Some doctors are D.O.s and some are M.D.s.
Non-surgical, or primary care sports medicine doctors , and orthopedic surgeons . Most primary care sports medicine doctors choose family medicine as their baseline training, which means they first complete 3 years of a family medicine residency after medical school, before embarking on their additional sports medicine training. 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.