Sports medicine meets musculoskeletal medicine.
BACKGROUND
Sports medicine is a popular topic pervading the media and has a clear core focus of treating athletes and promoting exercise. While there is considerable overlap with musculoskeletal medicine, the latter is less well known and less well defined, focusing more on spinal pain problems.


OBJECTIVE
This article highlights some of the similarities and differences between sports medicine and musculoskeletal medicine.


CONCLUSIONS
Musculoskeletal medicine has evolved out of the need for doctors to help manage spinal pain problems at a time when the only other interested practitioners were chiropractors and osteopaths.
Wilk
Victor
V
Australian Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine and Australasian Faculty of Musculoskeletal Medicine. vwilk@brightonspinal.com.au
Abrams
Daniel
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D001315:Australia; D019090:Case Management; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000628:therapy*; D026201:Musculoskeletal Manipulations; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents