Prof. Thor Einar is the Chief of Sports Medicine at Aspetar Hospital. Previously he was Head of Football Research at the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre, the Department of Sports Medicine at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, and he has been a member of FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence...
What is Sports Medicine?
A sports medicine physician is a doctor who has significant specialised training in both the treatment and prevention of illness and injury in active people.
Sports medicine is a multidisciplinary specialty. The sports medicine physician is often the first point of contact for the patient in order to make an accurate diagnosis and then formulate and coordinate a treatment/ rehabilitation plan and expedite appropriate referrals to other members of the sports medicine team that may include a specialist surgeon, radiologist, physiotherapist, podiatrist, nutritionist, psychologist or fitness staff.
SMP do not just deal with elite athletes – they can use expertise gained from managing elite athletes and apply the same principles of management to “weekend warriors” or recreational athletes to enable them to maximise function and minimise disability and time away from sports, work or school.
Common examples of problems managed by sports physicians are:
- Acute injuries - ankle or knee sprains, shoulder injuries or muscle tears
- Overuse or chronic injuries - tendinopathies of the knee, elbow or shoulder, stress fractures or bursitis. Anterior knee (patella-femoral) pain, shin splints or frozen shoulder.
- Injury prevention – advice on how to prevent the recurrence of an overuse injury or on how to avoid training mistakes that will lead to injury
- Return to play for a sick or injured athlete
- Exercise advice in athletes with acute / chronic illness – e.g. asthma or infectious mononucleosis