Although family medicine is the most popular choice, other choices for initial residency training prior to doing sports medicine include pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and rehabilitation medicine. Each of these are non-surgical specialties. Orthopedic surgeons must of course complete an orthopedic surgery residency. Then, to pursue the primary care sports medicine path, the doctor applies for a 1-2 year sports medicine fellowship program. During fellowship training for primary care doctors, a great deal of time is spent learning more about sports injuries.
Time is spent in orthopedic surgeons' offices, as well as assisting in orthopedic surgery.
Primary care doctors won't become surgeons, but it's helpful that they learn first hand about the various surgeries that some of their patients may need. Also, since sports medicine is more than just orthopedics, the primary care sports medicine fellowship includes continued training in the doctor's original specialty, be it family medicine, pediatrics, etc. This way, they don't lose touch with their baseline training. They make excellent overall doctors for active people or athletic teams. A doctor who completes an orthopedic surgery residency may also do a surgical sports medicine fellowship, which lasts anywhere from 12-24 months.