Sports Medicine

The field of sports medicine is living in a tale of two cities: the best of times and the worst of times. It’s an exciting time, where the boundaries of athleticism and technology are being pushed. We have seen the evolution of extreme sports, including the X Games and long distance running races in extreme terrains for hundreds of miles. Athletes are sustaining a level of peak fitness at an older age, challenging our notion of athletic decline. Technological advances have now allowed us to better understand the pathophysiology of injury and recovery. We can now tap into an athlete’s own cells and tissue to optimize growth factors and, potentially, stem cells, to promote healing and speed recovery.

At the same time, it’s a time where athletes are willing to utilize anything in order to win. The pressure stems from astronomical salaries in excess of $100 million and egos enjoying fame. Athletes are now willing to fly anywhere in the world to try interventions that still need better randomized controlled studies to see if they truly work. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the long-term implications of these interventions. Unfortunately, this sends the wrong message to youth athletes, who are more likely to notice the tweets, notoriety, and “money shots” on the Internet than the disability and dementia these athletes may experience later in life.

With this in mind, the current issue on “Sports Medicine” is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary state-of-the-art review focusing on the athlete as a whole in the world we live in. The articles explore the impact of excessive activity, new therapies, and performance enhancement interventions on the musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychological aspects of the athlete. Only by better understanding the balance of these factors and potential risks will we be able to promote healthy athleticism for current and future athletes.

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