Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
Leaders in Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
Muscle injuries, painful joints, sprains, and strains make sports, work, and daily activities challenging. We focus on helping you reduce joint pain, regain mobility, and return to your active life. Our sports medicine doctors, orthopaedic surgeons, and therapists offer a wide range of orthopaedic services to provide complete, personalized care.
What We Offer You for Orthopedic & Sports Medicine
- Specialized expertise Specialized expertise in musculoskeletal problems including spine conditions, knee pain, ACL tear, carpal tunnel syndrome, and plantar fasciitis.
- Advanced treatment options including precise diagnosis for concussion, physical therapy, cortisone injections, and minimally invasive and open orthopaedic surgery.
- Team-based approach that puts you at the center of your care plan, in tandem with physical and occupational therapists, doctors, orthopaedic surgeons and advance practice providers (APPs).
- Comprehensive support services to help you and your family focus on health and healing.
- Ease of access, to treatment from orthopaedic surgeons and sports medicine doctors.
Orthopaedic and sports medicine problems can involve bones, joints, and muscles throughout your body. Our experts offer expert diagnosis to get to the root of joint pain and dysfunction. We can help resolve muscle aches, sports issues including concussion, and nerve problems that cause tingling and numbness.
We work with you to understand your condition and recommend the right treatment for you. Our goal is to support you as you recover from pain and find the right therapy to help you do the things you enjoy.
Find comprehensive care and therapy for knee pain, plantar fasciitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and sports-related injuries.
General Conditions
Upper Body
Lower Body/Spine
Back/Spine/Brain
Orthopaedic conditions and sports medicine injuries can affect bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons anywhere in your body. Our team includes specialists in the hands, feet, knees, hips, and shoulders who can address issues such as:
- Achilles tendon tear: Partial or complete tear in the Achilles tendon, which connects the heel to the back of the calf, caused by injury or overuse
- Arthritis
- Avascular necrosis: Death of bone tissue due to blood loss, causing the bone to eventually collapse if not treated
- Bone fractures: Broken bones of any degree caused by trauma, sports injury, work, overuse, or bone weakness
- Bursitis: Painful irritation and swelling — often in the hip, shoulder, or knee — of a bursa, the fluid-filled sac that cushions joints
- Ganglion cyst: Fluid-filled bump around a joint or tendon sheath (tissue surrounding a tendon), sometimes causing pain or affecting movement
- Pain: Wide range of problems caused by genetics, footwear, overuse, and injury
- Sprains and strains: Stretched or torn ligament (connective tissue that joins bones), muscle, or tendon (tissue that connects muscle to bone)
- Stress fractures: Hairline fracture in a bone, often due to overuse
- Tendonitis: Inflammation of the tendons due to injury or overuse
Shoulder conditions, functional issues like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome, and repetitive stress injuries can make daily activities challenging. Our team of sports medicine doctors and orthopaedic surgeons delivers specialized diagnosis and treatment for:
Elbow conditions
- Cubital tunnel syndrome: Compression of the ulnar nerve, which travels from your neck into your hand, causing pain or numbness
- Elbow fracture: Break in the humerus (upper arm bone) and ulna (larger of the forearm bones), which make up the elbow joint
- Elbow injury: Damage to ligaments, muscles, and tendons of the elbow due to repetitive motion, overuse, injuries, or other trauma
- Lateral and medial epicondylitis: Overuse injuries affecting elbow tendons, also known as tennis elbow (lateral) and pitcher’s or golfer’s elbow (medial)
Hand and wrist conditions
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: Compression of the median nerve as it passes through the narrow space in the wrist, causing pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness
- Congenital anomalies: Differences such as extra fingers or missing fingers present at birth
- Dupuytren’s disease: Thickening of the fascia (fibrous tissue layer) in the palm of the hand that can lead to Dupuytren’s contracture, with the fingers continuously bent
- Gamekeeper’s (skier’s) thumb: Tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) where it attaches to the thumb
- Hand, wrist, and elbow injuries: Injuries due to arthritis, repetitive motion, sports injury, accidents, or work activities
Shoulder conditions
- Brachial plexus injuries: Damage to a network of nerves that run from your spine to your shoulder, arm, and hand
- Clavicle fracture: Broken clavicle (collarbone)
- Dislocated shoulder: Injury in which the arm bone pops out of the shoulder socket after a fall or other trauma
- Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis): Chronic condition that causes pain and stiffness, eventually leading to difficulty moving the shoulder
- Impingement syndrome: Pinched tendons or compressed bursa in the shoulder due to joint or bone structure problems or repeated overhead motion
- Rotator cuff tear: A torn tendon in the shoulder, causing weakness, pain, and difficulty lifting and rotating the arm
- Shoulder fracture: Broken humerus at or near the ball of your shoulder joint
- Shoulder (acromioclavicular, or AC) separation: A torn ligament between your shoulder blade and collarbone that moves the collarbone out of position
- Superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) tear: Injury to the labrum (shoulder joint cartilage) due to repetitive throwing motion or an injury such as a fall onto the shoulder
Our specialists have extensive experience treating all types of ankle, hip, and knee pain, from congenital conditions to stress fractures. Lower extremity pain and problems can result from genetics, footwear, overuse, and injury.
Hip conditions
- Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI): Structural problems that affect the movement of the ball-and-socket hip joint, made up of the acetabulum (a pelvic bone) and the top of the femur (thighbone)
- Hip fracture: Break in the top quarter of the femur, which can result from osteoporosis (weakened bones) or severe trauma such as a vehicle accident
- Hip pointer: Sports injury involving a deep, painful bruise to the upper outside edge of the hip bone
- The Medela Symphony pump to establish milk flow for new moms who have not been able to breastfeed from the start
- IT band syndrome: Overuse injury causing pain where the iliotibial (IT) band (connective tissue along the outer thigh) rubs across the hip joint
- Labral tear (hip): Torn cartilage around the hip socket, causing pain in the groin or front or side of the hip
- Trochanteric bursitis: Bursitis in the bursa at the outside point of the hip, causing pain along the outside upper thigh
- The Ameda Platinum breast pump for dual pumping to establish and maintain milk supply
Knee conditions
- ACL tear: Tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that crosses inside your knee, usually due to a quick turn, twist, or direct blow
- Knee ligament injuries: Sprains or tears to knee ligaments, often due to a sudden movement or impact, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty walking
- Torn meniscus: Damage to the meniscus, a rubbery disc of cartilage that cushions your kneecap, usually due to quickly turning or twisting
- MCL injury: Damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) along the inner knee, usually resulting from a blow to the outside of the knee
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome: Pain around the patella (kneecap) due to overuse, injury, or muscle weakness that affects kneecap alignment
- PCL tear: Injury to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) that crosses behind your knee, usually from trauma such as when your knee hits the dashboard in a vehicle accident
Spine and back conditions
- Cervical spondylotic myelopathy: Pressure on the spinal cord in the neck from a herniated disc (jellylike cushion between bones in the spine) or bone spur
- Cervical stenosis: Narrowed canal that protects the spinal cord in the neck, creating injury or damage to the nerves or spinal cord
- Degenerative disc disease: Age-related wear and tear in spinal discs, which can result in spinal cord pressure and nerve damage
- Herniated disc: Ruptured or bulging disc that can cause pain, nerve problems, and loss of strength and mobility, due to aging, injury, or overuse
- Kyphosis: Forward rounding of the upper spine due to aging, injury, disease, or congenital (present at birth) causes
- Osteoporosis-related fracture: Bone breaks due to osteoporosis, a condition in which bones thin and weaken due to bone loss
- Pinched nerve: Nerve compression in the back due to a damaged vertebra (bone in the spine) or disc, causing pain, numbness, and loss of strength
- Sciatica: Numbness, pain, or tingling due to irritation affecting the sciatic nerve, a large nerve that extends from the lower back through the leg to the foot
- Scoliosis: Side-to-side curve in the spine that can cause pain and breathing problems
- Spine trauma: Bruise or partial or complete tear in the spinal cord, resulting in problems with movement, function, or feeling in parts of the body below the injury
- Spondylolysis: Stress fracture in a vertebra, usually occurring in children and teens in sports that involve stress on the lower back such as football and gymnastics
Orthopaedic conditions and sports medicine injuries can affect bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons anywhere in your body. Our team includes specialists in the hands, feet, knees, hips, and shoulders who can address issues such as:
- Achilles tendon tear: Partial or complete tear in the Achilles tendon, which connects the heel to the back of the calf, caused by injury or overuse
- Arthritis
- Avascular necrosis: Death of bone tissue due to blood loss, causing the bone to eventually collapse if not treated
- Bone fractures: Broken bones of any degree caused by trauma, sports injury, work, overuse, or bone weakness
- Bursitis: Painful irritation and swelling — often in the hip, shoulder, or knee — of a bursa, the fluid-filled sac that cushions joints
- Ganglion cyst: Fluid-filled bump around a joint or tendon sheath (tissue surrounding a tendon), sometimes causing pain or affecting movement
- Pain: Wide range of problems caused by genetics, footwear, overuse, and injury
- Sprains and strains: Stretched or torn ligament (connective tissue that joins bones), muscle, or tendon (tissue that connects muscle to bone)
- Stress fractures: Hairline fracture in a bone, often due to overuse
- Tendonitis: Inflammation of the tendons due to injury or overuse
close General Conditions
Shoulder conditions, functional issues like tennis elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome, and repetitive stress injuries can make daily activities challenging. Our team of sports medicine doctors and orthopaedic surgeons delivers specialized diagnosis and treatment for:
Elbow conditions
- Cubital tunnel syndrome: Compression of the ulnar nerve, which travels from your neck into your hand, causing pain or numbness
- Elbow fracture: Break in the humerus (upper arm bone) and ulna (larger of the forearm bones), which make up the elbow joint
- Elbow injury: Damage to ligaments, muscles, and tendons of the elbow due to repetitive motion, overuse, injuries, or other trauma
- Lateral and medial epicondylitis: Overuse injuries affecting elbow tendons, also known as tennis elbow (lateral) and pitcher’s or golfer’s elbow (medial)
Hand and wrist conditions
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: Compression of the median nerve as it passes through the narrow space in the wrist, causing pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness
- Congenital anomalies: Differences such as extra fingers or missing fingers present at birth
- Dupuytren’s disease: Thickening of the fascia (fibrous tissue layer) in the palm of the hand that can lead to Dupuytren’s contracture, with the fingers continuously bent
- Gamekeeper’s (skier’s) thumb: Tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) where it attaches to the thumb
- Hand, wrist, and elbow injuries: Injuries due to arthritis, repetitive motion, sports injury, accidents, or work activities
Shoulder conditions
- Brachial plexus injuries: Damage to a network of nerves that run from your spine to your shoulder, arm, and hand
- Clavicle fracture: Broken clavicle (collarbone)
- Dislocated shoulder: Injury in which the arm bone pops out of the shoulder socket after a fall or other trauma
- Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis): Chronic condition that causes pain and stiffness, eventually leading to difficulty moving the shoulder
- Impingement syndrome: Pinched tendons or compressed bursa in the shoulder due to joint or bone structure problems or repeated overhead motion
- Rotator cuff tear: A torn tendon in the shoulder, causing weakness, pain, and difficulty lifting and rotating the arm
- Shoulder fracture: Broken humerus at or near the ball of your shoulder joint
- Shoulder (acromioclavicular, or AC) separation: A torn ligament between your shoulder blade and collarbone that moves the collarbone out of position
- Superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) tear: Injury to the labrum (shoulder joint cartilage) due to repetitive throwing motion or an injury such as a fall onto the shoulder
close Upper Body
Our specialists have extensive experience treating all types of ankle, hip, and knee pain, from congenital conditions to stress fractures. Lower extremity pain and problems can result from genetics, footwear, overuse, and injury.
Hip conditions
- Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI): Structural problems that affect the movement of the ball-and-socket hip joint, made up of the acetabulum (a pelvic bone) and the top of the femur (thighbone)
- Hip fracture: Break in the top quarter of the femur, which can result from osteoporosis (weakened bones) or severe trauma such as a vehicle accident
- Hip pointer: Sports injury involving a deep, painful bruise to the upper outside edge of the hip bone
- The Medela Symphony pump to establish milk flow for new moms who have not been able to breastfeed from the start
- IT band syndrome: Overuse injury causing pain where the iliotibial (IT) band (connective tissue along the outer thigh) rubs across the hip joint
- Labral tear (hip): Torn cartilage around the hip socket, causing pain in the groin or front or side of the hip
- Trochanteric bursitis: Bursitis in the bursa at the outside point of the hip, causing pain along the outside upper thigh
- The Ameda Platinum breast pump for dual pumping to establish and maintain milk supply
Knee conditions
- ACL tear: Tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) that crosses inside your knee, usually due to a quick turn, twist, or direct blow
- Knee ligament injuries: Sprains or tears to knee ligaments, often due to a sudden movement or impact, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty walking
- Torn meniscus: Damage to the meniscus, a rubbery disc of cartilage that cushions your kneecap, usually due to quickly turning or twisting
- MCL injury: Damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) along the inner knee, usually resulting from a blow to the outside of the knee
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome: Pain around the patella (kneecap) due to overuse, injury, or muscle weakness that affects kneecap alignment
- PCL tear: Injury to the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) that crosses behind your knee, usually from trauma such as when your knee hits the dashboard in a vehicle accident
close Lower Body/Spine
Spine and back conditions
- Cervical spondylotic myelopathy: Pressure on the spinal cord in the neck from a herniated disc (jellylike cushion between bones in the spine) or bone spur
- Cervical stenosis: Narrowed canal that protects the spinal cord in the neck, creating injury or damage to the nerves or spinal cord
- Degenerative disc disease: Age-related wear and tear in spinal discs, which can result in spinal cord pressure and nerve damage
- Herniated disc: Ruptured or bulging disc that can cause pain, nerve problems, and loss of strength and mobility, due to aging, injury, or overuse
- Kyphosis: Forward rounding of the upper spine due to aging, injury, disease, or congenital (present at birth) causes
- Osteoporosis-related fracture: Bone breaks due to osteoporosis, a condition in which bones thin and weaken due to bone loss
- Pinched nerve: Nerve compression in the back due to a damaged vertebra (bone in the spine) or disc, causing pain, numbness, and loss of strength
- Sciatica: Numbness, pain, or tingling due to irritation affecting the sciatic nerve, a large nerve that extends from the lower back through the leg to the foot
- Scoliosis: Side-to-side curve in the spine that can cause pain and breathing problems
- Spine trauma: Bruise or partial or complete tear in the spinal cord, resulting in problems with movement, function, or feeling in parts of the body below the injury
- Spondylolysis: Stress fracture in a vertebra, usually occurring in children and teens in sports that involve stress on the lower back such as football and gymnastics
close Back/Spine/Brain
Our sports medicine doctors and orthopaedic surgeons use the latest research and diagnostic techniques in your care. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive or noninvasive therapies to help you heal and regain your active lifestyle.
Treatments by Condition
Whether you need physical therapy, bracing, a cortisone shot, or surgery, we offer the appropriate care to guide your recovery. Our team includes highly trained specialists in the following conditions.
Sports medicine
You have access to a multidisciplinary team of sports medicine doctors, orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists, certified athletic trainers, and strength and conditioning specialists. We work to return athletes to their sport as quickly and safely as possible through intensive, innovative treatment and rehabilitation.
Hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders
The Hand Clinic, part of our occupational therapy program, treats repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and other hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder ailments. Some of our orthopaedic surgeons have board certification and special training in microsurgery for hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Learn more about orthopaedic surgery.
Rehabilitation
Our physical and occupational therapists work with you to condition, strengthen, and retrain physical movement or eliminate pain. Doctors with specialized training in pain management use a number of approaches to eliminate or reduce chronic pain.
Hip and knee
Hip and knee pain sidelines many athletes and people with active lifestyles. Our orthopaedic experts find the source of discomfort and mobility problems and offer treatments such as injections, medications, and physical therapy. Orthopaedic surgeons provide long-lasting relief through hip resurfacing, knee replacement, or hip replacement. Learn about orthopaedic surgery.
Back and spine
We treat complex conditions of the spine and back, usually without surgery. You’ll receive a precise diagnosis and personalized care plan that may include physical therapy, injections, or other treatment. We provide minimally invasive or surgical treatment when needed.
Sports physical therapy
Our licensed therapists have extensive experience preventing and treating sports-related injuries. We work with school athletic programs and children, teens, and adults to provide personalized rehabilitation that may include:
- Pilates: Low-impact exercises to strengthen muscles and build flexibility
- Plyometrics: Expert-guided, high-impact training to improve speed, strength, and endurance
- Sports-specific training
- Strength and endurance training
All Treatments
Diagnosis
- Biopsy: Sample of bone, spinal, or other tissue to check for cancerous cells, infection, or other changes
- Diagnostic imaging: X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs to visualize your bones and joints to check for damage and identify the cause of pain or movement problems
- Electromyography (EMG): Electrode testing to measure the speed and activity of your muscles and nerves to diagnose or rule out the cause of pain or weakness
- ImPACT® concussion testing: Computerized neurocognitive test that gathers baseline information and measures head injury to safely return an athlete to sports participation
- Nerve conduction velocity test: Measurement of how fast electrical pulses move through your nerves
Nonsurgical therapy
- Athletic aids: Supports to help prevent injuries while you play sports
- Braces: Support for injured, damaged, or weak bones and joints
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): Medications that reduce inflammation and pain
- Occupational therapy: Techniques to help you return to work or your usual daily activities, including changes to make some activities easier as you heal
- Orthotic devices: Supports such as wrist, elbow, or ankle braces, heel inserts, or other devices to restore and assist with movement
- Physical therapy: Regimen of exercise, massage, joint manipulation, and other treatments to maximize your function, build strength, and relieve pain
- Splinting: Devices to hold the hand, wrist, foot, or other joint in place to prevent movement and reduce pain and swelling
- TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation): Application of electrical current to relieve pain
Injections
- Steroid injections: Medication delivered into the joint, sometimes called cortisone shots, to help relieve pain and mobility problems due to inflammation
- Facet joint injection: Injection of a numbing anesthetic into joints on either side of vertebrae to block pain
- Nerve root blocks: Anesthetic injection into the area where a nerve branches off the spinal cord
- Trigger point injection: Steroid and anesthetic injected directly into a muscle knot (area of tight, spasming muscle)
Minimally invasive procedures and surgery
Our orthopaedic surgeons perform the full array of procedures to relieve pain and restore mobility anywhere in your musculoskeletal system. Some have specialized training in delicate procedures, such as microsurgery in the hand and wrist. Learn more about orthopaedic surgery and joint replacement.
Your Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Care Team
Our orthopaedic and sports medicine specialists take a team approach, so that you benefit from the expertise of various health specialists working together to plan your care. Our nonsurgical team and orthopaedic surgeons treat conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome, knee pain, ACL tears, torn meniscus, hip pain, heel pain, and plantar fasciitis.
Your Doctors
Orthopaedic Surgeons
Doctors who specialize in orthopaedic surgery are called orthopaedic surgeons or orthopaedists. Orthopaedists have education and training in the workings of the musculoskeletal system. They diagnose conditions or disorders, identify and treat injuries, provide rehabilitation, and help prevent further damage to the musculoskeletal system. Some orthopaedic surgeons specialize in certain areas of the body, such as the foot, shoulder, or spine) or an orthopaedic specialty, such as sports or trauma medicine.
View All Orthopaedic Surgeons »Sports Medicine Doctors
Sports medicine doctors have specialized training in preventing and treating illnesses and injuries, particularly related to activity. They practice nonsurgical medicine, providing comprehensive care for all musculoskeletal conditions, athletic and work performance, and concussion prevention and treatment. They have completed one to two years of fellowship training in sports medicine and passed a national certification in sports medicine.
View All Sports Medicine Doctors »Physiatrists
Physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) is also known as physiatry. This medical specialty focuses on restoring lost abilities for people experiencing disabilities as a result of a disease, disorder, or injury. Physiatrists provide integrated, multidisciplinary care aimed at recovery for the whole person — by addressing their physical, psychological, medical, vocational, and social needs.
View All Physiatrists »
Extended Care Team
Occupational therapists
Occupational therapy uses “occupation,” or purposeful activity, to help people lead independent, productive, and satisfying lives. Occupational therapists, or OTs, work with people who have long- or short-term physical, developmental, or emotional challenges. They coordinate individual or group treatment and can recommend and teach new ways to perform tasks, taking disabilities or injuries into consideration. OTs have graduate-level training and must pass a national exam to be certified to practice.
Physical therapists
Physical therapy focuses on the neuromuscular, musculoskeletal, and cardiopulmonary systems of the human body, as these systems relate to human motion and function. Physical therapists, or PTs, evaluate and provide treatment for people with health problems resulting from injury, disease, or overuse of muscles or tendons. PTs have an undergraduate degree in physical therapy, and many have a master’s or doctorate degree. They must pass a national certification exam to obtain state licensure.
Support Services
We help with the details so you can focus on your health and wellness. We offer a range of patient services and helpful information to coordinate the various aspects of your care:
Videos and Resources
Orthopaedic surgeons, sports medicine doctors, and physical and occupational therapists help you recover from injuries and painful conditions. We help you get back to work or back in the game. Find therapy and treatment at Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley in Pleasanton.