Multi-sport doctors
1127
Member
985 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
Yeah...it's called a PT.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
2
Member
512 days
jhcolli posted 1 year ago.
:\
Never met a PT who could order blood work. Why pay two people when I could just get one to tell me what I need from a medical perspective? Not to mention one that is held accountable for their actions and diagnosis.
4496
Member
1644 days
kylie posted 1 year ago.
jhcolli;72673 wrote:
Why pay two people when I could just get one to tell me what I need from a medical perspective?
But if you are looking for specialized information and advice, chances are you'll need... well, a specialist. They have the stronger knowledge in their field (ie sports injuries and health), but they won't be able to do everything. I tend to have a few docs: general, girly, chiro, etc. I don't pay two people for the advice from one, but set the appointment with the doctor that can best help me with the reason I'm going in. Any general doc can give basic nutrition and sports info... it just won't necessarily be with an athlete mindset or really understanding what you want to do and why.
815
Member
1168 days
dr_rios_ec posted 1 year ago.
My good friend, as a doctor specialized in Internal Medicine, let me tell you that you might not need to find a specialist to find a doctor capable enough to order proper lab work for you. Any one even a General Practitioner will have the knowledge to order the right stuff, and give you advice in nutrition and health.
Now, there are local running or tri clubs, or at running/tri stores who already have contact info for doctors who are athletes too!! That makes a whole world of difference.
Now if you really want to tackle this issue from the very bottom a Sports Medicine Specialist would be a good choice.
Now for our fellow athlete who says that a PT is like a doctor I have to mention that it a terrible mistake.
I want to be respectful enough with every PT who stops by this forum and say that we are 2 different species, I am talking about PT and doctors...for many, plenty of reasons...I do not say that we are better or worst than they are. I would say that they do things that we don't and we do others that they don't.
So for the general knowledge and culture of everybody here, PTs and docs, we are different species so don't get confused.
Hope this helps.
-Santiago
"Man!! Defeat is worse than dying, cause´you have to live with it" -My Dad
"It ain´t about how hard you can hit...it is how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"-Rocky Balboa
1127
Member
985 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
jhcolli;72673 wrote:
:\Never met a PT who could order blood work. Why pay two people when I could just get one to tell me what I need from a medical perspective? Not to mention one that is held accountable for their actions and diagnosis.
I've never had a good experience talking to a doctor about anything athletic. I've had a lot of MRIs and X-Rays that came up with nothing. I've also had massages and strength exercises fix things that doctors have told me didn't exist. I'm sure that there are some great sports medicine doctors out there, but they're going to be very hard to find. Most doctors spend most of their time working with older people who just want to take some pills to make them feel better. Although PTs spend plenty of time dealing with that, too, they see a lot more athletes than most doctors. You're going to need someone to help you with minor pains from stressed tendons and tight muscles a lot more than you're going to need blood work. If you get sick, see a doctor. If your knee hurts, see a PT or massage therapist.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
815
Member
1168 days
dr_rios_ec posted 1 year ago.
UFTriGator;72703 wrote:
I've never had a good experience talking to a doctor about anything athletic. I've had a lot of MRIs and X-Rays that came up with nothing. I've also had massages and strength exercises fix things that doctors have told me didn't exist. I'm sure that there are some great sports medicine doctors out there, but they're going to be very hard to find. Most doctors spend most of their time working with older people who just want to take some pills to make them feel better. Although PTs spend plenty of time dealing with that, too, they see a lot more athletes than most doctors. You're going to need someone to help you with minor pains from stressed tendons and tight muscles a lot more than you're going to need blood work. If you get sick, see a doctor. If your knee hurts, see a PT or massage therapist.
As a doctor, but most of all as a fellow athlete, I am tremedously sorry to read what you just posted here.
You know good docs, are not really hard to find, but is much easier from the general public to seek medical atention at cheap places, where the standar of care is lower than spected.
I am an Internist, and an athlete like you, during my practice I have to say that my patients are around 30's and 40's seriously, and yes I have a few elder patients.
Here in Ecuador at my office I see plenty of athletes, most from my club here, mountain climbers, adventure turists from the US and England, so I guess your view in this particular matter of the universe my friend is pretty lousy to say the least.
Do your homework better next time, seek for some better care, and as I said before:
PT'S AND DOCTORS ARE DIFFERENT ANIMALS.
We complement each other because in Medicine and Health we all work as a team.
PD: Now I can perfectly understand that is much cheaper to pay a PT than a consult with a doctor.;)
-Santiago
"Man!! Defeat is worse than dying, cause´you have to live with it" -My Dad
"It ain´t about how hard you can hit...it is how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward"-Rocky Balboa
4496
Member
1644 days
kylie posted 1 year ago.
I have to say my experiences have been much like Gators -- It's HARD to find a doc around here that will listen when talking about sports/exercise. Yes, they encourage some level of activity, but they are like most people when it comes to tris and don't really seem to understand what it entails and the added physical stress on our bodies (which plays a role in mental/emotional stresses). I have had multiple general docs just basically ignore pains which I wasn't ok with (numb hands when riding after a wrist injury, shin pain, etc). I had to battle with them for any recommendation other than "don't run for a week and see if it helps". I have tried many docs (in both HMOs and PPOs) and without a thought to the cost of the appointments. Happily I recently came across a recommendation to one who seems to be the last person who'd understand, but he gets it! And he even agrees with meds only if needed, and not for every little sniffle.
It took a LOT of searching, but for now I'll stick with him. I wish there was a better network for finding docs with sports interests themselves, as they seem to understand better.
1127
Member
985 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
I had a really great doctor a few years ago who was an All-American backstroker. He helped me a ton with my shoulders, and was always a great listener about what was going on. I think that most doctors who are also athletes are probably like that, and I'm sure that you're no exception. I'm just saying that I've been to several doctors who weren't athletes and wouldn't listen to me. They'd do exactly what they told their other patients to do, which most of time is to "just stop doing the thing that hurts." When running hurts, that's not an acceptable answer to me. I want the problem fixed, not avoided....especially when it's something that I really can't avoid (like running, swimming, etc.). The one doctor/athlete I've seen understood this and was able to help me. The rest kept telling me that nothing was seriously wrong and that I'd be okay if I just stopped swimming. Not cool. I am well aware that doctors and PTs are very different, and I'm saying that here in the states I've had far better luck talking to PTs about sports injuries.
On the other hand, so far I'm the only one in my family who hasn't had shoulder surgery before even finishing high school because of swimming. I've had doctors talk about it, but I've been lucky enough to get by without it. My little brother and sister have both had to have surgeries because of swimming, and there's no way that I'd want a PT doing that.:D
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
Does anyone here have a doctor that is knowledgable about multi-sport medicine and/or nutrition? I just moved to Atlanta, GA and I'm starting to train for my first triathlon. I would like to find a primary care doctor who knows what to look for in blood testing, can offer advice and help me be conscious of multi-sport related injuries. Maybe it's pipe dream to find a doctor like this, but please let me know if I should expect to find one out there or not.
Thanks