relief!
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
I’m 100% not a “team sport” person. I may be able to suffer through a football or hokey game on occasion, but otherwise…no…haha, just can’t!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine recently posted…Gluten-Free + Vegan Chickpea Nuggets (Allergy-Free, Grain-Free)
hahaha, I feel ya! These days, I attend games just to watch for injuries!
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
Glad you had such a great rotation! Sounds like you got to see and do a lot! Personally I love the ortho cases in the ER so I think I really would’ve enjoyed going into Sports Med.
Sonali- The Foodie Physician recently posted…Black Bean & Quinoa Veggie Burgers
Thanks, Sonali! :]! It was definitely a ton of fun–I miss it already! :[ I had a lot of fun in ortho too when I did that for a rotation during med school!
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
I only ever did sports in elementary school. I don’t really watch sports either, but I like soccer and ice hockey. That’s great that you’re enjoying working in sports medicine, even if you are crazy busy!
-Lauren
ShootingStarsMag recently posted…A Review: The BonBonerie Afternoon Tea
It was so much fun! I’m on Cardiology right now and everyone I’m working with is super nice, but I really miss sports med already!
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
This sounds like a fun rotation!
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby recently posted…What To Do After Food Sensitivity Testing
It definitely was! :]!
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
For most of high school I was set on playing softball in college. I eventually realized I would only realistically be able to play at community college level and then academics won over sports, ha.
Hannah recently posted…Books I read: September 2017
I kinda wish I’d played a sport in college (not that I was good enough for any of them, but hey, one can dream! :P ), but I know it definitely wouldn’t have been feasible, haha.
Farrah recently posted…Maple Pecan Peanut Butter Energy Bites
What a mixed bag of things to happen! This sounds like a fast paced and interesting round!
Kristy from Southern In Law recently posted…SIL in Hawaii: Why You Should Rent a Car in Oahu + Our Favourite Day Trips
It was a ton of fun! :D!!
Farrah recently posted…Chocolate Cinnamon Popcorn