A Higher Level of Care
Sports Medicine Isn’t Just for ‘Athletes’
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here is no easy definition for the term “sports medicine.” It conjures many meanings and is prone to more than a few misconceptions. You don’t have to be a high-level athlete (or even an occasional jogger) to be treated by a physician who specializes in sports medicine. The fact is that many of the injuries associated with sports may also happen on the job or even working in the garden. Even most physicians who specialize in sports medicine tend to treat more injuries and illnesses that are not sports related. Many believe that all sports medicine physicians are orthopedists dealing only with injured joints, muscles and bones. But, says Seth Greenky, MD, medical director of St. Joseph’s orthopedic services, the fact is that only about 10 percent of sports-related injuries require the specialized skills of orthopedists like St. Joseph Hospital Health Center’s Glenn Axelrod, MD, Alfred Moretz, MD, Irving Raphael, MD, or L. Ryan Smart, MD. St. Joseph’s family medicine physicians like Michael Kernan, MD, Jennifer McCaul, MD, and James Tucker, MD, who serve as sports team physicians, treat by far a greater number of sports-related injuries and illnesses than their orthopedic counterparts. “Sports medicine is one spoke of St. Joseph’s orthopedic service line,” Dr. Greenky says. “The other spokes include fracture care, hand care, spine care and joint replacement. But it’s different in that it’s the only spoke that includes the surgical and medical (non-surgical) side of things.” One thing does appear to be common among those at St. Joseph’s who are involved in sports medicine: They seem to have a passion for it. Dr. Raphael, who has his own orthopedic practice, also serves as director of sports medicine and as team physician for Syracuse University. In 19 years with SU, he has missed only three football games. He works closely with Drs. Tucker, Kernan and McCaul who handle the non-orthopedic side of sports medicine for the university. Dr. Tucker, who started working with SU teams in 1987, says he spends between eight and 10 hours a day at St. Joseph’s and about eight to 10 hours a week with SU, and he never tires of it. Dr. Axelrod gained an interest in sports medicine when he was learning about arthroscopic surgery and saw the potential it offered for young people with sports-related injuries. Dr. Smart, who earned a fellowship in sports medicine before coming to Syracuse, started out on the other side when he was injured as a member of Cornell University’s hockey team. What could have been a professional hockey career when he was drafted, ended up as a career in sports medicine. This issue of the Caring Connection takes a look at the many facets of sports medicine. l
10 caring Connection
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St. Joseph’s hospital Health Center
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SPRING 2011
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www.sjhsyr.org