Here’s what the Miami Heat’s medical team does in the offseason to keep players healthy
Q. I know the Miami Heat had a great playoff run that unfortunately ended too soon. As the team physician, what are your offseason duties to get ready for next season?
A: It was exciting to be part of a great team experience this year even though we came up a little bit short.
Our first obligation is to perform an exit physical exam on each player. The player receives a cardiology and internal medical exam and routine blood work.
We have a list of all the injuries each player sustained during the season and each receives an orthoon pedic exam to ensure they are now healthy. Any lingering problem is addressed. We develop a personalized offseason conditioning program for each athlete to decrease the risk of re-injury.
The medical team also helps prepare for the NBA Draft, which was Thursday night. Potential draftees received a complete physical including orthopedic exam, cardiology exam, stress test, echocardiogram, blood work and X-rays/ MRI of any area of concern.
The overall medical condition and risk factors for each player were evaluated by our doctors and reported to our head of scouting. The medical status was then factored into each player’s rating.
The Heat also fields a Summer League team in California and Las Vegas in July to evaluate young talent. Any serious injuries will be followed by me in Miami and exit physicals Summer League players will be performed at the conclusion of competition.
Throughout the summer, our training staff will follow the orthopedic progress of our players rehabbing from injuries and follow the general conditioning for all our players.
Dr. Harlan Selesnick is team physician of the Miami Heat and director of Miami Sports Medicine Fellowship, Doctors Hospital. Send your questions to HarlanS@baptisthealth.net