Sports Medicine and Spine Program

From physical therapy to minimally invasive procedures, we offer expert and compassionate care. We’ll build a care plan tailored to your needs and focused on getting you back to the activities you love.

At Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, we understand how much sports injuries, spine problems and neck and back pain can get in the way of your day-to-day life. Whether you’ve experienced a recent injury or have been dealing with pain for years, our team is here to get to the root of your pain and build a care plan to help you manage it and improve your quality of life. 

When you choose our team for your care, every decision will start with your needs, goals and preferences. Some people may want to start with treatments like massage and physical therapy. Others may be considering minimally invasive spine surgery. Whatever the case for you, our team will take the time to listen, help you understand all your options and use the latest in care to help you be more active and comfortable. 

Our Sports Medicine and Spine Program is made up of experts in musculoskeletal medicine, a branch of medicine that focuses on muscular injuries, neurological injuries, and neck and back pain. Many of our team members are fellowship-trained which means they spent extra years training and have additional certifications to provide highly specialized care. 

A Team of Experts Providing Personalized Care

Our Sports Medicine and Spine Program consists of multiple specialists who work together to build and carry out your care plan. Our team includes:

• Physicians who are board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R).
  • Our sports medicine doctors are board-certified in PM&R and Sports Medicine
  • Our spine doctors are fellowship-trained in spine care and advanced interventional procedures.
• Neurosurgeons who specialize in brain and spine surgery.
• Physical therapists who specialize in guiding you through treatments and exercises that help you recover, feel less pain and prevent future injuries. 
• Occupational therapists who help people recover after an injury and get back to everyday activities.
• Speech therapists who help people with speech, language and/or swallowing problems.
• Massage therapists who specialize in touch and pressure techniques to help heal injuries, muscles and soft tissues. 

Some people want to add acupuncture or chiropractic medicine to their care plan. If that’s the case for you, we’re happy to talk through your options and provide a referral.

Our team specializes in caring for every type of sports and spine injury – from mild to severe – with the goal of getting you back to doing the things you love. Your recovery and treatment will be different depending on your injuries, but we will be here to support you every step of the way.

Advanced Diagnostic Tools

Some people will come to our team with a detailed diagnosis, while others come to us looking to identify the source of their pain. We use the latest tools to diagnose and evaluate injuries, identify pinched nerves and pinpoint the right location for injection treatments. In addition to imaging tools like X-rays, CT scans and MRIs, we offer:

• Diagnostic ultrasound. Unlike MRI and X-rays, ultrasound can capture images while a person is moving. We often use this tool for people who experience pain when doing specific movements. 
• Electrodiagnostics. These tests help doctors identify problems with the nerves including exactly where a pinched or damaged nerve is and how severe it is. They include electromyography and nerve conduction studies.

The Latest in Physical Therapy

Many people want to start their care with Sports and Spine Physical Therapy, before considering procedures like injections or surgery. Overlake is home to expert physical therapists with deep expertise treating a wide variety of injuries. Our physical therapists will work closely with your doctor to create a treatment plan just for you. Then they’ll work together throughout your care to monitor your progress and adjust your care plan as needed.

Your care will likely include a home exercise plan made up of exercises to help you stretch and strengthen various muscles. You’ll also have access to functional movement training, where physical therapists help you build the strength needed to do specific movements like gardening or playing pickleball. Some of our physical therapists are certified in the McKenzie Method approach, a specialized method for treating spine and joint problems. 

Leading Expertise in Minimally Invasive Spine Procedures

When you choose Overlake for your care, your team will help you understand your treatment options and choose the best therapies based on your symptoms, needs and goals. We offer some of the latest procedures to help relieve chronic pain including: 

• Paddle-lead trials for spinal cord stimulation. This is a treatment that sends low-level electricity to the spine to help relieve chronic pain. 
• The Vertiflex procedure, a minimally invasive procedure that helps relieve pressure on specific nerves to reduce pain in the spine.
• Basivertebral nerve ablation, a minimally invasive procedure to relieve chronic lower back pain related to a specific group of nerves.
• Peripheral nerve stimulation, using small electrical pulses to reduce nerve-related pain.
• Spinal cord stimulation, using electrical pulses near the spine to help relieve chronic pain.

A Close Partnership with Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons, if Needed

Back pain is very common, but most people can get better without surgery. Our team will help you explore all the non-surgical treatments available.

But sometimes, people don't get enough relief from non-surgical treatments. And other times, we discover something that requires surgery – like nerve compression or a spinal tumor.

In those cases, we work closely with an expert team of minimally invasive spine surgeons.

Overlake Medical Center & Clinics has partnered with EvergreenHealth to create the Eastside Neuroscience Institute (ENI). The ENI brings together expert neurologists and neurosurgeons. This team is on the pulse of the latest advances in minimally invasive spine surgery and offers advanced care such as:

• Ultra minimally invasive spine surgery. With this type of surgery, doctors use special instruments and imaging tools to perform surgery through small incisions (cuts). Many hospitals do minimally invasive spine surgery through incisions the size of a dime (18 millimeters). With ultra minimally invasive surgery, the incisions are even smaller, about the size of a pencil eraser (8 millimeters). 
• Enhanced Recovery After Spine Surgery (ERAS). This approach can help people recover and get back to their daily activities faster.