The Role of Sports Medicine in Elite Sports

摘要

When it concerns performance enhancement a lot of funds and effort are being put in - amongst others - the development of new training methods, training materials, and equipment. All with the aim to make our athletes stronger, faster and better. what is generally neglected is that in order for athletes to (fully) benefit from newly developed and improved training methods they have to remain in full health. Developments in the continuous registration of injuries have shown that injuries are a constant and performance limiting problem in sports, and it has become apparent that athletes compete while injured. This results in inefficient training and suboptimal performance. Here lies a clear and immediate task for sports medicine professionals. This manuscript outlines a holistic approach towards healthy and optimal performance. An approach that can be used professionals and scientist in sports alike, working jointly towards optimization of athletes' performance.