Sports medicine

Sports medicine, area of medical practice based on the effects of sports on the human body. Physicians who practice sports medicine develop preventive treatments, exercises, and mechanical devices for individual athletes and specific activities, as well as treatment for specific injuries. Coaches work with sports medicine professionals to maximize the output of athletes, while minimizing the physical stress experienced by those participating in sports. Sports medicine grew as a separate branch of medicine beginning in the 1970s, through the work of doctors attached to professional teams.