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Terry Streetman (Host): Hello, listeners. Thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Terry Streetman. Joining me today is Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi, a sports medicine doctor with Riverside Orthopedic Specialists. She's here to discuss sports medicine, preparing for fall sports, and reducing the risk of sport-related injury. Thanks for joining us, Dr. Kalidindi.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Hi, Terrence. Thank you for having me. This is the first time I've ever done a podcast, so...

Host: well, I have faith.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: I'll do my best.

Host: I think it'll go great.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Yeah.

Host: As you mentioned though, this is your first time on this podcast or any podcast. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about your role here and your background?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Absolutely. So, I'm a non-operative sports medicine, also called as primary care sports medicine. As that entails, I don't do any surgeries. I'm the non-surgical side of sports medicine, like evaluating, treating musculoskeletal injuries. I completed my residency in family medicine up in Wisconsin, and then completed one year of primary care sports medicine fellowship.

So as my role being a non-operative sports medicine physician, I see all kinds of musculoskeletal injuries, no specific age or any range. So, anywhere between a two-year-old, like a kid playing, being active on the playground or anything like that or at school, to like school athletes, to weekend warriors, and also older people who want to go for a walk and just stay active. So, just simply any kind of musculoskeletal injuries.

And I help them, like, how to get back to being active, what kind of treatment we can do, and just talk about it and discuss how to optimize the performance and getting back to what they like of being active.

Host: Excellent. Well, thank you for that. That's very helpful. And even I didn't have a great sense of what all that happens there, or the difference between—you know, that there was operative and non-operative. So, thank you. You talked a little bit about the folks that you see, the ages that you see. As a sports medicine specialist, what kind of conditions do you treat?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: So, sports medicine, our spectrum is really, really broad. So, we can see from any acute injuries, like, you have an ankle sprain or a strain or a fracture, or even concussions for that matter. From acute injuries to even chronic injuries like arthritis or stress injuries or even like tendinopathies. You had this elbow injury for like a long time ago, and it just keeps nagging you every time you go play golf or twist doors or anything like that. So as I said, it's like such a wide range that we do everything.

Host: Okay. Well, that's very helpful. And you touched on this too, but I think maybe people hear sports medicine and they think, "Well, I'm not on a sports team. I'm not a competitive athlete." Do you have to be an athlete to see a sports medicine doctor?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Absolutely not. So as I said, it's like if you just want to train for a 5K or if you want to just do a 2K walk or anything like that. So, anybody that want to stay active, that are looking to start being active, any kind of people that just want to go for a walk or go on a short jog or play pickleball or, you know, have a fun weekend play a nine-hole golf or anything like that. So, we do see everybody. We even see, like, a two-year-old with a fracture. So, it's such a wide range. But our main focus would be helping people to move better, stay active, and maintain a healthy lifestyle, regardless of age or fitness level.

Host: Okay. Yeah, and we know staying in motion is such a big factor for staying healthy. So, one of the things that Riverside is proud of is our comprehensive orthopedic care. How do you collaborate with those other orthopedic providers and other departments at Riverside?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: So as you know, medicine as a whole is always a team effort. So, the same thing applies to us as well. So, we work very, very closely with orthopedic surgeons, our physical therapists and occupational therapists, our athletic trainers in our schools, radiologists, primary care, and even rheumatology, and all other specialty. It's always a team effort. If I cannot figure out what's going on with a patient, I try to go discuss the case with the other expertise, and then coordinate so that the patients get the right medical treatment and right medical management at the right time.

So if a patient needs surgery, luckily everything is in one building, so I can just walk across and talk to our surgeon and be like, "This is the case." So, I make sure that the patient is already scheduled on their schedule so that it's very seamless and it doesn't get delayed. And if the patient doesn't need any surgeries, we work together with physical therapists, occupational therapists, or if it's an athlete and it's from a school, like athletic trainers as well, just to discuss about rehabilitation, conservative management, and try to figure out a plan to make sure that the patient is back to activity safely.

Host: Great. And that's, I think, another benefit. Not only that Riverside has all of that under one roof, but also then all within myChart. So, it's easy to coordinate all that. That's great.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Absolutely.

Host: So when patients come in, kind of a frequently asked question, what are some of the most common questions that you get from patients?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Every time they're like, "When do I go back to sports?" "When do I go back to playing pickleball? When do I go back to playing football?" That's a very common question I get. And a lot of people actually say is like, "When do I return to work?" as well, right? That's a very important thing. And the other common questions I get are like, "Do I need surgery? Can this be treated without surgery?" or how long the recovery is going to take.

So, I always provide a very realistic expectation for a patient, and then create a recovery plan that's individualized to each patient. So, it's not like a generalized treatment protocol, but just very individualized.

Host: Well, great. I think that'll be helpful for folks who are maybe listening to this because they're not sure if they need to go in. So, thank you for that. Before we continue our conversation, we'll pause for a moment to discuss the importance of primary care.

At Riverside, our primary care providers are right here in your community, offering personalized care for you and your family, close to home and connected to the specialists and services you may need.

Having a primary care provider means having someone who knows you, listens to you, and helps you stay well through every stage of life, from annual checkups and preventative screenings to managing everyday concerns when they pop up, because remarkable care should never be out of reach. Remarkable care, right where you live.

To find a primary care provider who's right for you and your family, visit myrhc.net/acceptingnew.

Okay, we're back. We're going to continue with our questions here. As we're discussing this, we're kind of rolling into fall sports season. But these questions could apply to any time. What should athletes be doing, whatever level they're at, in the off-season to prepare for the start of their season?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: So, the off-season is actually one of the most important times of injury prevention. So, athletes should focus on mobility, conditioning, building strength, working on balance, core stability, and also maintaining cardiovascular fitness. It is also a great opportunity to correct the movement patterns or muscle imbalances that can lead to injuries later.

So, another important point is to gradually increase training before the season starts, instead of just jumping in full intensity, because that's where you see a lot of injuries, because they're so cold with such a long break. So, giving your body time to adapt significantly reduces a risk of injury.

Host: Okay. And in the unfortunate situation that someone either hasn't done that prep or has some other type of injury come up, what are some of those most common injuries that you see during the season?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: As fall sports start up, because as I said, it's like they're so cold, cramps is a very, very common injury that we see, especially, like, first couple of games of football. And then, ankle sprains, knee injuries, like ACL, meniscal injuries or even strains in the muscles, like hamstrings or quadriceps. And sometimes shoulder injuries because, as I said, just being cold and not warming up. And wrists and finger fractures or injuries are the common things that we usually see. But obviously, I cannot forget concussions.

That's a big thing at this time of the season sports. But also, we see overuse injuries as these also increase as athletes start to return to practice after a long break, especially if training volume increases too quickly instead of a progressive increase. But the good news is that many of these injuries are preventable as we discussed before, with proper conditioning and technique and recovery and rehabilitation.

Host: Well, great. Hopefully nobody deals with any of those, but—

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: I hope so.

Host: It's good to know that they've got folks here that can help them out if they do. So when athletes are in their season, sometimes you get sore from playing or there's nagging aches and pains. At what point does an athlete consider coming to see you? Or I guess, what are some early signs as well of injuries that they should watch out for?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: I think the most important thing to look for is pain. Like as you said, soreness, a little aches and pains are okay. But if the pain doesn't get better within a few days, that's an earliest warning sign that we look for. If you have an injury and you have like significant swelling, bruising, inability to put weight on it, or pain with weight-bearing, or even limited range of motions. These are some signs and symptoms that we look for that I would like people to watch out for and it would benefit for them to come and see us so that early diagnosis can also help. But I also tell my patients to listen to your body. Ignoring symptoms and trying to push through can actually often turn a minor issue to a bigger injury, and we want to try to prevent that.

Host: Yeah. I feel like there's a lot of times, especially in sports like football, the mindset of play through it, push through it, and being stubborn's not going to do you any favors.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Yep. Absolutely.

Host: Okay. Well, we're getting to the end here. I think one question I always love to ask, what is the biggest thing, if someone was going to take one thing away from this episode, what would it be?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: I think the biggest takeaway is how you mentioned like staying active is one of the best things that you can do for your health as a whole. But also, taking care of your body is as important as training and being active, right? So, don't ignore persistent pain or any new injury that is not getting better, and don't rush back after an injury. And focus on prevention through proper conditioning, rest, nutrition, and recovery. If you feel like, "Oh, I don't feel the pain," and you go back to playing. But you can start feeling those symptoms again.

But as I mentioned before, sports medicine is just not about treating injuries. We like helping, people stay active, healthy, perform at their best, and continue enjoying the activities they love. And early evaluation and right treatment actually makes a lot of difference in getting you back safely and confidently.

Host: Okay. Anything else that we haven't covered that you want to make sure people know?

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: I think the other important thing about—we were talking about concussions. So, I just want to let people know, especially athletes or anybody in that matter, if you have had concussion-like symptoms or had a head injury, just make sure that you get evaluated right away, even before you're going to any activities and especially when you're trying to return to sports, because there are a lot more complications if you return to sports or activities before getting evaluated and before you start feeling better. So, we want to treat you right, make sure you are recovering well before you go back to your sports or activities.

Host: Okay. Well, thank you for that. I'm glad you were able to get that in there. And, anybody who's listening, I encourage you reach out to our orthopedics, our sports medicine, or to your primary care provider, because everything is all connected in one system. It's easier to get you connected with the services that you need. So, thank you again for being here, Dr. Kalidindi.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me here.

Host: Absolutely.

Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi: It was a great experience.

Host: I love to hear that. For anyone listening, if you'd like to learn more about Riverside Orthopedic Specialists, you can visit chooseriversideortho.com. Thank you for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast with our guest, Dr. Snigdha Kalidindi, and your host, Terry Streetman. Be sure to like and subscribe to Well Within Reach on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. To learn more about the services of Riverside Healthcare, visit riversidehealthcare.org.