Prepping to participate in a sport means more than cardio workouts, muscle building, and the right diet. It also means checking your body beforehand to make sure your health can handle your chosen sport’s demands.
Adult athletes, both amateur and professional, come to Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine for sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale. Having a personalized preparticipation physical helps adults enjoy their favorite sports activities with the least amount of worry about hidden conditions that could affect their performance—and their lives.
As a form of athletic injury prevention, you can schedule your sports physical as part of your concierge medicine membership. Contact us before you get in the game, and read our blog so you’ll be ready to play.
Medical Clearance for Sports
All of our adult primary care patients with concierge memberships have access to our sports physicals. All three tiers of these memberships include a comprehensive annual physical, which can be tailored to sports performance if needed.
If you plan on participating in sporting events, you should have this athletic physical for a number of health reasons.
Identifying Health Conditions
Sometimes medical conditions can sneak up on you, even since your last physical. For example, sudden cardiac death (SCD) may be relatively rare, but it is the most frequent medical cause of death in athletes. Men are almost 3 times more likely to suffer SCD than women.
People with congenital abnormalities of the coronary arteries face the greatest risk of SCD during intense physical exertion. A person may have gone their whole life unaware of an underlying issue. An athletic physical can help discover this kind of condition, checking for heart murmurs, abnormal heart rhythms, and other symptoms of possible issues.
Other conditions we check for can include:
- Respiratory issues (asthma, EIB)
- Neurological concerns (concussions, sports-related neurological trauma)
- Chronic illnesses (diabetes, specific allergies, sickle cell anemia)
Once you know there could be a health issue, you as an athlete can now ask yourself:
- Do I want to choose a less risky physical activity?
- Do I want to pursue corrective measures to address the condition?
- How do I push through and get to the next level?
Most importantly, a physical helps discover hidden dangers lurking before you start training. Better to know it beforehand and work out a treatment game plan, rather than discovering the issue when it’s too late.
Defining Your Baseline
Sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale establish health baselines, or benchmarks of athletes’ physical and cognitive abilities when they’re uninjured. Once established, we can chart your progress, tracking various changes, including:
- Performance improvements
- Injury evaluations
- Rehabilitation progress
Using this data, you, your coach, and your team doctor can help optimize your performance while ensuring your participation in the sport doesn’t threaten your health.
What to Expect for Your Preparticipation Physical Evaluation
During your preparticipation physical evaluation at Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine, Dr. Stella Villacorta focuses on identifying any conditions that may put the patient at risk during athletic activity.
During this thorough examination, Dr. Villacorta will research and analyze your current physical state and your history. This includes:
- Detailed medical and family history review
- Cardiovascular screening
- Orthopedic assessment
- Evaluation of previous injuries
- Assessment of chronic conditions
Defining Your Starting Point
Your baseline analysis will also include an examination of:
- Current lifestyle factors
- Sleep quality
- Personal nutrition
- Physical and mental stressors
Discover Potential Issues
Our sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale can reveal undiagnosed issues such as:
- Cardiovascular concerns
- Joint instability
- Uncontrolled asthma
- Overtraining symptoms
- Stress
- Disordered eating
When identified, we can create a treatment plan to address risk factors before they limit your performance or increase injury risk.
Getting medical clearance for sports is not just about your chance to participate—it’s about elevating your health and safety for peak performance.
We Can Work With All Sports
We only perform our physicals for adult concierge members—but that’s the only limitation. Among these adults, we frequently see patients participating in activities like:
- Running
- Tennis
- CrossFit
- Cycling
- Martial arts
- Soccer
- Basketball
- And more!
We work with all intensities of sports, from those that allow for moderate training such as pickleball, bocce ball, and archery, to those that require rigorous preparation, such as endurance events like triathlons or marathons.
Professional-Level Sports Medicine
Dr. Villacorta performs sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale for professional athletes. These physicals are often more detailed and tailored to the demands of the specific sport.
In addition to a comprehensive physical exam, she may include:
- Labs
- EKGs
- Mobility assessments
Labs are not always necessary for every sports physical, but if there are concerns about performance, fatigue, or underlying conditions, we may order blood work to check for:
- Anemia
- Vitamin deficiencies
- Hormone levels
- Inflammation markers
Dr. Villacorta may also work in coordination with specialists like sports cardiologists or physical therapists, if needed.
High-performing individuals who want more than a checkbox physical get insight, prevention, and optimization from Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine.
In-Season Athletic Performance Support
After athletes have their sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale, Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine continues to provide a comprehensive approach to their health. We support performance and recovery throughout the athletic season with services such as:
- Nutrition guidance
- Sleep optimization
- Stress management
- Injury prevention
- Recovery optimization strategies
We also offer additional support through IV hydration therapy to boost electrolyte balance, improve recovery, and enhance immunity—which is especially valuable during intense training or competition phases.
Related topic: Better Healing With Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Fort Lauderdale
Partnerships for Athletic Excellence
As an extension of your personalized treatment plan, we partner with Own It, a health optimization company that offers next-level, data-driven support.
Through this collaboration, patients receive customized nutrition, supplementation, and exercise programming based on their goals, lab results, and performance metrics.
This option delivers powerful physical optimization that ensures athletes are operating at their full potential.
Preparing for Your Sports Physical
When you come in for your sports physical, bring your most recent lab work and any relevant documentation from prior physicals or specialists. This is especially important if you have a known health condition or history of sports-related injuries.
You may also need to bring clothing that’s comfortable for physical activity, flexibility exams, etc.
Be ready to share any prescriptions you may be taking, and bring either the doctor’s prescription or the medicine containers to show medicine identification, dosage, and frequency.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sports and physicals go hand-in-hand for athletes who want to do their best on and off the field. Here are some of the most common questions we answer as competitors prepare for their sport.
Is a sports physical the same as a physical exam?
Regular physical exams and sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale can have similar protocols, but they are not identical.
- A sports physical focuses more on evaluating a person’s readiness for physical activity and sport-specific risks.
- A general physical exam covers a broader range of preventive health topics.
Your concierge membership physicals cover a comprehensive health assessment, and can be tailored to your chosen sport.
How much does a sports physical typically cost?
Standard sports physicals at walk-in clinics or urgent care centers generally cost between $75 and $250, but these are typically geared toward basic clearance for school or recreational sports.
For professional or elite-level athletes, a more comprehensive sports physical may include:
- Advanced lab work
- Cardiac screening (EKGs, echocardiograms)
- Body composition analysis
- Performance evaluations
- Concussion baseline testing
These evaluations can cost anywhere from $500 to over $2,000, depending on the depth of testing and the provider.
In our concierge practice, we include these types of evaluations as part of membership, ensuring continuity of care, deeper insight, and personalized optimization without hidden or per-visit costs.
Do you take your clothes off for a sports physical?
The answer depends on the extent of the sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale. A gown may be offered if needed, and for orthopedic and mobility checks, patients may be asked to wear or change into athletic clothing for proper movement and assessment.
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Does insurance pay for a sports physical?
Typically, insurance doesn’t cover sports physicals. Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine doesn’t accept insurance and operates fully outside of the insurance model, so these services are instead included under our membership.
Because of this relationship with our patients, they can protect and promote their athletic health without third-party billing.
Our Concierge Memberships
If you’re unfamiliar with concierge healthcare, imagine going to your doctor when you need to. Depending on your membership level, you can see your doctor in the same week, within 2 days, or on the same day. This can include telehealth visits for the ultimate in convenience.
By paying a monthly membership fee, you receive enhanced medical care directly from your doctor. Along with sports physicals in Fort Lauderdale, our concierge memberships include:
- 24/7 access to physician
- Personalized health plan
- Extended unhurried visits
- Coordination of specialist care
- Chronic disease management
- Prevention & cancer screenings
- Weight loss programs
- Lifestyle & longevity medicine
- Hormone evaluation and replacement if required
Book a free discovery visit. Let’s see if concierge medicine is a good fit for your athletic future.
Get In the Game Safely
When you know what your health baseline is, you can go hard at your game. Our sports physicals bring peace of mind along with an action plan, so that you can participate to the best of your abilities.
Play smart, play safe, and perform at your peak. Your best season starts with a preparticipation physical.
About Galt Dermatology & Concierge Medicine
You deserve primary care that’s always there, ready to help you get well and stay well. Forget waiting weeks and months for your treatment. Our concierge medicine approach means you get access to expert care and genuine honesty when you need it, period.
In partnership with Enya Health, our team delivers a simpler, more transparent, and unparalleled patient experience for men and women in Fort Lauderdale.
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