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Sports Medicine

Sports medicine focuses on healthcare for athletes and physically active individuals who have conditions or injuries related to physical fitness, sports and exercise, while improving physical performance, overall health and injury prevention.

Our board-certified sports medicine specialists concentrate on comprehensive healthcare for active patients, including diagnosis and treatment of injuries and illnesses related to sports and physical activity.

Our specialists have extensive knowledge and uses manual techniques that help treat and prevent musculoskeletal conditions common in athletes.

Sports Concussion Program

As the popularity of sports, including contact and collision sports, has risen, so have the injuries sustained to the athletes who participate in these physically rigorous activities. Broken bones and torn ligaments pose serious threats to the health of our young competitors, but concussion can be a much more significant and often less recognized injury with a far more devastating and long-term effect. As defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury that disrupts normal brain function. This injury most often occurs from a bump or shaking of the head through violent contact with the ground, an object or another individual.

A concussed brain

All concussions are serious injuries that can alter the way the brain functions. Most do not involve a loss of consciousness but can cause short-term neurological changes. The effects of concussions vary greatly among individuals, and many mild concussions are undiagnosed and unreported. Concussions can affect the athlete's schooling, work and social life, and can cause long-term issues with memory, mood, balance and sleep, and in the most severe cases result in death. A concussion can occur even when the athlete wears protective headgear. Head injuries are never to be taken lightly, especially with our children, as their developing brains do not recover as quickly from concussions as those in adults.

Our focus

The focus of our concussion program is to educate and assist athletes, parents and coaches in the proper identification, testing and management of concussions. Advanced clinical skills, neurocognitive assessment tools, force plate technology and comprehensive services allow our specially trained medical staff to guide the recovery of the athlete, providing a safe return to play, which is vital in helping to protect the future for our young athletes.

Expert care

Our ImPACT credentialed team with expertise in the diagnosis, treatment and management of all types of sports concussions. Credentialing means the physician has completed advanced education for the treatment and management of concussions.

Indiana Total Therapy, our rehabilitation partner, provides ImPACT cognitive baseline assessments at its outpatient facilities for athletes during convenient hours.

Our expert staff is able to help manage the course of recovery from initial diagnosis to test administration, provide treatment planning, and provide written clearance to return to practice and play when it is deemed appropriate.

State-of-the-art resources

The Human Motion Institute Sports Concussion Program also offers the same state-of-the-art testing for individual athletes whose schools or athletic programs do not yet offer baseline concussion testing. At affordable rates, we are able to administer our tests to individual athletes or on a group basis. Consultations, testing and evaluations are offered by appointment at our convenient therapy clinics. If a concussion is confirmed, we provide the same management resources offered to our partnering organizations to help prevent future injuries and ensure the best possible recovery for every athlete.

Partnerships

Partnering with Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an increasing number of high school athletic programs across Indiana County, the program provides comprehensive services including baseline testing, post-injury concussion testing and treatment for athletes at any age and level. For participating schools, our program provides neurocognitive testing software, education for parents, coaches and staff, and priority scheduling.

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