Dr. Zappala uses the latest information from the world of sports medicine when he performs his assessments on athletes. The information comes in the from of new studies, position papers, and twenty five years of experience. The world of sports medicine is constantly evolving and this is nowhere more apparent than in the management of concussions. Each year athletes die from injuries associated with concussions right here in our backyard. These injuries are preventable with proper medical care and early intervention. If you suspect that your child has sustained a concussion, assume that he or she has one, pull them from their sport and seek immediate medical attention. There are very specific criteria that are used to return an athlete to sport following a concussion and the licensed athletic trainer as well as the team physician are well versed in this process. It is critical that the steps are followed properly or serious consequences cab occur including death. This is why parents need to insist that wherever their child is competing, including practice, that there is a properly licensed athletic trainer on site to watch for these types of injuries.
Treating sports injuries continues to evolve as well. Modalities such as cold laser have been shown to be very effective at treating injuries to soft tissue and bone. Recently, South West Health has added Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) to its treatment regimens as well. This amazing tool allows us to treat multiple areas simultaneously by creating a systemic anti-inflammatory response to assist in removing damaged and inflamed tissue from the injured areas. In addition, the ancient art of acupuncture is also used extensively to treat acute sports injuries like ankle sprains, infrapatellar tendinitis as well as more chronic sports injuries like tennis elbow and shin splints. We also use instrument assisted soft tissue techniques to treat these injuries. Injuries to ligaments and tendons require great blood supply to heal properly and these soft tissue techniques assist in getting blood to these frequently injured connective tissues.