Sports Medicine
Sports Medicine, branch of medicine concerned with the effects of exercise on the human body and the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of athletic injuries. Sports medicine is not yet recognized as a medical specialty. More than 5000 physicians, however, belong to the American College of Sports Medicine, founded in 1955, and more than 600 surgeons are members of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine, established in 1972. Many members of these societies are physicians for professional sports teams. Sports physiology is studied at several specialized centers, such as the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Exercise Physiology Scientists recognize two kinds of exercise: isotonic and isometric. Isotonic exercise involves moving a muscle through a long distance against low resistance, as in running, swimming, or gymnastics. In isometric exercise, on the other hand, muscles are moved through a short distance against a high resistance, as in pushing or pulling an immovable object. Isometric exercise is best for developing large muscles, whereas isotonic exercise has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. It increases the amount of blood that the heart can pump and causes proliferation of small blood vessels that carry oxygen to the muscles. These changes make possible longer sustained activity. Neither kind of exercise increases the number of muscle fibers, but both types-and especially isometric exercise-increase the thickness of the muscle fibers and their ability to store glycogen, the fuel for muscular activity. Athletic Injuries Surveys have shown that most football and basketball injuries involve the knee, either through twisting or through application of lateral force. Surgery for such injuries has become much simpler with the invention of the arthroscope, a thin device containing a fiber optics light that can be inserted into a thin slit in the knee. Repair can be accomplished through this narrow opening. Long-distance runners also suffer knee injuries, but a more common problem for runners is stress fracture, which is a weakening of the front of the shinbone caused by over-use, with pain and possible bone cracking as the result. Ligament tears are more common in gymnastics. Almost all these conditions heal with rest. Prevention of injuries depends primarily on good conditioning. Athletes are also protected by the use of better padding materials and of face masks in hockey and eye protectors in squash and other racquet sports. The improper or illegal use of drugs and substances such as steroids for the temporary enhancement of athletic performance in competitions has been a frequent subject of inquiry since the 1960s, when drug misuse by athletes to gain an unfair advantage began to rise dramatically. Anabolic steroids supposedly enhance strength and endurance, but they can also have harmful side effects such as liver damage. Tests for narcotic analgesics such as heroin and stimulants such as the amphetamines were introduced at the Olympic Games in 1968. Anabolic steroids were not banned until 1974, when a suitable test was developed. The illegality of some drugs has not been accepted by a number of other international and national amateur athletic federations, for reasons including testing uncertainties, doubts about banning certain medicinal substances or common drugs such as caffeine, and simple lack of concern. Controversy has also arisen over the legality of the practice of "blood doping," in which an athlete receives a blood transfusion just before an event. The resulting increase in red blood cells apparently enhances the athlete's aerobic power. |
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