Sports medicine or sport medicine is an interdisciplinary subspecialty of medicine which deals with the treatment and preventive care of athletes, both amateur and professional. The team includes specialty physicians and surgeons, Athletic trainers, physical therapists, coaches, other personnel, and, of course, the athlete.

History

---

The origins of sports medicine lie in a well ancient Greece and ancient Rome where physical education was a necessary aspect of youth – training and athletic contests first became a part of everyday life during these times. However, it was not until in 1928 at the Olympics in St. Moritz, when a committee came together to plan the First International Congress of Sports Medicine, that the term itself was coined. In the 5th century, however, the care of athletes was primarily the responsibility of specialists. They were trainer-coaches and were considered to be experts on diet, physical therapy, and hygiene as well as on sport-specific techniques. The first use of therapeutic exercise is credited to Herodicus, who is thought to have been one of Hippocrates' teachers. Until the 2nd century AD, when the first "team doctor", Galen, was appointed to the gladiators, the physician only became involved if there was an injury. Whether or not there was good communication or rapport between the trainer-coaches and the team physician back then is a matter of speculation. What is clear however, is that from its beginnings, Sport Medicine has been multidisciplinary with the obligation not only to treat injuries but also to instruct and prepare athletes. This link with physical education has remained in place throughout its evolution.

Sports medicine today

---

Sports medicine has always been difficult to define because it is not a single specialty, but an area that involves health care professionals, researchers and educators from a wide variety of disciplines. Its function is not only curative and rehabilitative, but also preventative, which may actually be the most important one of all. Despite this wide scope, there has been a tendency for many to assume that sport-related problems are by default musculoskeletal and that sports medicine is an orthopaedic specialty. There is much more to sports medicine than just musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment. Illness or injury in sport can be caused by many factors – from environmental to physiological and psychological. Consequently, sports medicine can encompass an array of specialties - cardiology, orthopaedic surgery, biomechanics, traumatology, etc. For example, heat, cold or altitude during training and competition can alter performance or may even be life threatening. What about the female triad of disordered eating, menstrual and bone density problems, and the pregnant or the aging athlete? In addition, the management of dermatological and endocrinological diseases and other such problems in the athlete demands expertise and sport-specific knowledge. The use of supplements, pharmacological or otherwise, and the topics of doping control and gender verification present complex moral, legal and health-related difficulties. Then there are the particular problems associated with international sporting events, such as the effects of travel, acclimatization and the attempt to balance an athlete's participation and her or his health. Much of this represents new fields of study where extensive clinical and basic science research is burgeoning. Finally, prevention is an area of increasingly specialized knowledge, interest and expertise.

More on [ Sports medicine ]

Sports Medicine - Twitter Search

CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR-SPORTS... - Greenville, NC (http://tinyurl.com/yk4c89e) Get Sports Medicine Jobs #SportsMedicine #27858 #jobs
GetSpoMedicJobs (Sports Medicine Jobs) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:05:38 -0000
CLINICAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR-SPORTS... - Greenville, NC (http://tinyurl.com/yk4c89e) Get Sports Medicine Jobs #SportsMedicine #27858 #jobs
Sports Medicine Advanced Chiropractic & Sports - Marjorie Greene DC - Placenti.. http://bit.ly/6Ixx7B #sports #medicine
featured_health (Featured HealthCare) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:12:15 -0000
Sports Medicine Advanced Chiropractic & Sports - Marjorie Greene DC - Placenti.. http://bit.ly/6Ixx7B #sports #medicine
Sterling Moore injury update (12-15-09): SMU Director of Sports Medicine stated at practice, "he is really working ... http://bit.ly/81cuMB
DavidCauchi (David Cauchi) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:00:30 -0000
Sterling Moore injury update (12-15-09): SMU Director of Sports Medicine stated at practice, "he is really working ... http://bit.ly/81cuMB
Toronto sports medicine doctor under fire for alleged use of human growth hormones: The lawyer spoke to media on Tu... http://bit.ly/8Es5yM
LivingAir (Living Air Classic) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:06:13 -0000
Toronto sports medicine doctor under fire for alleged use of human growth hormones: The lawyer spoke to media on Tu... http://bit.ly/8Es5yM
: Sports Medicine Pioneer Subject of Doping InquiryA Canadian doctor who has treated many N.F.L. players as well as... http://bit.ly/8jtsOz
healthissuesnow (Health Issues Now) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:36:56 -0000
: Sports Medicine Pioneer Subject of Doping InquiryA Canadian doctor who has treated many N.F.L. players as well as... http://bit.ly/8jtsOz
New post: OSF St. Anthony Center for Sports Medicine offers discount on golf program for holiday (http://cli.gs/J2H5a) http://cli.gs/J2H5a
RockRiverTimes (The Rock River Times) Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:09:34 -0000
New post: OSF St. Anthony Center for Sports Medicine offers discount on golf program for holiday (http://cli.gs/J2H5a) http://cli.gs/J2H5a

Subscribe to Sports_Medicine RSS feed