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But when the worst happens, the injured amateur can now find skilled and sympathetic treatment at burgeoning sports-medicine clinics. Staffed by doctors and therapists, many of whom are athletes themselves, the clinics offer a wide variety of services. Besides orthopedists, there are often internists, cardiologists, nutrition experts, clinical psychologists and trainers available. In addition to treating injuries, the staffs do research (measuring athletes' bone thickness and percentage of body fat, for example) and function as coaches and equipment advisers. Sample tips: don't buy new sneakers before an orgy of tennis; a little fast walking is the best way to begin to jog; in running shoes, the rubber heel should be wider than the shoe itself, to distribute the weight stress over a wider area. Says George Veras, Lenox Hill sports-clinic assistant director: "Sports medicine is not a medical subspecialty; it's a conglomerate."
Treatment is fairly standard: fractures are set, separated shoulders popped back into place, broken ribs taped. Sometimes ice packs, whirlpool baths or anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. But the best remedy for the innumerable ills that those weakened on weekends are heir to, and the one that the doctors most often prescribe, is rest. The majority of sports patients are ready to take the advice, doctors report, with one exception. "Runners are fanatics," says Berson. "You can't tell a runner to cut back."