Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician

Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) Physicians are medical doctors who have completed post graduate specialty training in their field. 

At the completion of training the SEM Physician has spent hundreds of hours working extensively on musculoskeletal examination, and developing the comprehensive knowledge needed to optimize return to normal activity.
 
Many SEM Physicians are involved with elite sporting teams, and the need to definitively diagnose, work-up and rehabilitate an athlete to optimize and accelerate return to sport, is equally relevant in the management of the injured worker. Often injured workers lack even a definitive diagnosis of their complaint, which leads to time wasted on inappropriate duties and treatment.
 
A SEM Physician offers the â??complete packageâ??, with the ability to examine the musculoskeletal system expertly, and without relying on other Specialty fields to make a diagnosis. They are extensively trained in interpretation of radiological investigations of the musculoskeletal system, and know how to investigate appropriately. They are the appropriate medical specialist to coordinate the management of non-operative musculoskeletal problems from initial diagnosis through to coordination of suitable duties whilst completing rehabilitation, through to eventual return to work. Alternatively a SEM Physician has the knowledge to determine when surgery is the definitive treatment, and when it is appropriate to refer to their surgical colleagues. SEM Physicians are able to determine liability, permanent impairment, and incapacity in injured workers.