USC Sports Medicine Center Serves Health Care Needs of Athletes

“Our mission is to provide comprehensive medical services to athletes of all ages, including young athletes in the pediatric population.” – Jeffrey Guy, M.D.

The USC Sports Medicine Center serves the specialized health care needs of athletes at all levels of competition, as well as providing diagnostic, treatment, and preventive services to anyone involved in sports or recreation. “Our patients range from young, competitive athletes to men and women in their sixties and seventies who are playing racquetball and running triathlons,” said Dr. Angus McBryde, one of two orthopaedic surgeons at the center. The medical staff is rounded out by two primary care sports medicine physicians.

At the end of May the center will move into a new 4,800-square foot facility in the lower level of Two Medical Park. The space includes 12 exam rooms, two x-ray rooms and a cast room. Easy patient access is provided by a direct entrance that bypasses elevators and stairs. “It’s much more user-friendly,” said Dr. McBryde.

“As we expand our services we’ll be able to accommodate that expansion,” said Dr. Jeffrey Guy, an orthopaedic surgeon at the center. “Our mission is to provide comprehensive medical services to athletes of all ages, including young athletes in the pediatric population,” he said. Dr. Guy’s training included a fellowship in pediatric sports medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, one of only two such fellowships in the country. “The phrase ‘kids at play’ rarely applies today as young athletes are becoming increasingly involved in organized and competitive sports,” he added. “It’s our job in the sports medicine community to keep up with the specific injuries and the increasing demand within this population,” he said.

A collaborative effort between the departments of Family and Preventive Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery, the USC Sports Medicine Center provides a broad array of services that includes treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and medical problems associated with exercise, sports physicals, nutrition counseling, and consultations on strength and conditioning. “There has been a transition over the last decade as to what constitutes sports medicine,” said Dr. Mark Leski, describing how the focus has expanded from orthopaedic sports injuries to a broader perspective. One of the center’s primary care sports medicine physicians, Dr. Leski completed an intensive sports medicine fellowship following his family practice residency. Such advanced training prepared him and his counterpart, Dr. Thomas Terrell, for management of common orthopaedic problems and medical conditions in sports. “Eighty percent of orthopaedics is non-operative,” Dr. Leski added, noting that he and Dr. Terrell can manage many orthopaedic issues that do not require surgery.

The center’s orthopaedic surgeons can also address medical issues that bring athletes into treatment. “We are all familiar with the evaluation process and implementing a conservative treatment plan. And that’s where the overlap lies,” explained Dr. Guy on how the roles of the four physicians interrelate. Just as he might refer a particular hand injury to a hand specialist, he and Dr. McBryde determine when the expertise of one of the primary care sports medicine physicians would be the optimal choice to handle a specific medical problem.

Treating individuals who are serious about their particular sport or playing at a professional level presents a different challenge for sports medicine physicians. “These people are highly motivated to get back into activity and eager, almost overzealous to get into rehabilitation,” said Dr. Terrell. “We want to make sure that they are adequately treated, recovered and rehabilitated before they get back to their sport,” he said. Such patients are redirected to other forms of exercise that are conducive to the rehabilitation process and allow them to maintain their aerobic performance level.

The center serves a growing segment of organized athletics that includes The Capital City Bombers baseball team, student athletes at Benedict College and the Columbia City Ballet. The physicians also treat some individual professional athletes. “People tend to get narrowly focused on the elite athlete, and that’s not what sports medicine is about,” noted Dr. McBryde. He added, “For every high profile athlete there are thousands of us putting on shorts and shoes and running around the neighborhood.”

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, March 2002

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