# Will sports medicine physicians be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 Sports medicine physicians score 40 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 89%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 4% outright, and 7% stays with people. - **4%** AI can do it - **89%** AI helps - **7%** Needs a person Moderate exposure Higher than 53% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 27 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 24 and leaves 2 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Record athletes' medical care information, and maintain medical records. Scribes and templates can draft and file care records. | 75% AI can do it | | Inform athletes about nutrition, hydration, dietary supplements, or uses and possible consequences of medication. AI answers nutrition and supplement questions well; physician reviews advice. | 60% AI helps | | Develop and prescribe exercise programs, such as off-season conditioning regimens. AI drafts conditioning programs well; physician adjusts and approves. | 60% AI helps | | Conduct research in the prevention or treatment of injuries or medical conditions related to sports and exercise. AI speeds literature review, analysis, and drafting; researcher directs. | 55% AI helps | | Advise athletes on ways that substances, such as herbal remedies, could affect drug testing results. AI can look up substance and testing info; physician advises athletes. | 55% AI helps | ## How sports medicine physicians compare All occupations (923) Healthcare practitioners and technical (89) **Sports medicine physicians score 40**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 34 for healthcare practitioners and technical. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $265,930 a year, May 2025 People employed 57,120 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +3.4% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Perform sideline evaluations and hands-on injury treatment at events - Hold a state medical licence and CAQSM sports medicine certification - Check AI-drafted care notes in Epic Systems before signing - Adjust AI-drafted conditioning programs before prescribing them to athletes - Fit protective equipment with coaches and therapists in person ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Physiatrists35 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/physiatrists/) - [Orthopedic surgeons29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/orthopedic-surgeons/) - [Pediatric surgeons29 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/pediatric-surgeons/) - [Emergency medicine physicians33 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/emergency-medicine-physicians/) - [Cardiologists36 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cardiologists/) ## Questions about sports medicine physicians and AI Will AI replace sports medicine physicians? Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly recording athletes' medical care, maintaining medical records, and drafting exercise programs. Hands-on examination, sideline treatment, and return-to-play decisions stay with the physician in person. Which tasks is AI taking over for sports medicine physicians? Record keeping has the highest exposure at 75 out of 100, because scribes and templates can draft and file care records. Nutrition, hydration, and supplement advice follows at 60, since AI answers those questions well, and the physician reviews the result before it reaches an athlete. Which tasks stay with sports medicine physicians? Attending games to evaluate and treat injuries scores 8 out of 100, the lowest exposure of any task in this job. Preparing medical kits for competition sites scores 10. Both need a person physically present at the event, so the physician stays in the room with the athlete. How can sports medicine physicians stay valuable as AI takes on documentation? Spend the hours AI frees on hands-on work, such as sideline evaluations and return-to-play examinations. Check every AI-drafted exercise program and supplement answer before it reaches an athlete. Keep your state licence and CAQSM certification current, and lead the review of AI-drafted notes in Epic Systems or eClinicalWorks. ## Related jobs - [General internal medicine physicians44 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-internal-medicine-physicians/) - [Family doctors42 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/family-doctors/) - [Anesthesiologists28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/anesthesiologists/) - [Urologists34 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/urologists/) ## Next steps for sports medicine physicians - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.