Women's Sports Medicine Center Frequently Asked Questions

More girls and women are participating in sports or various forms of physical activity than ever before, so we’re learning a lot about our potential for athletic performance and what it takes to stay healthy and recover from injury. For the most part, injuries are related to the demands of the sport rather than the gender of the athlete. However, there are some injuries that are more common in women, for example, stress fractures, injuries to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament in the knee) and patellofemoral pain (knee pain). Girls and women must also provide their bodies with adequate energy and nutrients to support their level of activity. This is critical for maintaining normal menstrual function and avoiding irreversible loss of bone.

If you participate in regular physical activity, then you ARE an athlete! You may not be heading to the Olympics, but you are putting physical demands on your body and can benefit from advice about proper training, nutrition and injury care. Many recreational exercisers sustain injuries that require treatment and can benefit from the same treatment philosophy used with professional athletes.

Absolutely. Physicians at the Women’s Sports Medicine Center have extensive experience working with highly trained athletes, including medical coverage of the Olympics, the World Rowing Championships, Federation Cup Tennis and World Cup Soccer. They have been team physicians for the New York Liberty (professional women's basketball team), New York Power (WUSA pro soccer team) and the New York Knicks (professional men's basketball team).

We firmly believe that everyone can find a fitness plan that works for him or her. There are so many choices: walking, strength training, yoga, water aerobics, tennis or dance, to name a few. It’s important to start slowly and find what works best for your body and your spirit. If you’ve decided that you’re ready to make healthy changes to your lifestyle, we can help you get started. Our nutritionists can design a personalized nutrition plan to help you lose fat and regain energy. Our exercise physiologist can give you guidance on setting up a safe, effective and fun fitness program If you have recurrent injuries or ongoing aches and pains, it’s a good idea to see the doctor for a pre-exercise evaluation and some specific guidelines.

As ardent supporters of equal opportunity for all athletes, the WSMC welcomes male patients. We often have husbands, brothers and friends referred by happy patients, who’d like the men in their life to receive the same quality care.

No! You can come for nutritional advice for health and performance, you can have your fitness, strength and flexibility evaluated to aid in the design of an exercise program, or you can get a consultation to help you exercise more effectively and achieve your goals. If you have a medical concern related to activity or would like a pre-exercise head to toe evaluation, this is the place for you.

If your doctor feels that physical therapy will be helpful in the treatment of your injury or condition, she will give you a prescription for physical therapy. Our physical therapist, who also works in Hospital for Special Surgery’s rehabilitation department, provides home exercise programs and evaluations prior to physical therapy at the hospital’s Sports Medicine, Performance and Research Center. If it is more convenient for you, your doctor may recommend a physical therapy practice in your area.

Our nutritionists help clients with a variety of nutrition issues: sports nutrition, pre-competition, competition and recovery nutrition, weight management, disordered eating, osteoporosis prevention and treatment, vegetarianism, fluid strategies for hydration and energy, nutrition for menopause, high cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and general health and well-being. They will work with your food preferences, physical activity profile and lifestyle to design a nutrition program that satisfies your taste buds and your nutrition needs.

There are a variety of fitness assessment options: You can have your body composition measured using either skinfold calipers or DXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry). A physical therapist can evaluate your flexibility and core strength and give you exercise tips to keep your body in balance. You could have an evaluation of your aerobic or cardiovascular fitness using a metabolic cart to actually measure how much oxygen your body uses during exercise and fine tune your training program. Our nutritionists can analyze your diet to determine whether you are meeting your body’s needs for energy, protein, carbohydrate and nutrients. You can select the options that are of most interest to you or you can sign up for the whole works, a day of self-awareness and planning.