By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



Football season is in full swing across the state, which can often prove painful for high school and college athletes.

One of the state’s leading athletic physicians, Dr. Larry Lemak of Lemak Sports Medicine in Birmingham, spoke about his practice, sports injuries and how to prevent them during a speech at Thursday’s Gardendale Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

Lemak said many injuries can be avoided through research and education, particularly on the part of trainers and coaches.

Lemak-affiliated programs like SMART (Sports Medicine Athletic Related Trauma) and NCSS (National Center for Sports Safety) are putting an emphasis on injury prevention in youth sports.

He said NCSS is training coaches and officials how to respond to an injury and what to do until help arrives. He said a traumatic sports injury can change a life forever.

“There is not one parent who would drop their child off at a local community pool if there was not a certified lifeguard on duty,” he said. “That same standard should apply to athletics. That is my goal.”

In addition to programs like SMART and the NCSS, Lemak has also created an endowment awarded to high schools across the state. He said the award recently allowed a Gadsden school to purchase a portable defibrillator.

Lemak also spoke about the dangers of children who play the same sport year-round. He said the strain of year-round sports can be detrimental to joints and can lead to injuries.

Lemak’s clinic sees about 12,000 patients annually and performs 2,100 surgeries. His clinic specializes in repairing athletic-related injuries on anyone from high school students to professional athletes like Bo Jackson and Evander Holyfield.

The clinic also sees athletes from colleges across the state, including Auburn and Alabama. Lemak shared an anecdote about a Crimson Tide player waking up from surgery in strange surroundings.

“I had operated on this Alabama linebacker and my nurses had put him in an Auburn (recovery) room,” he said. “I walked in and said, ‘I’m sorry they put you in this room.’ He said, ‘Doc, it’s been painful.’”

In addition to expanding his offices at Brookwood Medical Center, Lemak’s clinic is also branching out to Alabaster and Gardendale. His son, Matthew Lemak, is one of the developers of Gardendale’s future surgical center.

Lemak said whenever someone asks him when he’ll retire, he always says “in five years.”

“I’ve had a nice career in sports medicine and it’s a fun profession,” he said. “I still love to do it and I’ll keep doing it until five years becomes a reality.”