Bad medicine: sports medicine

Good Medicine : Sports Medicine

Please accept my apologies. It is not my intent to trash the whole of
sports medicine and I acknowledge in the article there is real science in
the speciality. Also as sports medicine involves, surgery, nutrition,
physiotherapy, performance improvement and sport science, I thought in a
medical journal to use "sports medicine" as a collective term was fair.
As ever, I use the term "bad medicine" for these columns as it not a phase
people ignore, I don't use it because I like it.

The piece is referenced, many are from Cochrane collaboration ,
therefore I believe the facts are correct. Sports medicine is an
increasing part of my work , this is a important generalist topic and this
is an observational opinion piece from a generalist. Whether I am right,
is like everything else in medicine, a matter of opinion.

Here are some questions. Are there a wide variations in the number of
diagnostic arthroscpoies done ? Do the huge range of sports injections
actually work? What is the size of the placebo response in sports people?
Does advice vary widely between practitioners? What is a "tilted " pelvis
? How much of this work is done privately ? Does money make us more
likely to intervene? Is there bad practice in sports medicine?

Lastly know that I have a heart rate monitor, a wrist garman, brookes
running shoes, a concept 2 rower and run 30 k a week. Exercise is a
medical miracle and a salvation to all ages. But increasing activity is a
public health issue and largely out with the remit of medicine.