How to Find a Sports Medicine Doctor
August 13, 2026
Sports medicine is a broad field focused on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries related to physical activity. Sports medicine physicians treat competitive athletes and recreational exercisers alike — you don't need to be an elite athlete to benefit from sports medicine expertise.
Types of Sports Medicine Providers
Sports medicine physicians typically come from one of two backgrounds: primary care sports medicine (physicians who completed family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, or pediatrics residency and then a sports medicine fellowship) and orthopedic sports medicine (orthopedic surgeons who subspecialized in sports injuries and surgery). The primary care track handles non-surgical management; the orthopedic track handles surgical cases.
What Sports Medicine Doctors Treat
Common presentations include ACL, MCL, and meniscus injuries; rotator cuff tears; stress fractures; concussions; overuse injuries like tendinitis and patellofemoral syndrome; ankle sprains; and chronic conditions like exercise-induced asthma. Primary care sports medicine doctors also handle pre-participation physicals and performance optimization.
Finding Sports Medicine Providers
Sports medicine has its own NUCC taxonomy codes in NPPES. Browse the specialty index on DoctorDataHub to find sports medicine taxonomy codes, then filter to your state. Alternatively, orthopedic surgeons who specialize in sports can be found through the orthopedic surgery directory.