Sports medicine is for more than just athletes

You don’t have to be an athlete to use Meritus Sports Medicine.

That’s the word from Geoffrey Sanyi, D.O., the practice’s medical director.

“It could be a run of the mill patient trying to be active while outdoors,” Dr. Sanyi said. “It could be Grandma trying to keep up with her daily walks. Everyone thinks it’s only for athletes, and most of our patients aren’t even athletes.”

That’s not to say athletes aren’t patients. In fact, Meritus Sports Medicine, which has an office at the Valley Mall, treats players from the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars baseball team, as well as student athletes from area schools.

Related to that, Dr. Sanyi provides oversite for the Meritus Athletic Trainer Program. Contracted by Washington County Public Schools, trainers work with student athletes and coaches throughout the school year.

“If an athlete or just a student at the school has an injury, I’m there to advise the trainer and offer guidance for the next step,” Dr. Sanyi said.

He also attends some games throughout the year, sometimes bringing with him a doctor in the Family Medicine Residency Program.

Dr. Sanyi and the trainers will begin performing high school sports physicals in the next few weeks in preparation for the fall athletics season. Physicals can be done at the Valley Mall office or, in some instances, at the student’s school.

Dr. Sanyi is a family physician who specializes in sports medicine. The specialty focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal issues caused by activity, as well as on optimizing performance.

“It’s about optimizing health, muscular health,” he said. There is also a rehab component, whether at home or in the physical therapy facilities at the practice. Dr. Sanyi also can prescribe medication as part of treatment.

Having a sports medicine focus in the treatment of physically active patients is important for two reasons.

“It’s important to, one, optimize the health of athletes and patients so they don’t develop musculoskeletal issues over time, and two, it helps optimize their performance now, so they can do what they want to do at the highest level,” Dr. Sanyi said.

He said that commitment to performance is what drew him to specialize in sports medicine.

“I think sports have a lot of motivated individuals and people who want to optimize their health,” he said. “Working with those kinds of individuals is very rewarding. They want to be at their best, and you’re helping them get there.”

To learn more about Meritus Sports Medicine, visit www.meritushealth.com/SportsMedicine.