"I treat patients the way that I would want a physician to treat me or a member of my family."
-Dr. Robyn Fean
Robyn Fean, MD, is a fellowship-trained sports medicine physician at Hendricks Orthopedics & Sports Medicine who diagnoses and treats a number of sports-related injuries. Her specialties include acute and chronic joint pain, knee ligament injuries, lateral epicondylosis (tennis elbow), stress fractures, rotator cuff injuries, global fracture care, carpal tunnel syndrome, concussions and much more.
Dr. Fean also provides an in-office procedure called Tenex. This minimally invasive ultrasound imaging treatment is designed for patients with certain common sports medicine injuries, including chronic tendonitis in the elbow, shoulder and knee, as well as pain in the rotator cuff, tennis or golfer's elbow. Using ultrasound technology to guide therapeutic injections and other treatment approaches, she performs additional ultrasound-guided procedures.
Dr. Fean's philosophy of care is to help her patients stay active doing the activities they enjoy. "We want them to recover fully from whatever their injury is," she says. "I want patients to say their whole experience was a positive one, from being greeted by the front desk, to feeling like I am really listening to them and trying to get everything going as quickly as possible."
To schedule an appointment with Dr. Robyn Fean, please call (317) 456-9063 or request online.
After graduating from St. Mary's College, Dr. Fean received her medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Indianapolis and went on to complete a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Washington. She is the newest addition to our growing orthopedics and sports medicine program, enhancing our full continuum of care available to the community.
"Many people don't know how they need to be treated," Dr. Fean explains. "Do they need surgery or don't they need surgery? Do they need physical therapy or not? So they'll come see us in sports medicine, and we decide which way to proceed. My colleagues and I are constantly in contact with our orthopedic, physical therapy and other healthcare teams to provide the best course of treatment for each patient."
Dr. Fean practices at Hendricks Regional Health Brownsburg Hospital, providing care for patients of all ages and activity levels, whether for athletic or everyday activity. Anyone experiencing pain, discomfort or a limited range of motion can benefit from a sports medicine evaluation.
"I see patients of all age ranges. I have toddlers, and I have 90-year-old patients for a variety of conditions," she says. "I think it's important to see a sports medicine physician because we look at things a little bit differently. Our goal right from the start is to get people back to doing what they want to do, and that can vary from running a marathon to just being able to walk around your house comfortably."
As part of our school partnership program, Dr. Fean visits the training room at Brownsburg High School once a week to work with student athletes. She teams up with athletic trainers, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons at Hendricks Regional Health to diagnose and treat athletes for safe return to play, while helping them prevent further injury. When working with student athletes, she sees a variety of conditions, from fractures, tendon and ligament injuries—to back pain and issues related to weight lifting.
For example, Dr. Fean helped Chris, a defenseman for the Junior Fuel and baseball player at Brownsburg, with a bulging disc that made even sitting or standing a challenge. "For patients like Chris, they think an injury is going to end their season or their sport, but the majority of the things we can get them back to," she says. "Resting and healing is an important part of the process so it doesn't get worse in the future. If they take the time off, they're going to get stronger than they were before and come back even better."
When it comes to relating to her patients at Brownsburg High School, Dr. Fean credits her own experience as a student athlete: "I was involved in several sports growing up: gymnastics when I was younger, swimming when I got into high school and later dance. I do believe that because I was a student athlete, I understand the struggles they're going through when they get injured and how frustrating it can be to go through that recovery process."
And with two little ones of her own at home, Dr. Fean understands what parents are going through as well. "I have young kids who are also active," she adds. "I feel like now I can relate both to the athlete and the parent."