Guest blog: Do athletes with prosthetic limbs have an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes?

    Abhishek Chitnis 3rd Year Medical Student Keele University Email: v0z55@students.keele.ac.uk The use of prosthetic limbs in medicine has helped many patients over millennia lead a more comfortable life, enabling them to continue their activities of daily living as well as to compete in sport. In developing countries, prosthetic limbs are mainly used because […]

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Designer Bodies: Anabolic steroid use in high schools

By Dr Glen Hagemann Sports Physician and President of the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA)   Last year Discovery Sharksmart  anonymously surveyed 9824 male pupils attending 20 high schools in South Africa regarding various lifestyle behaviours.  One section of the questionnaire related to the use of anabolic steroids, the results of which proved both interesting […]

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Mechanisms, persistence, and prevention of airway dysfunction in swimmers

Swimming is consistently one of the most popular Olympic sports. However, at BJSM we don’t care about Twitter gossip on Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice, nor are we particularly concerned if US Champion Michael Phelps wins more medals. We, of course, are interested in noteworthy research on swimmers’ health.   We focus today on Valérie Bougault […]

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The medical student in sport and exercise medicine – Convene in London on August 18/19!

By Dr Patrick O’Halloran For the medical student focused on sport and exercise medicine (SEM), there are distinct challenges. The budding cardiologist, orthopaedic surgeon or obstetrician can easily lay hands on a plethora of specialist role models  for career/ guidance and advice, the budding “SEMer” treads a much more uncertain path. Who can I talk […]

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Congrats to Louise Kent – winner of the BJSM cover competition!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the 1st annual BJSM cover competition. It was a close call, down to the final round where the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA) Congress took the lead to win best cover of 2011. As promised, we randomly selected a voter to receive a $133 book voucher to amazon.com. Who won it? […]

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The power of visual images in SEM: Ultrasound Probe as a Stethoscope?

Sport and Exercise Medicine: The UK trainee perspective (A twice-monthly series on the BJSM blog) By Dr Thamindu Wedatilake An electrician or a plumber carries a large bag, within it multiple tools aiding “diagnosis and treatment” of the household problems. Similarly doctors require tools for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For a physician the tool […]

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Overcoming barriers for health professionals to give more exercise advice and support to patients

By Ann Gates (@exerciseworks) It is unacceptable in 21st century medicine for 36 million people to die from preventable and treatable diseases! A recent BJSM paper reviewed the barriers to health professionals in giving exercise advice and support to patients within the context of a primary care consultation. This review identified three key barriers to successful brief […]

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Good News: Tweaks to commuting behaviour may improve activity levels

By Tony H. Reinhardt-Rutland Guest Blog Charles R Ratzlaff. 2012. Good news, bad news: sports matter but occupational and household activity really matter – sport and recreation unlikely to be a panacea for public health Br J Sports Med. bjsports-2011-090800 (Editorial) Published Online First: 12 March 2012  Ratzlaff (1) outlines broad categories in assessing societal activity-levels: occupational […]

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