Sports Medicine helps athletes dodge
curveballs
by Tim
Gehret Public Relations
C. David Geier Jr., M.D., never imagined coming home would be so much work.
Geier, an MUSC graduate, completed his residency at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tenn., and sports medicine fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. From an operating room at his alma mater, this 33 year-old husband and father spends two days a week helping local athletes bounce back from injuries. Two days a week he sees patients from one of three MUSC orthopedic clinics in the Charleston area. Some might consider him an all-star when it comes to treating sports-related injuries. But he’ll admit building a business is a different ballgame.
“Building relationships with teams, getting the name out there, a lot of handshakes,” said Geier. “It’s all been hard. A good hard, though.”
Geier is the director of the newly formed, MUSC Sports Medicine, a multi-disciplinary, collaborative program providing comprehensive care to athletes in the Charleston area. Comprising specialists in pediatrics, radiology, emergency medicine, gynecology, nutrition, physical therapy, and orthopaedics, MUSC Sports Medicine offers services such as team consultation, athletic training and educational programs for athletes of all ages and skill levels.
“By bringing together leaders in a wide array of specialties that are committed to the care of athletes, MUSC Sports Medicine offers a unique service to Lowcountry residents,” Geier said. “Athletes of all ages and skill levels, including youth, high school, and college sports, recreational league participants, and weekend warriors, can now receive the best treatments and injury prevention programs to get them back in the game.”
Since high profile teams such as the College of Charleston Cougars, the Citadel Bulldogs, and the Charleston River Dogs already have their own sports medicine staffs, the big need for sports medicine stretches beyond downtown and to the high schools, neighborhoods, and leagues, Geier said.
“Where Charleston is unique is that there’s a very active community,” Geier said. “There’s a lot more activity at the recreational level. The number of high school athletes is higher here than in other areas. Some of my best friends play two or three nights a week. They’re not pros, but they break bones, tear ACL’s (anterior cruciate ligament), they need help.”
Rehabilitation tech
Fran Clasby, left, helps physical therapist Renee Garrison demonstrate
the Biodex Dynometer which measures strength and range of motion.
Clasby and Garrison are part of the MUSC Sports Medicine program
working at the James Island Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy
Clinic.One of the goals of the program is to help injured athletes get back to doing the things they enjoy.
“It’s not just treating injury, it’s about treating the athlete,” said Mike Barr, one of the program’s physical therapists. “The primary objective is to get them out of the clinic and back on the field.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, America’s emergency rooms receive more than 650,000 sports-related visits each year. Geier and his team, which consists of 20 to 25 medical professionals and support staff, hope to bring that number down locally by providing more than just treatment.
Starting in July, MUSC Sports Medicine plans to begin conducting monthly seminars on injury prevention aimed at coaches, trainers, parents and players. In the fall, Geier plans to begin a prevention program for female sports.
“Girls have a much higher ACL tear-rate than boys,” Geier said. “It’s a season-ending injury no matter who you are. It’s expensive, painful and devastating to the entire team. If you can avoid injury altogether, it’s better for everybody.”
Currently, MUSC Sports Medicine is offering full service to West Ashley High School’s athletic department and the James Island Club Soccer League. Geier said a lot more partnerships and programs are in the works. In fact, he plans to hire the program’s first athletic trainer in the fall.
For information, call 876-PLAY, or visit http://www.muschealth.com/sports.
Friday, July 7, 2006
Catalyst Online is published weekly,
updated
as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public
Relations
for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of
South
Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at
792-4107
or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to
Catalyst
Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to
catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island
Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.