DOC TALK WITH DR. PALOMERA AND DR. GIRLING: DO I HAVE TO BE AN ATHLETE TO GO TO SMASA?
Two of our physicians discuss one of the TOP questions prospective patients have:DO I HAVE TO BE AN ATHLETE TO GO TO SMASA?
Dr. Palomera: How often do you get asked by patients or by friends - Do I have to wear a jersey? Do I have to be on a team? Do I have to see sports medicine associate?
Dr. Girling: I love it, as a hip and knee revision and reconstructive replacement specialist.
Dr. Palomera: They probably wonder what you're doing.
Dr. Girling: I know right, they come in all the time. They're like, "I didn't know y'all did joint replacements." And I'm like, "Well, that's about 80% of what I do is joint replacement." So obviously, most of my knee replacement patients are not actually playing contact football that might surprise you. It's very true. No, I think it's, you know, it's an incredible building block for the group that we take care of so many athletes, including professional teams like the Spurs and college teams like Trinity. And, you know, y'all, y'all have served team positions for those teams for so long. That was the basis for the group, but it's certainly not the only people we treat.
Dr. Palomera: Yeah, I can remember in the original meetings with now 17 years ago, when we started the group, we wanted to make a name for sports medicine. And over the years, I've told people Yeah, we love seeing athletes on teams, we see a lot of weekend warriors, you know, and so forth. But really, what the devotion is, is to keep active people active. And we see all orthopedics, we try to really specialize and make ourselves known in the sports medicine world, as physicians and surgeons. And what that really translates to in English is it's keeping you active, keeping you active, helping you do the things you want to do if you're on a team. It's important to be playing and be practicing. That's why you're on a team, or your parents pay for you to be on a select team or whatever. As a parent, I always wanted to see my kids play for their high school. So when they were missing due to injury, it's kind of a bummer. Oh, you want them to do well, but it's kind of a letdown on another level. But if we could keep people active, they're more self-sufficient. Yep, they can care for themselves. They're bound to be more active playing sports. And so we pride ourselves on being Sports Medicine Associates, taking care of all the teams and schools we have over the years. But really what we work on is our service and our devotion to patients and getting them better. Without much dysfunction without much done.
Dr. Girling: I've always explained it to patients, I was like, "Being sports medicine, I think has helped the group really pioneered the idea. We're trying to get you back fast, whether it's to football, or whether it's just to work, or daily activities or recreation. I think the mentality is the same. Our goal is not to you know, say, Hey, Doc, I've got this problem. Oh, well, you know, if you're, you know, somebody who likes to work out just don't work out anymore. It's not the right answer, right. Like the goal is for quality of life. And I think that's true, whether it's returned to play, where, you know, our group excels because we have the relationships of trainers and coaches, and we really know the schools and the athletes, but then from an adult perspective, I don't approach my discussion with the patient about all the things I'm going to tell you after your joint replacement, you can't do because that's not fair. If we're doing that, why even bother doing the surgery. So I think that the sports medicine approach has really helped elevate our approach to patient care. And it's a huge portion still of our practice, even though they're not the only patients we treat.
Dr. Palomera: And I think patients over the years. Another comment I get regularly is they're very appreciative of that approach.
Here at SMASA, we try to provide our patients and audience with helpful content to help you make the best decisions when it comes to your health!