The physical trainer or doctor plays an instrumental role in the success of a sports or games team, whether its cricket, football or athletics. The role is so important that a team without a doctor is impossible to imagine. The success of any team lies with performance of each and every member of the team. So maintaining physical fitness and mental fitness of each member is important and that explains the important role of a doctor.

What is sports medicine?

Sports medicine is an area of medical science that deals with injuries occurring during athletic activities. It is also concerned with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries. The main motive behind preventing injuries is to maintain optimal health and maximize peak performance. The team doctor used to handle sports medicine, who works with athletes. Sports medicine now covers areas such as athletic training, nutrition, biomechanics, exercise physiology etc.

Importance of a sports medicine professional in any game

In any game involving physical effort, injury is a reality that cannot be turned down. With the help of a good team doctor, injury can be prevented to a greater extent. This calls for qualified physical trainers who are specialized in sports medicine. The main duty of the team doctor is to help team members maintain their heath, prevent injuries and take care of their diet and nutrition.

Another important factor is recovery from injuries, which the team doctor should pay attention. Proper treatment and care should be given to the sportsperson so that he can recover as soon as possible. Today every physical trainer has a more responsible role to play in maintaining the psychological health of the team members because a sound mind is necessary to win over competition.

What is required of a sports medicine professional?

A career in sports medicine will be of importance to those individuals who have a natural inclination towards sports and games. An important point that everyone who dream of a career in sports medicine should bear in mind is that, sports medicine is about preventing injuries and not just treating them. In any sport, every team member should be mentally and physically prepared to overcome the strain, both mental and physical.

In order to achieve this, the trainer should closely monitor the physical exercise and diet before the event. Moreover his should be good mentor and friend so that the process of monitoring becomes easy for the professional as well as the sportsperson. A sports medicine professional will have to deal with injuries are game specific in addition to injuries that are common in nature. So such professionals are of in great demand these days.

Different careers in Sports medicine

The specializations in sports medicine vary depending upon the nature, from physical to mental. Due to shortage of qualified professionals, those with diplomas and certificate courses have excelled in the field. The compensation one may get depends on the specialization he has earned and relevant experience. Different disciplines in sports medicine that deals with prevention and cure of injuries are:

• Athletic trainer
• Aerobic instructor
• Biochemist
• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Specialist
• Exercise physiologist
• Massage therapist
• Medical physician
• Occupational physiologist
• Physical therapist
• Researcher
• Sports nutritionist
• Sports psychologist

With the rise in use of performance enhancing drugs, the importance of a team doctor has increased substantially. The team doctor should take care in preventing intentional or unintentional use of performance enhancing drugs. A team doctor should also research on and study about different possibilities of getting injured and ways to prevent them. It is obvious that a team doctor has to play different roles in understanding physical, ethical and mental aspects of the game. This will help the doctor in the overall development of each individual.

Basic requirement for pursuing a career in sports medicine

To pursue a career in sports medicine, one should have a basic degree from an accredited university, or a state diploma or a state certification in the sports medicine domain. Continued education is also required.

In order to be sports doctor, one should have an MD with specialization in any of the sports medicine category.

Specialization in sports medicine

Different specializations in sports medicine include the following:

• Chiropratic study
• Clinical medicine
• Genetics
• kinesiology
• Orthopedics
• Orthopedic radiology

Salary levels in Sports Medicine Career

The salary that a sports medicine professional gets will vary with the specialization and with qualification and experience. For a physical trainer the salary will vary from Rs 1,50,000 to Rs 3,00,000 per annum based on experience and the game. A nutritionist will earn an average salary of  Rs 2,50,000 per annum. For a professional with specialization in sports psychology, the average salary will be around 4,00,000 per annum which signifies the importance of mind in the game. Doctors working for world class teams and athletes will fetch a very attractive salary of  Rs 50,00,000 to Rs 100,00,000 based on their experience.

In order to pursue a successful career in sports medicine, one should have a positive attitude to work hard and to be a learner to be updated in matters of research related to sports medicine. The importance of sports medicine lies in the fact that health conditions of each team member or injury play a crucial role in success of a team or individual. More over career of a sports person also depends on his health and injury conditions which even add more importance to sports medicine.

Perfect health and proper diet affects both the long term and short term performance of a sports person. As a result of this there is increasing demand for sports medicine professionals all over the world. Pursuing a career in sports medicine is not only highly rewarding, but also challenging. It is not just a profession alone; it has an element of fun too as it in the sports field. It’s an area where one can work as well as have fun so that the work itself is interesting.