Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists
Sports Medicine Newsletter
Spring 2019
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Utilizing Your Sports Medicine Resources
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Does your school have an Athletic Trainer? Can you play through this? Is this a significant injury? When should you see your primary care doctor or seek out a specialist?
These are questions that athletes, coaches, and parents have to ask themselves all the time. Navigating sports injuries is a balancing act between letting athletes play the sport they love and managing injury risk. Fortunately, there are resources to help you.
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Determining which doctor to see...
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Primary Care Physician


Your primary doctor should have all your baseline health information.This is who you should see for annual physicals, general illness, and may need to be your first stop to get a referral to a specialist depending on how your insurance works.
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Orthopedist


Orthopedic doctors specialize in injuries to the musculoskeletal system; bones, joints, and muscles. This typically covers most athletic injuries. Often times urgent care and primary care physicians will refer athletes to orthopedic physicians for follow up care, though most insurances allow you to see an orthopedist without a referral.
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Other Specialist


Cardiologists, oncologists, and ophthalmologists are examples of specialists. They are physicians that have chosen to focus on specific parts of the body or types of illness. Specialists should be sought when referred by your primary physician or other health professional, or when there is a known pre-existing condition that requires specialized treatment.
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Sports can be about so much more than winning and losing. Phoenix Central Schools basketball program exemplified that in a big way this winter season. When a 2018 graduate and former point guard for the Firebirds was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma, the basketball program and the entire community came together and raised over $10,000 to help with his medical expenses.
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Officials for the evening donated their game stipend to the fund.
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Overhead athletes
such as baseball and softball players demand a lot from their upper extremity. Softball pitchers have it a little better because the underhand throw puts much less stress on the elbow and keeps the shoulder in a more stable position.
For more information about common shoulder injuries, check out SOS's own Dr. Ryan Smart speaking on the subject.
Click Here
Runners
commonly experience pain through the front of their knee. This is often referred to as "runner's knee." This is typically rooted in an issue involving the patellar tendon.
For more information about knee pain, check out SOS's own Dr. Daniel Wnorowski presenting on knee injuries in youth athletes to an audience of coaches.
Click Here
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SOS Orthopedic and Sports Therapy
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SOS Orthopedic and Sports Therapy provides Physical Therapy services to patients throughout the area at several locations. In this issue we will highlight the Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapy Assistants at our Liverpool location.
This location has clinicians specializing in spine, joint replacement, hands/upper extremity, and sports. This facility sees many of the injured athletes from the Baldwinsville, Liverpool, and Phoenix schools. Physical Therapists are an important piece of our sports medicine team. They communicate with the doctor and Athletic Trainer throughout the recovery process to insure we are providing optimal care from all sides.
Check out the Oswego Rd Physical Therapy team!
- Stacy Griffith, PT, Cert. MDT (Site Supervisor)
- Rich Klein, PT, Cert. MDT, CSCS
- Julie Hartenstein, MSPT, CCCE
- Chris Hall, PT, DPT
- Mike Zaccaria, MSPT
- Ben Brightman, MS OT/L, CHT
- Hayden Alewine, OTR
- David Martel, PTA
- Marybeth Reilly, PTA
- Katie Lyons, PTA
- John Magnante, PTA
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SOS Sports Medicine works with area high school, college, and professional teams to keep the athletes in our community performing at their best. Check out what's going on with some of our teams!
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Today's spotlight school is Baldwinsville CSD.
Athletic Trainer:
Becky Rapp, ATC
Baldwinsville Central Schools has around 1,733 athletes competing in 30 sports. Becky and Dr. Raphael work together to keep the athletes healthy and in the game. Becky works on-site at the school every day covering all practices and games.

Let's Meet Becky!
Becky obtained her BA from Marywood University in 2004. After graduating, she spent 5 years working in a PT clinic, then wanted to transition back into the field work. She started at SOS in 2011, working with the Syracuse CSD and Syracuse Silver Knights. She has been at Baldwinsville since 2012. Outside of work, Becky is an avid runner and loves any and everything Disney. Her favorite activity is vacationing at DisneyWorld!
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Athletic Trainers in Action!
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All sports have an inherent risk of injury. No one has been reminded of that this year more than Becky. In the fall season she had to spine board a visiting football team's player on the field for emergency transport (pictured right). Then during the winter season a B'ville basketball player had to be resuscitated on the court while playing at Nottingham HS.
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SOS's Luciano Rua (pictured left) was the Athletic Trainer at the game that night. He is one of SOS's newest Athletic Trainers and had only been with the company a few weeks before the incident. When asked about the game Luciano said, "R
esuscitating the athlete was a team effort and everyone involved did a great job/was a great help."
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Fortunately both of these stories have a happy ending due to the rapid response of medical personnel and emergency planning by the schools. The basketball player recognized Becky at teacher appreciation day (pictured right), even though she was not the Athletic Trainer at the game.
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Tips for a Healthy Season
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- Remember to communicate with your athletics personnel when considering going to the doctor.
- Be aware of the common injuries associated with your sport and take proactive steps to prevent injury.
- Have plans for emergency situations and practice them as a team.
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SOS Sports Medicine Physicians
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SOS PLUS
After-Hours Care
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Convenient, immediate, evening & weekend care for acute orthopedic injuries. Treats medical conditions that need prompt attention, but are not life-threatening.
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Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists | Sports Medicine | 315.251.3100 |
sosbones.com
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