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Sports Medicine

“Think of exercise as medicine and take your daily prescription.”

Steven Magee

Sports Medicine focuses on the human body to prepare it, treat it and attend to injuries derived from exercise.

Contrary to what many think, the origins of this specialty dates back to ancient times, identifying specific practices and recommendations for exercises in Chinese, Indian and Greek cultures. Taoist monks would recommend particular exercises to purify the soul and body. 

Claudius Galenus (131-201 BC) is recognized as the father of Sports 

Medicine, a Greek physician and philosopher who, with his enormous training, highlighted the importance of consulting with a doctor when performing physical activities. Galenus's work laid the foundations for alternative treatments to injuries and other fields such as anatomy, physiology, pathologies, pharmacology, and neurology.

Since 1989 Sports Medicine is considered a subspecialty of General Medicine in the United States of America. 

It is common knowledge that exercise is part of a healthy lifestyle since it produces many benefits in the body and prevents diseases. However, not all types of exercises are for everyone, and that is a common mistake. We exercise without the proper education on how an exercise is done, at what intensity we should work, how long, and how to progress. Many times, this malpractice results in preventable injuries.

Sports medicine involves three objectives: prevent, guide and cure, and generally, for a better result, it is recommended that it be supported by other related specialties such as physiotherapy and rehabilitation, nutrition, and even psychology.

Some common sports injuries are:

  • Cramps
  • Kinks
  • Sprains
  • Muscle strains
  • Concussions

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