advantages of PM&R over FP sports med?

toby2 · Mar 25, 2003

Hello all,

I am new to this forum, but have read many of the posts with interest. I am currently an M-2, interested in sports medicine, wellness, preventive med, and sports performance training. I was just curious if there is any real advantage to the education in PM&R vs a Sports med fellowship after an FP residency? From what I've read in this forum PM&R docs are trained to do various procedures, namely EMG/ NCS, and various nerve block injections. My question is, what is the value of these procedures to an athlete, unless there is some sort of nerve damage? It seems the main value of these injections is to relieve chronic pain, or spasticity, etc. But wouldn't neural blockade compromise athletic ability? What situations (if any) would something like this be useful for an athlete in rehab?

In other areas, what advantages (and disadvantages) does an education in PM&R have versus FP+ sports fellowship?

drusso · Mar 26, 2003

It's really a difference in orientation and emphasis. FP sport medicine guys tend to be primary care oriented and often work in a primary care practice and do sports med "on the side." PM&R trained sports medicine physicians are musculoskeletal specialists and take a specialty-oriented approach. FP guys do more things like pre-participation physicals and side-line medicine while physiatrists concentrate on optimizing the rehabilitation of the injured athlete. There are positive things to be said for each approach, it really comes down to how you view yourself in the larger scheme of things. I considered FP and then a sports fellowship but opted for PM&R because 1) I didn't want to spend 3 years managing DM, HTN, DUB, depression, etc; and 2) Being trained as a specialist fit better with my personality. I also wanted more advanced training in biomechanics, rehab modalities, gait analysis, neurology, pain medicine, etc. These things are available through PM&R but not included in a FP sports medicine fellowship.

toby2 · Mar 26, 2003

Thanks drusso,

Do you know any PM&R docs who are currently doing sports med? If so, how have they set up their practice (group or solo), and what other types of patients do they see (besides athletes)? Where is most of their referral base coming from?

toby2 · Mar 26, 2003

I should probably know this by now, but what is DUB?

drusso · Mar 26, 2003

DUB = Dysfunctional Uterine Bleeding.

I found an interesting website for a multi-specialty sports medicine group that includes orthopedic surgeons, FP-Sports Medicine, and PM&R. You might want to read the different biographies to get a sense of how each type of physician contributes to the overall care of injured athletes.

Orthopedic Sports Medicine

Family Practice Sports Medicine

Physiatric Sports Medicine

toby2 · Mar 27, 2003

Thanks drusso,

That is a good website, great PR. Does anybody *personally* know a PM&R doc who is actively practicing sports medicine, even in addition to a regular outpatient practice? In addition to athletes, what is their patient population like, what is a typical day like, and where do they get the majority of their referrals? I know some PM&R docs in my town but they mostly work in the hospital. I like the idea of working either with motivated (at least somewhat-motivated) patients with severe disabilities (i.e. from accidents, spinal cord injury, etc), and athletes who want to get back into their sport. Is somebody out there doing a combination similiar to this?

Thanks again drusso, for the feedback. I would appreciate any feedback from anybody about this.

advantages of PM&R over FP sports med?

toby2

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