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

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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

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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.

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Sports Medicine - Twitter Search

Sports Medicine Clinics Are on the Rise http://tinyurl.com/ybwebjz
GuyOfGoodness (Michael Allen) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:55:16 -0000
Sports Medicine Clinics Are on the Rise http://tinyurl.com/ybwebjz
Sports Medicine Clinics Are on the Rise- With the huge rise in professional, amateur, and individual sport, the num... http://bit.ly/5udUJ9
chunian (Chunian) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:54:53 -0000
Sports Medicine Clinics Are on the Rise- With the huge rise in professional, amateur, and individual sport, the num... http://bit.ly/5udUJ9
Delee & Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: Principles and Practice (2 Volume Set) by Jesse C. DeLee http://bit.ly/8gwc7c
WarezRocker (WarezRocker) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:43:04 -0000
Delee & Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: Principles and Practice (2 Volume Set) by Jesse C. DeLee http://bit.ly/8gwc7c
Sports Medicine Advanced Orthopaedics Sports - Dora A Picon MD - Richmond, KY .. http://bit.ly/6F9gDw #sports #medicine
featured_health (Featured HealthCare) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:12:27 -0000
Sports Medicine Advanced Orthopaedics Sports - Dora A Picon MD - Richmond, KY .. http://bit.ly/6F9gDw #sports #medicine
"Weight Training For Dummies | Beauty and Health - fashion, medicine, sports, sex - interesting articles" ( http://bit.ly/84XxDg )
hahade (Stefan Stefanov) Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:45:30 -0000
"Weight Training For Dummies | Beauty and Health - fashion, medicine, sports, sex - interesting articles" ( http://bit.ly/84XxDg )
New: Sentara Spotlight: Alexander Lambert, II, M.D. Orthopedics & Sports Medicine http://cli.gs/3rs0b #health
101healthcare (101-healthcare) Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:48:37 -0000
New: Sentara Spotlight: Alexander Lambert, II, M.D. Orthopedics & Sports Medicine http://cli.gs/3rs0b #health

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