Sports Medicine and Spine Program

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From diagnosis to rehabilitation, we provide expert and personalized care for people with spine or sports-related injuries.

At Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, our Sports Medicine and Spine Program specializes in helping athletes of all abilities recover from a wide variety of sports injuries, including neck and back injuries. We offer surgical and nonsurgical care ranging from physical therapy and steroid injections to minimally invasive surgery.

Our program provides care to patients age 14 and older who have mild to severe injuries or chronic pain due to a sports or spine injury. Our team consists of multiple providers across different specialties who work closely together to provide comprehensive care and tailored treatment. Our goal is to help you recover, regain movement, reduce pain and get back to living an active lifestyle.

We are proud to offer convenient care on the Eastside. Find a provider near you.

Conditions We Treat

Sports-Related Injuries

We diagnose and treat the full spectrum of common athletic injuries of the knee, shoulder, hip, elbow, and general joint pain evaluations, including:

• Joint pain, acute & chronic.
• Osteoarthritis.
• Ligament sprains.
• Muscle strains.
• Dislocations.
• Tendinopathy. (e.g. rotator cuff).
• Fractures (broken bones).
• Minor sports-related concussions.
• Trigger finger.
• Nerve entrapment (e.g. carpal tunnel).
• Other musculoskeletal conditions.

Spine Conditions

A spine injury is any damage to the spine that causes pain, loss of feeling or reduced function. Some common spine conditions we treat include:

• Sudden or acute spinal injuries, including herniated discs, sciatica and spinal cord compression (spinal stenosis).
• Acute and chronic back, spine and neck pain.
• Spinal deformities including scoliosis.
• Spinal instability.
• Spondylolisthesis, spondylolysis or pars defect.
• Fractured vertebra.

Diagnostics, Treatments and Services                    

We offer a full range of diagnostics, as well as surgical and nonsurgical treatments and services, including:

Diagnostic tests and exams—We use these to diagnose and evaluate injuries, identify pinched nerves and pinpoint sites for injection treatments. Imaging tests and exams can include:

• X-rays.
• Musculoskeletal ultrasound.
• MRIs.
• CT scans.
• Electromyography (EMG) or nerve conduction studies.
• Sports physicals.
• Return to sports protocols.

Spine procedures—We offer many procedures to mend injuries and relieve pain on the upper (cervical), middle (thoracic) and lower (lumbar) areas of the spine. Some of the most common spinal procedures we offer include:

• Nerve blocks.
• Epidural steroid injections.
• Radiofrequency ablation of spine and peripheral joints.
• Spinal cord stimulation (including paddle lead trials).
• Ultrasound-guided procedures.

Sports-related procedures—These include minimally invasive procedures to help ease nerve and joint pain. We offer:

• Joint injections.
• Hyaluronic acid (viscosupplementation) injections.
• Nerve blocks.
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy.
• Nerve hydro-dissection.
• Percutaneous needle tenotomy (PNT).
• TENEX.

Nonsurgical therapies—These can help patients heal and get back to their favorite activities after spine and sports-related injuries. We offer:

• Physical therapy.
• Massage Therapy.
• Occupational therapy.
• Speech therapy.

Experts Providing Personalized Care

Our sports medicine and spine program consists of multiple specialists who work together to build your care. Our team includes:

• Sports medicine doctors who specialize in sports injuries.
• Physiatrists who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).
• Neurosurgeons who specialize in brain and spine surgery.
• Orthopedic experts who offer joint replacements and other advanced procedures.
• Physical therapists who specialize in guiding patients through treatments and exercises that help them recover, feel less pain and prevent future injuries. Physical therapy is beneficial for a wide variety of injuries and conditions, both sports-related and non sports-related.
• Occupational therapists who help patients recover after an injury and get back to everyday activities.
• Speech therapists who help people with speech, language and/or swallowing problems caused by an injury.
• Massage therapists who specialize in touch and pressure techniques to injuries, muscles and soft tissues.  

Our team specializes in caring for mild to severe sports and spine injuries to help patients get back to doing the things they love. Everyone’s recovery and treatment will be different depending on their injuries, but we are here to support you every step of the way.

Some patients like to incorporate complementary care like acupuncture or chiropractic services into their treatment. We do not offer these services at Overlake but are happy to partner with your outside provider to assist you in your recovery.

One-On-One Physical Therapy and its Benefits

Our sports medicine and spine program is proud to offer one-on-one physical therapy. Many clinics offer group physical therapy, which severely limits the time a physical therapist can give to each individual patient. Our program provides one physical therapist per patient. This greatly benefits patients because it gives them quality time and attention to help them meet their individualized goals. It also gives patients the comfort of privacy and freedom to ask in-depth questions during their sessions. And it helps our physical therapists gain a better understanding of your needs so they can help you recover.

Experts in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

Overlake offers the latest in minimally invasive surgery to help patients recover from spine injuries and nerve pain. Our expert surgeons have significant experience in performing minimally invasive spinal fusions and small incision nerve decompressions to ease pinched nerves.

There are also only a handful of neurosurgeons in the Bellevue area who perform paddle-lead trials for spinal cord stimulation. This is a treatment that sends low level electricity to the spine to help relieve chronic pain. We are proud to have skilled neurosurgeons who can perform this procedure for our patients to help relieve pain and regain function.

Convenient Care on the Eastside 

At Overlake, we're proud to offer a wide range of services and expert care in Bellevue and Issaquah. That means patients on the Eastside can get specialized care without having to travel to Seattle. We look forward to serving you and your loved ones.