At Charleston Sports Medicine, our Board Certified and fellowship trained physician concentrates on prevention and offers patients both non-invasive procedures and complex orthopaedic surgery options for care:
General Orthopaedic Care
Orthopaedics is the medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and conditions of the musculoskeletal system (bones, muscles, and joints).
At Charleston Sports Medicine, we offer general orthopaedic care for young adults to elderly individuals; quality care through each stage of life is our mission. Our practice features expertise is in all orthopaedic care and offers specialization in knee, shoulder, arthritic and joint treatment and methods to avoid or prolong the need for joint replacement.
Our founding physician, Dr. Bright McConnell, III, is a Board Certified and fellowship trained physician offer leading edge, specialty care in:
- Knee
- Shoulder
- Hip
- Foot
- Ankle
Sports Medicine and Performance
Sports medicine is a sub-specialty of orthopaedics and focuses on injuries to the musculoskeletal system as they relate to athletes.
Our practice is dedicated to the complete care of sports-related injuries, offering a comprehensive program of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. Charleston Sports Medicine office treats fractures, ligament injuries (sprains), muscle and tendon injuries (strains), knee, shoulder, ankle, elbow and other injured joints.
Our practice offers both X-ray and Ultrasound technology in the office to diagnosis injuries. We use ultrasound guided injection therapies, to include Hyalgan, Synvisc One, and cortico-steroids, when indicated, to treat joint pain and, where indicated, perform arthroscopic surgery of the shoulder, knee, and other joints.
Working with our partners at Rehabilitation Centers of Charleston (RCC), the Charleston Sports Medicine team safely guides patients through the care and recovery of their sports medicine injuries.
Orthobiologics/Platelet Rich Plasma
Our practice is trained in leading edge and non-surgical alternative treatment for patients who suffer from acute and chronic problems with tendons, ligaments and muscles.
Charleston Sports Medicine specializes in the Orthobiologics treatment known as “platelet rich plasma” or PRP. PRP is blood plasma with concentrated platelets. The concentrated platelets found in PRP contain large reservoirs of bioactive proteins, including growth factors that are vital to initiate and accelerate tissue repair and regeneration. These bioactive proteins initiate connective tissue healing: bone, tendon and ligament regeneration and repair, promote development of new blood vessels, and stimulate the wound healing process.
To prepare PRP, a small amount of blood is taken from the patient. The blood is placed in a centrifuge which spins and automatically produces the PRP. The entire process takes less than 15 minutes and increases the concentration of platelets and growth factors up to 500%.
When PRP is injected under ultrasound guidance into the damaged area it stimulates the tendon or ligament, causing mild inflammation that triggers the healing cascade. As a result new collagen begins to develop. As this collagen matures it begins to shrink causing the tightening and strengthening of the tendons or ligaments of the damaged area.
PRP therapy for inflamed tendons has been used for years in Europe to treat such things as tennis elbow, Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis. Results are often seen after one injection, however, sometimes it requires several therapies, scheduled six weeks apart.
Are You A Candidate for PRP: Frequently Asked Questions
Bone Health
Dr. McConnell is certified in Clinical Densitometry and has experience in the treatment and prevention of osteopenia and osteoporosis.
The Charleston Sports Medicine office features a Center for Bone Health and includes in-office Bone Densitometry, a fast, safe, and painless test that uses advanced technology called DXA (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry) to measure symptoms of osteoporosis such as low density and mineral content of bone. Bone densitometry can detect the early signs of osteoporosis so that patients can begin treating it before a debilitating fracture occurs.
During a comprehensive DXA bone evaluation, a patient lies comfortably on a padded table while the DXA unit scans one or more areas of his/her body, usually the spine or hip because they are particularly prone to fracturing. Unlike conventional X-rays, bone densitometry produces little radiation—less than that produced during a coast-to-coast airline flight. Bone densitometry is noninvasive, involves no injections and, depending upon the number of areas to be scanned, can take just minutes to complete.
