Sports Medicine Physicians
Health ScienceO*NET 29-1229.06United States
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
- Median annual earnings
- $264,678
- Projected change
- +6.6%
- Typical education
- Doctoral degree or more
- Employment
- 383.26K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
100% of the workforce
Growing to 408.63K by 2035
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The work
What sports medicine physicians do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
- Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
- Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
- Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
- Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
- Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
- Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills.
- Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful.
- Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
- Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.
- Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
- Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
- Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.
- Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries.
- Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication.
- Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions.
- Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions.
- Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques, and alert them to potentially dangerous practices.
- Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being.
- Select and prepare medical equipment or medications to be taken to athletic competition sites.
- Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise.
- Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment.
- Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.
- Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens.
- Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $68,159
- 25th percentile
- $103,400
- 50th percentile
- $264,678
- 75th percentile
- $378,194
- 90th percentile
- $457,922
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $264,678 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+6.6%faster than average
2025383,256 jobs
2035 projected408,631 jobs
25,375 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Doctoral degree or more
- 100%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Sports Medicine Physicians1,333 postings
- 02Gastroenterology Physicians/Gastroenterologists254 postings
- 03Orthopedic Surgery Physicians211 postings
- 04Internal Medicine/Family Practice Physicians210 postings
- 05Orthopedic Physicians209 postings
- 06Hematologists/Oncologists113 postings
- 07Locum Tenens Oncology Physicians102 postings
- 08Radiology Physicians102 postings
- 09Family Medicine Physicians92 postings
- 10Primary Care Sports Medicine Physicians90 postings
- 11Cardiology Non-Invasive Physicians80 postings
- 12Locum Tenens Internal Medicine Physicians67 postings
- 13Locum Tenens Radiology Physicians64 postings
- 14Physician Directors58 postings
- 15Locum Tenens Cardiology Physicians57 postings
- 16Palliative Medicine Physicians51 postings
- 17Endocrinology Physicians48 postings
- 18Locum Tenens Orthopedics Physicians46 postings
- 19Locum Tenens Radiation Oncology Physicians37 postings
- 20Locum Tenens Cardiovascular Surgery Physicians33 postings
Top employers
- 01AMN Healthcare1,681 postings
- 02Enterprise Medical Recruiting120 postings
- 03Protouch Staffing95 postings
- 04Britt Medical Search85 postings
- 05CompHealth71 postings
- 06The Curare Group68 postings
- 07Surgical Information Systems59 postings
- 08Archway Physician Recruitment52 postings
- 09Jackson Physician Search50 postings
- 10Hayman Daugherty Associates42 postings
- 11DirectShifts37 postings
- 12Doctors Choice Placement Services25 postings
- 13Summit Recruiting Services24 postings
- 14Integrity Healthcare23 postings
- 15Trinity Health22 postings
- 16Healthcare Recruitment Counselors20 postings
- 17All Star HealthCare17 postings
- 18CHRISTUS Health17 postings
- 19Kaiser Permanente16 postings
- 20Med Career Center16 postings
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