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Sports Medicine Physicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.

Related: Emergency Medicine Physicians General Internal Medicine Physicians Orthopedic Surgeons Pediatric Surgeons Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Physicians

Industries: Health & Counseling Government

Summary
Details

Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment.
Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise.
Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.
Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries.
Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions.
Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions.
Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.
Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques, and alert them to potentially dangerous practices.
Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.
Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.
Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions.
Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment.
Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens.
Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful.
Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being.
Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens.
Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.
Advise athletes on ways that substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results.
Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication.
Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills.
Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.

Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.

Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.

Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Education

Doctoral or professional degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Internship/residency

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

208,000+/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

100+/hr

Currently Employed

350,100

Yearly Projected Openings

9500

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Integrity
Concern for Others
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Cooperation
Initiative

Body composition analyzers
Canes
Crutches
Desktop computers
Diathermy units
Electrocardiography EKG units
Electrotherapy combination units
Full body immersion hydrotherapy baths or tanks
Gamma bone densitometers
Goniometers or arthrometers
Inclinometers
Knee therapeutic brace or support
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medical dynamometers
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI stationary units
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Muscle stimulator lead sets
Notebook computers
Orthopedic splint systems
Orthotics or foot care products
Parallel bars for rehabilitation or therapy
Peak flowmeters
Pedal exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy
Physiological recorders
Post operative shoes
Pulse oximeter units
Reflex hammers or mallets
Resistive exercise bands or putty or tubing for rehabilitation or therapy
Spirometers
Tablet computers
Therapeutic balls
Therapeutic heating or cooling pads or compresses or packs
Training stairs for rehabilitation or therapy
Treadmill exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy
Ultrasonic therapy apparatus or supplies
Weights or sets for rehabilitation or therapy