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Any recommendations on sports med MD?

Submitted by jmont on 7 May, 2010 - 08:27

After doing the rounds of physio, chiro and massage and continuing to have problems with knee and hip pain (can't run right now and getting cranky!), I am being referred to a sports medicine specialist. Here's where I need your help - does anyone have someone they recommend? Looks like 6-8 weeks to get into Alan McGavin (yikes!) and really hoping to see someone yesterday. (yes, I'm impatient).

Anyone have any injuries in their past (sorry, can't stop laughing at that comment...) and an MD they recommend?

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kcongra's picture

switching direction

Submitted by kcongra on 10 May, 2010 - 15:53.

Two runners that happen to be excellent physiotherapists work at 4th Avenue Physio - Gretchen and Suzanne. I've seen both but for foot problems versus hip. I had ultra sound and IMS (which is not fun but works awesome) and I'm doing much better. I can only assume they would be just as good with hip issues or other body parts. Gretchen is the one that recommended Dr. S, (he's her doctor) not because I need a sports med guy at this point but because I was sick of main stream medical not helping me when I needed it. The one thing she told me that I really liked was if you needed a specialist, he made sure you got one. Same for any tests. But if you want to give physio another try, I can't say enough good things about these two.

Ryan Conroy's picture

Active Life Physio

Submitted by Ryan Conroy on 10 May, 2010 - 11:54.

I've always had excellent results from seeing Sophia at Active Life Physio in the Braithwaite Centre in North Van, particularly for hip problems.  She may be on maternity leave, hopefully she is back.

Olivia sees Heather there and has nothing but good things to say about her.

Generally when she has treated my hip she has started with joint mobilisation (popping it back into place) then treated aggravated muscles around it.  The mobilisation is by far the most important thing, I have had all kinds of other treatments from other physios with little to no results.  When I have seen her I have walked out of the office feeling good as new.

I find power yoga to be the best thing for keeping it that way.  I really recommend Eion Finn's Power Yoga for Happiness II DVD, which you can get at Chapter's on Granville & Broadway.  It has different combinations of workouts from about .5-1.5 hours.

His classes are even better but I know you're up on the Sunshine Coast.  Plus with a DVD you can do it at home whenever you have time. 

 

 

Thanks Ryan!

Submitted by jmont on 10 May, 2010 - 13:10.

Ok, that hip popping just sounds nasty! And you run for your health???

The consistent message I'm seeing is that my best resource will very likely be a good physiotherapist. So back to physio on Friday. I think i'll just let the referral to sports med proceed over it's sweet time and go in all fixed up.

BTW - we do live here in vancouver, just weekend up the sunshine coast. And recently started Mike Dennison's Runners Yoga. It's harder than I expected!

Thanks again! Jackie

Ryan Conroy's picture

Not nasty... Sounds worse than it is

Submitted by Ryan Conroy on 12 May, 2010 - 16:47.

Actually it didn't hurt at all.

One leg was more yanking and twisting, the other twisting and pushing.  Even though the pain was intense at the time form the injury it really didn't feel like anything other than someone pushing and pulling on your legs.

I've heard good thing about that runner's yoga class too.  I find all the moving around in power yoga to be beneficial for me, if I try to hold one stretch too long it can be absolute agony with my tight runners muscles.

 

Treatment options

Submitted by rosslaird on 9 May, 2010 - 15:15.
I used to work in the rehab area, and it's interesting to how that small group of professionals interacts with one another; specifically, who they go to when in need, and who they recommend to one another. For the kind of situation you describe ("knee and hip pain") I don't know many rehab professionals who would recommend an MD (sports or otherwise) as their first option. Instead, almost all of them would offer a short list of physiotherapists with specialized expertise and reputation in this area of treatment. The referral lists would differ a bit, but I bet that Lynn Chapman would be on every list. She's at Burrard Physiotherapy Associates (604-684-1640), at the corner of Davie and Burrard. By the way, I imagine that this is what you will get at Alan McGavin: initial consult, MRI referral, second consult four months later (after MRI waiting list), followed by physio referral. Also, just my two bits, as an ex-professional in this area: knee and hip pain are almost always related to two specific items: gait and muscle imbalance.

Thanks Ross!

Submitted by jmont on 9 May, 2010 - 20:51.

Thanks for the input Ross. It sounds like I can avoid 4-6 months of aggravation by getting back to basics and actually continuing the strengthening exercises I was given last time... Time to head back to physio.

At least this has given me a proper excuse to ditch the roads since for some reason I don't hurt running trails. C'est la vie! 

Ideas...

Submitted by rosslaird on 9 May, 2010 - 22:03.
I probably should not hazard a guess about the root causes of your symptoms, but you've mentioned enough details to narrow things down a bit. If you are symptom-free on trails, this is likely due to the lateral movements required in trail running (unlike road running, which tends to be more directly forward). If lateral movement is a factor, then the basic issue likely involves leg tracking. This would be consistent with knee and hip pain -- especially if the knee pain is on the outside of the knee, and the hip pain is near the rear or side of the hip. In that scenario, I'd be thinking about strengthening the gluteus medius muscle and the quads, and working on the tracking of the leg. It has been shown that working on the iliotibial band doesn't do much in these types of situations (since the IT band is more or less glued to the muscles of the thigh and cannot really be lengthened or stretched very much). What does work is strengthening the function and use of the gluteals and quads in the running stride (see Kevin Beck's book Run Strong for a series of excellent exercises for this imbalance problem). The other thing I'd think about here is shoes. If you run on the road in one pair, and on trails in another, that would be a factor, as would the question of whether you heel-strike, and how prominently. And this, of course, leads to the labyrinthine discussion of running foot-wear; an endless but very interesting discussion...
Ean Jackson's picture

Sports Med MD

Submitted by Ean Jackson on 7 May, 2010 - 09:44.

Not asking for much, are you! 

As the current world record holder for having stupid things go wrong with my body that mess up my running, I've found that there is no such thing as a one-stop fits all doctor. 

I tried shopping for GPs who had a sports med background.  Found one who was even a former Olympian, but he moved.  If you're open to doing a bit of shopping, you might try the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.

 

thanks!

Submitted by jmont on 7 May, 2010 - 10:08.
Thanks Ean! I can't get over how frustrating this is. At least everything that's been suggested to date has the same "treatment" (all together now... R..I..). I guess I'll just get used to hearing Dave tell me how much healthier I was before I got healthy. That or just get fat again.
kcongra's picture

MD with Sports Med

Submitted by kcongra on 7 May, 2010 - 19:56.

I don't know how good he is from personal experience as I've just recently switched to him but he was highly recommended by my physio at 4th Avenue Physio. Her recommendation? If you have a cold or flu or something mainstream, say it quick because he's not interested. A sports injury, you can discuss forever. I've heard good things from other folks that have been to him as well. Always on time, great location

Dr. E.E. Stockenstrom - 2187 West 4th Avenue - Phone: 604-733-3010 

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