Sports Medicine
If you’re an athlete or exercise enthusiast, an injury can make it hard to enjoy your favorite activities. Stay in play with help from UNC Health Southeastern. From injury prevention to treatment to rehabilitation, you’ll find everything you need to perform at your best.
Specialists in Sports Care
Rely on the expertise of James Slauterbeck, MD, a doctor with advanced training in sports medicine. He has the experience and knowledge to recommend the best care plan for your goals.
Injuries We Treat
Rely on us for a diagnosis and treatment of almost any athletic injury, including:
- Broken bones and stress fractures
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Heat exhaustion
- Overuse injuries, such as jumper’s knee, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow, and other types of tendinitis
- Sprains and strains
- Torn ligaments, like an ACL or rotator cuff tear
Concussion Testing
After a fall or blow to your head, health professionals may check for a concussion—a traumatic brain injury that needs special care. To help them do so, you may take a baseline test of your thinking skills and memory before high-school sports. Then, if you later experience a possible concussion, you may take the exam again. Called Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), it compares your scores before and after the head injury. A doctor uses the results to diagnose a concussion and determine when you can safely return to athletic activities.
Rehabilitation
Many sports injuries improve with rehabilitation, such as physical therapy. You’ll work one-on-one with a skilled therapist to relieve pain and learn exercises to regain strength, speed, coordination, and flexibility.
Arthroscopy: Less Invasive Surgery
Sometimes, surgery is the best way to fix a damaged joint and help it work better long term. Surgeons at UNC Health Southeastern take the least invasive approach so your recovery is as fast and easy as possible. Instead of making a large incision, they use small incisions to insert a laparoscope. This thin tool has a light and camera that show your joint on a large screen in the operating room, so your doctor can precisely perform your procedure.
After arthroscopic surgery, you’ll have less pain and scarring—and you’ll likely return home the same day.
Knee Cartilage Repair
Damaged cartilage, or cushioning between your knee bones, doesn’t heal on its own. But a new, advanced procedure can treat it. Your surgeon takes some cartilage cells from your joint and sends them to a special lab. A lab professional uses the cells to grow new, healthy tissue that your surgeon then puts in your knee to help it move with less pain.
