Sports medicine is an up and coming field that is both lucrative and exciting. With the ever growing epidemic of long-term pain, chronic conditions and addiction that is destroying the lives of tens of millions of people with little or no hope of real recovery, many physicians have had enough of the liability and misery are heading in a different direction. The physicians and coaches who can deliver in four sectors of this specialty market win.
In order to compete in this new growing field you first have to deliver the most advanced technology and be able to deliver results that other practices cannot. The athletes, often with world-class status demand the best of the best. They hire the top coaches and consultants for everything from their public status, appearance. platform and publicity. This new field is a hybrid form of part doctor, part coach and part mechanic. To make it in this world your techniques have to not only maintain health and performance but radically enhance it, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Secondly a big challenge especially for those physicians who moved away from traditional pain management clinics is that unless you can eliminate chronic pain you drop to the bottom of the pile. Pain is a huge problem and must be repaired, not masked with drugs, which has its own additional set of problems. Surgery as the repair choice often costs the athlete their entire career if it doesn’t mend properly or there is recurring pain after the body mends. This happens a great deal of the time. Time is of the essence in the most extreme way for the world-class athlete. Waiting around to get well enough to perform their sport can be the very thing that costs them their career.
The third challenge for the contenders is this ever growing field is the ability to deal with the Achilles heel, chronic illness and conditions. Chronic conditions have a huge affect on the performance and skill of the athlete. These conditions interfere with the training and rest and recuperation, and body strengthening and brain function. These can range from physical issues like acid re-flux, arthritis, insomnia, fibromyalgia, digestion problems as well as those affecting mental and emotional states such as anxiety, depression, addiction, ADD, OCD, eating disorders and migraines.
The added stress of competitions makes these and many other conditions an ongoing problem for top performers. Concussion awareness has started a new trend in athlete care requiring better care and proof of true restoration before allowing a player to compete. Improving performance, speed and skill is the name of the game and you must deliver the techniques that perfect these skills to stay on top.