How to Prepare and Make the Most Out of Your Sports Hernia Appointment with Dr. Brown
After weeks or months of frustration and misdirection, you’re finally making headway. You’ve scheduled an appointment with the renowned sports hernia doctor in California, Dr. William Brown. How should you prepare for the appointment? How can you help it go more smoothly? How can you get the most out of your time with the doctor and get on the path to recovery? Ensuring a productive appointment is all in the preparation.
During your appointment, be prepared to provide the physician with as much information as possible about your condition and injury. It’s important that the details be communicated in a clear and accurate way. For this reason, you may be asked to fill out several forms detailing symptoms, medical history and a complete background of your current injury.
Have a complete history of your previous operations or surgeries ready, as this can affect potential treatment recommendations. If you have imaging reports and reports from previous surgeries, please bring copies. There are also a few other forms to fill out, just to ensure that the physician has the correct contact and insurance information as well. You can find a list of all of Dr. Brown’s required forms here. If surgery is required, there are detailed instructions to help prepare yourself and answer many of your questions. Please, download and review the pre– and post-operative instructions.
Seeing a sports hernia specialist also requires some preparation on your part as far as the location and degree of pain. Before you go, it is a good idea to be able to identify the exact sites of your pain. If necessary, exercise before your visits so that you can accurately localize the sites of your pain. It will also be helpful for the physician if you can clearly describe any symptoms you suffer, including feelings of stretching, aching, sharp pain, nerve like pain, or tightness. If possibly, recount the moment of injury, as this will give the doctor insight into how the inguinal disruption occurred. Bring shorts and running shoes. Sometimes Dr. Brown will ask you to exercise as part of the evaluation.
Making the most of your appointment is simply a matter of being prepared. Fill out all necessary forms and provide your medical background, especially a history of any operations that you may have had. Identify your main areas of pain to help the physician choose the correct treatment. Finally, make a written or mental list of symptoms that have come along with your injury, and provide a detailed account of how your injury happened. Write down any questions that you have. An appointment with a sports hernia specialist can seem exciting, scary and way overdue all at once, especially if you’re one of the many who’ve been previously misdiagnosed, but knowing what to expect will help you feel relaxed and ready.
Of course, if you have any questions before your appointment, contact our office staff. They’re here to help.