The name athletic trainer (AT) implies that ATs coach and train athletes to improve baseline performance. This title and the euphemism “trainer” create ambiguity regarding the AT's knowledge, skills, and abilities. ATs are multiskilled health care clinical professionals who deliver…
The term athlete, derived from the Greek word athlon meaning “prize” or “contest,” conjures images of a healthy, fit person. Although athletes possess physical speed, strength, and talents, they also have a repertoire of medical problems as well as a…
Participation in sports and physical activity by persons with different abilities continues to grow within the general athlete population and within the adaptive sports community. Sports participation provides these athletes with benefits in terms of their general state of health,…
The Growing Importance and Recognition of the Female Athlete Over the past several decades there has been a rapid development of competitive sporting events for women, and parallel to this, an emergence of increasing numbers of excellent competitive women athletes.…
Sports Pharmacology: Ergogenic Drugs in Sport There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. Vince Lombardi In this day and age, it is common for athletes to be scrutinized…
Proper nutrition is often an undervalued facet of athletic competition. However, in recent years sports nutrition has gained popularity and has secured recognition as a key piece of the training regimen. Within the past decade there has been a notable…
Participation in athletics involves physical risk that can result in limited ability or inability to continue sports play. Medical advances have led to the improved diagnosis of athletic injury and formulation of rehabilitative treatment plans. Psychological variables influence how individuals…
Despite advances in protective gear for the face, facial trauma remains a common injury treated by sports medicine physicians. The face is a rather “high rent” district with sole proprietorship of four out of five senses (vision, hearing, taste, and…
The skin and its appendages constitute a complicated and highly regulated organ known as the integumentary system. Its functions are diverse and include protecting the body from an array of external insults by means of physical and immunologic mechanisms, regulating…
Epidemiology Emergency department visits in the United States for exertional heat illness (EHI) increased 133% during the period 1997–2006. Cases of EHI consisted of heat exhaustion (72.7%), heat syncope (9.7%), heat cramps (5.4%), and heat stroke (1.8%). Patients younger than…