WHAT IS SPORT & EXERCISE MEDICINE AND WHO CAN BENEFIT
Sport & Exercise Medicine (or Sports Medicine for short) is a field of medicine that involves preventing,
diagnosing and treating sports or exercise-related injuries. Other than
managing injuries, Sports Medicine also uses exercise intervention to
prevent and manage chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and
obesity. In the context of an evolving medical understanding of
human performance and lifestyle diseases, and advances in Sports
Medicine and Science, modern man’s pursuit of competition, exercise and
health has been made safer and more satisfying. Sports
Medicine facilitates an active lifestyle,
whether you are already active or sedentary. For the elite athlete,
Sports Medicine helps you in the pursuit of excellence, pushing the
boundaries of physical performance.
The Sport & Exercise Medicine team
includes the Sports Physicians, Sports Orthopaedic Surgeons, Sports
Physiotherapists, Sports Massage Therapists, Sports Trainers, Sports
Podiatrists and Sports Scientists (Exercise Physiologist, Sports
Dieticians, Strength and Conditioning Coaches, Sports BioMechanists, and
Sports Psychologists).
Typically, those who seek the help of Sport and Exercise Medicine include:
- Individuals exercising recreationally, usually seek help for nagging sports injuries, and wish to return to or maintain their active lifestyles
- Corporate executives or Individuals seeking the mental edge in performance in life, sport or work
- Competitive athletes, usually see the Sports
Physician for annual pre-participation screening and injury management.
The objective is to safely expedite the recovery process, so that the
athlete recovers and goes on to perform even better than before the
injury
- Young athletes seeking to start a sport with the right techniques
- Individuals with chronic conditions who require treatment (e.g.
obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, coronary artery disease,
fatty liver, and obstructive sleep apnea) who wish to embark on a safe
exercise programme. The Sports Physician works with the doctor looking
after the primary disease to devise and implement a safe and effective
exercise programme, through exercise testing and prescription. Such an
exercise programme controls or reverses the medical condition, thereby
improving quality of life
Injury management forms the bulk of the Sports Physician’s work.
Quick recovery and safe return to sports can be achieved through:
- Accurate diagnosis of the injury, in terms of its site and underlying pathology
- Identification of root causes, so that recurrences can be prevented (e.g. gait abnormalities, biomechanical factors, training errors, and faulty equipment)
- Intensive rehabilitation is directed towards the specific injury to enhance healing and restore function to the affected parts
- Returning the individual to his pre-injury level of activity or higher through correction of the underlying problem (e.g. via strength training)