I decided to specialise in sports medicine because...

To be honest, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do but I've always enjoyed exercise and sports. Plus, sports medicine was a new field when I was deciding on a specialty after graduating from medical school. After scratching the surface, I found sports medicine to be very interesting and made it my career.

The musculoskeletal system is fascinating because...

It is capable of generating great physical power but it can also behave like a delicate piece of machinery when thrown off-balance.

Its multi-layered characteristic also makes it intriguing - one injury can quickly escalate to multiple problems. When patients have injuries that have been plaguing them for several months or years, I have to spend time 'peeling' off the layers to look for the primary problem.

If I were to give an analogy for what I do, I'd be...

Forensic investigator Horatio Caine from CSI Miami, minus the attitude and sunglasses.

To get to the bottom of a problem, I have to follow the evidence as well as construct plausible theories. However, when I am doing treatment procedures such as targeted injections, I am probably more like government agent Jack Bauer from the TV series 24 - entirely focused on my target. My weapon is the range of technologies that I have at my disposal.

I have come across all types of cases...

Every patient's medical situation is unique because there is always a personal context to consider. For example, a calf strain carries a different meaning for a recreational golfer compared to a marathon runner who has an important race in three weeks' time.

A typical day for me would be...

A morning workout at the pool or gym after taking my daughters, aged six and nine, to school. My clinic usually starts at 9am. I divide my time between treatment procedures and diagnostic work. Free time, between patients or at the end of the day, is usually spent answering e-mail, writing reports and attending to my voluntary work as the chairman of the Singapore National Olympic Council's Anti-Doping in Sports Commission.

At home, I spend time with my family. My wife, 42, is a housewife. I also indulge in my musical hobbies - I play the piano and guitar.

I love patients who are...

Cooperative and willing to work with me to get rid of their problems. For many sports injuries, patients must do their part as well, be it by doing conditioning exercises or making specific modifications to their training regimen.

Patients who get my goat are...

Actually, none do. Patients see me because they have a problem that they think I can help to solve and I am always humbled by that fact. Those who are uncooperative and yet have exceedingly high expectations might mildly annoy me, but certainly not in the way an inconsiderate driver might.

One little known fact about sports and exercise is...

Everyone exercises, as long as he is still alive and walking. It is just a matter of whether you are doing enough to reap benefits such as better health and fitness.

Also, you do not have to be an athlete to suffer a sports injury, or to benefit from what sports medicine can offer you.

Things that put a smile on my face are...

People who have a sense of humour and optimists who always manage to look on the bright side. I find it easy to connect with people like that. I believe that having this trait helps them get through their period of injury.

It breaks my heart when...

Bad things happen to good people. I have seen many dedicated athletes suffer because of injury or other problems.

I wouldn't trade places for the world because...

I enjoy what I am doing. On the sports front, I have had the rare opportunity to attend two Olympic Games - the Sydney games in 2000 and Athens in 2004 - as a medical officer for the Singapore contingent. On the professional front, the discipline of sports medicine was in its infancy when I first entered it about 20 years ago. This has given me the opportunity to help shape its development in Singapore.

My best tip...

Exercise is best done in moderation, like most things in life.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.