Sports Medicine Issues - Research Paper Example

Sports Medicine Sports medicine is a scientific branch of medicine that deals with the principles relating to the art and science of sports and it majorly deals with diagnosis of sports injury, its treatment, prevention and sports training which include: sports psychology, nutrition and workouts. Team physicians have been employed for many years but it was in the late years of the 20th century that it emerged as a distinct entity in the world of medicine. Due to the demand of additional training in this particular field of sports medicine there was an establishment of fellowship programs at UCLA, Cleveland clinic and Michigan state university. James C. Puffer founded the UCLA program in 1986 and he was among the pioneers of sports medicine. Since its formation the program has been recruiting among the best physicians with the vision that they will enhance their academic careers to take this discipline to another level and pass down their knowledge to other physicians who are either in practice or training (Berger 34). The program ensures comprehensive experience which is designed to assist the potential physicians to have exceptional skills in research, clinical care and teaching. With the passing years the program has used the professionalism of the experts in the faculty together with their enthusiasm and used it to their advantage to make beneficial changes which support this faculty of sports medicine. Initially, it took one year of training to complete the program but in the year 1989 a second year was added to enable the acquisition of research skills thus officially making it two years to complete the program (Busconi 67). Sports medicine is still in evolution and thus there is expansion in regards to the career paths physicians. The primary focus of faculty is research but there has been need for the use of evidenced-based methods in order to provide medical students with skills in musculoskeletal medicine and issues that affect participation in sports and physical activity. Due to this the role of the clinician-teacher has immensely and rapidly grown. The program’s commitment to develop leaders in sports medicine and taking into consideration the changes made, the program offers a choice of either one year training program or two years training program. For those interested in faculty careers as clinician teachers then they will have to undertake a twelve month curriculum which includes clinical training, teaching and educational opportunities not forgetting support and preparation for scholarly activity and clinical research. But for those interested in having advanced skills and experience, as well as superior development training then a twenty four month program is advised, which will meet the career goals and specific interests of each fellow. It still remains that the program’s main focus is to train those who will advance its discipline. Research shows that over seventy per cent of graduates have pursued academic careers with major athletic teams (Dyment 78). So long as you are in any sort of athlete even if it’s on a non-professional level sports medicine is very important. This is due to the fact that sports injuries bring about excessive damage to the human anatomy which will in turn lead to long term damage without proper medical attention. We can take the example of fractures, these might lead to problems like pains, arthritis, permanent joint pain and general aches. Consequences of this bones not being rehabilitated properly include less mobility ruining the chances to play sports. Injuries that are severe take ages to heal and this is where the services of sports come in and specifically in helping the patient get their muscles together with the bones in working order (Strauss 65). Its importance also ranges across prevention of possible injuries in the future. The physician is most likely to walk you through ways of avoiding injuries in the future, precautions to take against risks and steps that might prove beneficial to strengthening the body and minimize the chances of being injured. Changes in the diet, different body workouts and taking extra care in the field could also be among the many advices that the doctor might recommend. It doesn’t matter whether you are a skilled athlete or not, the importance of sports medicine oversees skill or level because sports injuries cause the worst and severe long term damage that will ruin a sportsman chance of indulging in the activity again. And all in all no one likes being injured since it’s not fun. Any injury should be taken to a doctor for examination so that there are no setbacks that may cause an aftermath. Lastly, sports is about you as an individual. One needs to put themselves and their needs before that of the team to take care of the injuries. It is beneficial since you have the ample time to concentrate on the injury and recovering. The earlier the recovery the earlier one gets back to doing what they love the most. Family support is advised in getting you to the sessions and without delay (Morelli 89). There are several current ongoing research projects being undertaken by institutions all over the country, a good example is the UI sports medicine which is currently carrying out projects on the treatment of syndesmotic ankle sprains, knee, and shoulder dislocations, ankle injuries such as ACL, meniscus and rotator cuff. Institutions are collaborating to come up with ingenious solutions to dilemmas that combat the science of sport. An example is the collaboration between the multi-center orthopedic outcomes network, UI sports medicine team, Vanderbilt university, Washington university, Cleveland clinic and the hospital of special surgery .Technologies that may allow us to detect changes in cartilage health before disability occurs, related pain and significant degeneration occurs are being studied in extensive. This researches are have the objective of assessing meniscus surgery outcomes, minimizing quadriceps atrophy, evaluating methods for rotator cuff engines, weakness after knee surgery and studying the effects of psychological and social factors in sports injuries (Morelli 96). Future expectations are high in regards to sports science since the recent advances are quite promising. For example, there will be a decline in the need for surgery as rehabilitation techniques lead to a more natural road to recovery for more musculoskeletal injuries. New imaging methods and technical advances lead to better ways of treating and diagnosing injuries. In the future scientists will understand the role of nutrition in inflammation and healing at a much deeper level. Tissue engineering will become more commonplace as well as studies of musculoskeletal tissue engineering are yielding promising results. Anyone with the passion of medicine should most definitely pursue a career with sports medicine since its making a break through as a distinct faculty and it takes a short period of two years at most. In conclusion, the fact is that sports medicine plays a major role in our sports industry by keeping our athletes in check by being their physicians and advising them on every aspect on their health and fitness that enables them to better their career and take it to the next level. Works Cited Anthony A. Schepsis, Brian D. Busconi. sports medicine. Philadelphia, Pennyslavania: Edwards Brothers, 2006. print Berger, Melvin. Sports medicine: scientists at work. New york: Crowell, , 2009.print Brent S. E. Rich, Mitchell K. Pratte. Tarascon sports medicine pocketbook. Mississauga: Jones and Bartlett publishers Canada, 2005.print David Drez, Charles Nofsinger. Sports Medicine. canada: Cambridge University Press,, 2008. print Domhnall MacAuley, Thomas M. Best. Evidence-based sports medicine. Toronto: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. print Elattrache, Neal S. Surgical techniques in sports medicine. philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, , 2007. print Greg Whyte, Sanjay Sharma. Practical ECG for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. philadelphia: Human Kinetics, , 2010. print Gregory L. Landry, David T. Bernhardt. Essentials of primary care sports medicine. california: Human Kinetics, , 2003. print Marc R. Safran, Douglas McKeag, Steven P. Van Camp. Manual of sports medicine. Arizona: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, , 2006. print Mark D. Miller, Jennifer A. Hart. SMART! Sports Medicine Assessment and Review Textbook. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010. print Morelli, Vincent. Sports Medicine: Number 1. New york : Elsevier - Health Sciences , 2005. print Patrick J. McMahon, Patrick J. McMahon (MD.). Current diagnosis and treatment in sports medicine. New york: McGraw-Hill Professional,, 2007. print Paul G. Dyment, American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness. Sports medicine: health care for young athletes. michigan: The Academy, , 2007. print Strauss, Richard H. Sports medicine. philadelphia: W.B. Saunders,, 2006. print Venu Akuthota, Stanley A. Herring. Nerve and Vascular Injuries in Sports Medicine. New York: Springer, , 2009. print Read More