Gregory Masters, MD, and Robert Diaz, MD, work as part of a collaborative team of physicians, physician assistants, and physical therapists at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center, treating a variety of patients, including athletes.
Whether it’s an athlete who healed in time to compete or a woman with shoulder tendinitis who stopped feeling pain, a sports medicine doctor’s biggest reward is seeing patients thrive after treatment, said Gregory Masters, MD, orthopedic surgeon at the Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center.
Dr. Masters is part of the Santa Clara Medical Center’s sports medicine team, which has one of the bigger operations in the Northern California region with dedicated sports medicine office space at satellite medical offices in San Jose, Milpitas, Campbell, and Mountain View. The team consists of 7 nonoperative sports medicine physicians, 12 orthopedic surgeons – 3 of whom are specifically focused on sports medicine – and 11 physician assistants.
Seamless collaboration
The Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Department at the Santa Clara facility is designed so that sports medicine-focused physicians have their offices next to their colleagues in orthopedics, fostering easy communication and collaboration on cases. The Physical Therapy Department, which includes a gym for patients in rehabilitation, is also a short walk from the physicians’ offices.
“We are all physically integrated, and we’re directly interacting multiple times every day,” Dr. Masters said.
“We’re always willing to help each other,” said Robert Diaz, MD, sports medicine physician in the department. “This is first and foremost why our patients get great care here.”
The Santa Clara sports medicine team treats a variety of sports medicine injuries and is a hub for sports injuries in children and teenagers. The team has 2 pediatric orthopedic surgeons who specialize in unique pre-adolescent injuries, such as growth plate fractures.
The team also helps treat athletes in local high schools and community colleges, and one of the sports medicine physicians on the team – Lara Salamacha, MD – helps treat the national figure skating team.
Personalizing the care
Dr. Masters said the team strives to connect patients with like-minded doctors and therapists who enjoy the same sports that they do. This approach has been well received by patients.
“Patients enjoy having providers who understand their sport and what they’re doing,” said Dr. Masters, who grew up playing baseball and water polo and has done triathlons to stay fit.
The nonoperative sports medicine physicians’ goal is to help patients who are not surgical or who are trying to avoid surgical procedures heal through various physical therapy techniques as well as advanced ultrasound-guided injections, in which Dr. Diaz specializes.
Dr. Diaz and Dr. Masters worked on a recent case of a woman with calcific shoulder tendinitis, a condition where calcium deposits gather within the tendon causing irritation and pain. Using an ultrasound-guided technique, Dr. Diaz was able to break up the deposits, allowing the patient to avoid a more invasive surgical solution.
“We get creative with patients who want to stay away from surgery,” Dr. Diaz said. “We try to tailor our treatment and sometimes think outside the box. This patient ended up very happy and that brought me a lot of joy.”
Visit KP Santa Clara sports medicine website for more information.