What Is Sports Medicine?

Sports medicine is a field of medicine that is specifically related to the treatment of sports conditions and sports-related injuries. Those involved in the sports medicine field go through specialized training to help them further grasp some of the common issues associated with sports and physical injuries. It is becoming an increasingly popular field and the demand for sports medicine specialists is growing as the general population seeks to become more active. While physicians are an important part of the sports medicine field, they are not the only ones involved in sports medicine. Others involved include nutritionists, personal trainers, coaches and sports psychologists. Depending on the specific field an individual is trying to get into, it may require a bachelor's degree or a graduate degree. Some may further wish to continue their education based on the competition for jobs. The goal of sports medicine is to prevent injuries and optimize a healthy lifestyle. Once an injury ...  more

Health advice and treatment given to professional or training sports people.  more

Although we would wish upon any horse a long and happy life free from illness or accidents, the reality is that equine athletes, just like human athletes, have a tendency to push their bodies higher, further, and faster than nature might have intended. The injuries that result, even when not catastrophic, can limit a horse's ability to perform at the expected level. Even when our horses avoid actual injuries, other illnesses can limit their ability to perform. In order to compete as athletes, horses need to be sound, they need to be able to breath well, they need to have an efficiently functioning heart and vasculature, and their neurologic systems, which orchestrate the whole, need to be intact. The role of equine sports medicine is to determine how each of these body systems enables the horse to perform at a maximum level, and, if the horse's performance has decreased, to determine which body system is malfunctioning. Although it is relatively easy to spot a horse that is limping ...  more