Primary care for athletes and active adults in Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is full of people who run, ride, climb and hike, often before work. I grew up here, I finished the BOLDERBoulder this year, and as an Army flight surgeon I have spent years keeping soldiers fit to do demanding work. This guide covers what active adults usually need from a family doctor, and how direct primary care can make that easier.

Peak Health is not open yet. It opens in Colorado Springs after my Army service ends. What follows is how I plan to care for active patients when it does.

What active people need from primary care

• Fast access when you get hurt. A sprained ankle or a sore knee shouldn't mean waiting weeks for an appointment.
• A plan to keep training. "Just rest" is rarely the whole answer. Most injuries heal better with the right kind of activity, and you want to know what you can still do.
• Help sorting what's serious. Knowing when you need imaging, a specialist or physical therapy, and when you don't, saves money and time.
• Prevention that fits your goals. Screening, labs and a training plan built around the events you care about.

How direct primary care helps

As a member, you will be able to call or text me directly. For many injuries, a quick message and a photo is enough to decide whether you need to come in today, start home treatment, or get an X-ray.

Many common sports problems can be handled in the office, including sprains and strains, splinting and casting simple fractures, stitching cuts, and joint injections. Visits are long enough to look at how you move and talk through your training, not just the sore spot. When you do need imaging, a sports medicine or orthopedic specialist, or physical therapy, I coordinate it and help you find a fair price. The full list is on the services page.

Beyond injuries, I write personal exercise prescriptions: daily steps, Zone 2 cardio and strength training. My exercise prescription is the starting point, and Zone 2 training, explained covers the heart rate method I use.

Training at altitude

Colorado Springs sits at about 6,035 feet. If you live here, your body has adjusted. If you are visiting for a race, moving here, or heading up a fourteener, altitude matters.

The CDC notes that acute mountain sickness is most common when sleeping above about 8,000 feet, and that it affects about a quarter of visitors who sleep above that height in Colorado. It usually starts 2 to 12 hours after arrival and feels a lot like a hangover: headache, often with nausea, loss of appetite, dizziness or fatigue.

The CDC's practical advice for the first couple of days:

• Keep exercise mild for the first 48 hours at altitude.
• Avoid alcohol for the first 48 hours.
• Don't go from low elevation to sleeping above about 9,000 feet in a single day if you can avoid it.

Get help right away for confusion, trouble walking straight, unusual drowsiness, or breathlessness at rest. These can be signs of the dangerous forms of altitude illness. Go down and call 911.

Bringing family to town or planning a trip up Pikes Peak? My health note on altitude sickness in Colorado Springs covers prevention, children and when to head down.

Concussion: don't rush back

Falls happen on trails and bikes. After a concussion, the CDC recommends returning to sport only with a healthcare provider's approval, in six steps: daily activities, light aerobic exercise, moderate activity, heavy non-contact training, full practice, then competition. Each step takes at least 24 hours, and you move on only if symptoms don't come back. If they do, you stop and drop back a step.

I can guide that process, check in by text along the way, and tell you when it is safe to race again.

How much exercise is enough?

For general health, the federal Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 to 300 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening on at least two days a week. Many of my active patients do far more. My job is to help you train in a way you can keep up for decades, without breaking down.

When not to wait for your doctor

Call 911 for chest pain or pressure with exercise, fainting, severe shortness of breath, confusion at altitude, or an obviously deformed limb. Direct primary care does not replace emergency care. My guide to DPC, urgent care and the ER explains where to go for what.

Sources: Hackett PH, Shlim DR. High-altitude travel and altitude illness. CDC Yellow Book: Health Information for International Travel. 2026 edition. cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Returning to sports. HEADS UP. cdc.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. health.gov. City of Colorado Springs, 2025 Budget, Springs at a Glance (elevation). coloradosprings.gov.