Sports Medicine Physicians
Diagnose, treat, and help prevent injuries that occur during sporting events, athletic training, and physical activities.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Sports Medicine Physicians. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $69,170 | $33.26 |
| 25th | $102,930 | $49.48 |
| 50th · Median | $265,930 | $127.85 |
| 75th | $378,770 | $182.10 |
| 90th | $452,360 | $217.48 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (4)
Typical tasks
- Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
- Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.
- Record athletes' medical histories, and perform physical examinations.
- Refer athletes for specialized consultation, physical therapy, or diagnostic testing.
- Provide education and counseling on illness and injury prevention.
- Advise against injured athletes returning to games or competition if resuming activity could lead to further injury.
Expand more tasks (21)
- Examine, evaluate and treat athletes who have been injured or who have medical problems such as exercise-induced asthma.
- Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records.
- Examine and evaluate athletes prior to participation in sports activities to determine level of physical fitness or predisposition to injuries.
- Prescribe medications for the treatment of athletic-related injuries.
- Develop and test procedures for dealing with emergencies during practices or competitions.
- Coordinate sports care activities with other experts, including specialty physicians and surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, or coaches.
- Observe and evaluate athletes' mental well-being.
- Advise athletes, trainers, or coaches to alter or cease sports practices that are potentially harmful.
- Evaluate and manage chronic pain conditions.
- Attend games and competitions to provide evaluation and treatment of activity-related injuries or medical conditions.
- Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication.
- Inform coaches, trainers, or other interested parties regarding the medical conditions of athletes.
- Advise coaches, trainers, or physical therapists on the proper use of exercises and other therapeutic techniques, and alert them to potentially dangerous practices.
- Participate in continuing education activities to improve and maintain knowledge and skills.
- Supervise the rehabilitation of injured athletes.
- Prescribe orthotics, prosthetics, and adaptive equipment.
- 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.
- Advise athletes on ways that substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results.
- Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens.
- Provide coaches and therapists with assistance in selecting and fitting protective equipment.
Skills used in this work
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Expand more skills (29)
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- 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.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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