How do you choose a Doctor?

[bjvinson]

Rip,

Do you have any advice on choosing a good doctor to look at the injuries that crop up from time to time when lifting?

I'm 48 and I don't want to go to a doctor that is recommended by soccer moms or my friends who tell me, "You are too old to squat."

I'll know he or she is full of crap if they tell me, "Squats are bad for your knees." So I think I can identify the bad ones but how do you know if an ortho is a good one?

Thanks in advance,

[Mark Rippetoe]

You don't until you find out for yourself or from someone else. Unfortunately there is no directory for orthopods with their heads out of their asses.

[Irishman301]

I was looking for a good doctor about a year ago for my knee. I was told that "sports doctors" are the way to go as opposed to regular family doctors. I don't know if it's true or not, because my insurance didn't cover the sports doctor, so I never went to him.

[Mark Rippetoe]

In this context, "sports" means running and riding your bike.

[TPrewittMD]

I am not sure that you need a doctor for the little aches and pains everyone gets. It is the rotator cuff tears, herniated disks, etc. that really need a physician's care. And those may be different doctors.

Here's an idea. If you live anywhere near a city with a major sports team, call the team trainer and find out what doctors they use. Those sports docs don't keep professional athletes out unless absolutely necessary, and they don't operate unless they have too.

[seafood]

I've had some luck using doc's that are on the staff of a local university's atheltic department.

[bjvinson]

I am not sure that you need a doctor for the little aches and pains everyone gets. It is the rotator cuff tears, herniated disks, etc. that really need a physician's care. And those may be different doctors.

Here's an idea. If you live anywhere near a city with a major sports team, call the team trainer and find out what doctors they use. Those sports docs don't keep professional athletes out unless absolutely necessary, and they don't operate unless they have too.

The reason I asked is because my left shoulder has been giving me fits on and off for about 3 months. Presses hurt, bench presses with just the bar are painful until about midway through the 2nd set of 25. When I get ready to squat placing my hands on the bar then moving them in toward the center of the bar and picking my elbows up hurts but it is tolerable.

The damn thing wakes me up at night too.

We have a local university so I can talk to their doctor. LSU is an hour away so I can go up there.

Thanks,

[sytennison]

I've been endlessly frustrated with doctors but was referred by a friend to a chiropractor who has helped me a lot. She's a competitive weight lifter and runs her own CrossFit facility. When I went to her with my bad lower back, she helped me fix the problem rather than A) hiding the problem with drugs and/or B) telling me to stop doing whatever I was doing when I got injured (lifting heavy objects). She then instructed me to continue lifting heavy objects in a modified program of recovery that included lots of supplemental treatment with ice and foam rollers. I recovered nicely and went on to set a new squat PR.

How can you find your own wiz-kid chiro or doc who won't treat you like an idiot for wanting to be stronger? Word of mouth is your best bet. Talk to your fellow gym rats and gym owners. Talk to your local on-line buddies. Heck, you could even email or call all the local gyms in your area. Someone's sure to know someone who can help you.

[TPrewittMD]

The reason I asked is because my left shoulder has been giving me fits on and off for about 3 months. Presses hurt, bench presses with just the bar are painful until about midway through the 2nd set of 25. When I get ready to squat placing my hands on the bar then moving them in toward the center of the bar and picking my elbows up hurts but it is tolerable.

The damn thing wakes me up at night too.

We have a local university so I can talk to their doctor. LSU is an hour away so I can go up there.

Thanks,

Yep. I have had the same kind of thing. I have chronic shoulder pain from a supraspinatous injury in my R shoulder. One steroid injection helped temporarily but then pain came back. Silly tube exercises, etc. didn't help at all.

Then I started doing what I learned here from Rip. High rep presses with an empty 45 lb bar. Up to 50 at a time. This really helped. Have done a lot of shoulder dislocations too with PVC. Chins still hurt some, but I am setting PRs regularly with presses. And I can sleep much better with a lot less positional shoulder pain.

None of this may apply to you, just serves as an example of what you can do without surgery.

For your symptoms, I suggest that you look around for an ortho guy who has done a sports medicine fellowship. Find out who takes care of the athletes at LSU and go to Baton Rogue. Get a diagnosis based on a physical exam. Unless you really messed up, avoid an MRI. It will likely be abnormal and then someone will recommend that you get your shoulder scoped. Try conservative measures first, unless something is really bad wrong.

I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I think Rip would pretty much agree.

Funny, I am just up the road at UMMC in Jackson. I am a surgical oncologist on the faculty here. We have several good folks who can see you if you are in the neighborhood.

[James]

In a college town, whoever treats the collegiate atheletes is often your best bet. The podiatrist in Fayetteville AR who treats the Razorback's footballers is competent, attentive and a former powerlifter. In Gainesville, the team that rehabs injured Gators helped me with a crushed finger; I am working my way up to closing the #3 gripper today because they do great, great work.

So in my experience, whoever deals with the college atheletes is usually not a fool. This may not be true for non-SEC teams. Because as everyone knows, the SEC is the greatest conference of all.