Sports Medicine

The World of Sports Medicine

The roots of sports medicine can be traced all the way back to Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome where physical exertion was something necessary for the youths. Physical competition and athletic training were normal parts of life during these times. It took thousands of years, 1928, before a formal committee on medicine in sports was put together. It was known at the International Congress of Sports Medicine, which is also where the term was first used. Specialists were the first people who watched out for the well being of athletes in competitions. They managed their therapy (physical), their overall hygiene, and their dietary habits. There still stands a matter of debate on whether or not there was any dialogue about injury between specialist and player during these times. What does remain, without speculation, is that this area has been something that was not only about treating physical pains but using preventative measures to keep away injuries as well.

The area of sports medicine is nothing something that can be easily define due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to because there is no single specialty. It is an area that requires a collaborative effort among educators, researchers, and trained health professionals from many areas. Some believe that since most sports issues deal with bones that an orthopedist will treat all injuries. This is a misnomer because not all sports injuries are the same. They can stem from areas such as the environment to mind-related and so on. Thusly, it can encompass a vast array of specialties such as the heart (cardiology), orthopaedic surgery (bone), etc. For example, the male body responses may be different than those of women because there are more contingent factors when dealing with women, as opposed to men. There are also the topics of supplements, whether over the counter or from the pharmacy, that can otherwise alter the body’s performance and provide senses of false security for all those involved. Much of this field of medicine requires a lot of base research and clinical work to ensure that the procedures are going to be performed in the manner to which there will be full recovery.

Many people, especially those involved with sports, believe that sports medicine will make its biggest impact within the field of prevention. Preventing injury before, during, and after your body exerts itself during sports is a key to the body actually staying healthy. It should be known that, if not already, there never will exist a time where the body will be free from risk of injury. However taking the proper precautions and understanding what causes bodily injury during and after physical exercise is part of the problem, as well as part of the solution.