Sports medicine is a wide-ranging field that focuses on the therapy and pharmaceuticals that relate to the treatment of sports-related injuries. There are some types of pain or soreness that are simply par for the course when you’re exercising or playing sports. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the type and amount of pain you feel in your muscles after working out. Obviously, as the name suggests, you should not feel this type of soreness until sometime has elapsed after your workout. Usually, the soreness grows in the hours after your workout and becomes most prominent the next morning. There are some signs, however, that might indicate the pain you feel is not normal. Sports medicine doctors can tell you if the pain you’re feeling is actually normal.
Therapy
Typically, sports medicine doctors in Orange CA tend to recommend therapy before they recommend more aggressive procedures. This type of therapy tends to begin with the easy at-home application of R.I.C.E.. The acronym stands for rest, ice, compress, and elevate. This is the process you should undertake when you are feeling soreness or pain. You should take some time off from sports, ice the affected area, compress it with some quality compression gear, and elevate the area above your heart. If that doesn’t work and doesn’t help you reduce your pain in a day or two, contact us to talk with a doctor.
Pharmaceuticals
Sports medicine doctors can also recommend pharmaceuticals in certain situations. Typically, they are slightly reluctant to recommend drugs until they get to the heart of the matter. A pain reliever might make you feel better, but it doesn’t address the root of your pain. If the root of the pain is some kind of imbalance or similar issue, the problems will only grow larger over time.
