If an athlete is not properly treated after an injury, then [A] her ability to compete could suffer. [B] she will not pay the doctors. [C] an MRI would help. [D] she will definitely need surgery.
Although people have been interested in sports medicine for many years, it actually became more specialized after World War Ⅱ, with great developments in the 1960s and 1970s. The modem idea of complete care for the athlete emerged from the widespread surge in sports participation over this time period.
The field of sports medicine is very broad because there are so many types of sports injuries and because each individual athlete’s body is different-their make-up, build, immune system, etc. Because of this, virtually every injury is treated in a different way.As injuries continue to occur and the sports medicine field grows, recovery methods are becoming more advanced. Two of the more modern methods of treatment are the hyperbaric chamber and magnetic resonance imaging.A hyperbaric chamber is a cylindrical steel tube into which a person can enter. Inside the chamber, the athlete is exposed to high levels of oxygen. This promotes oxygenation of the blood and speeds recovery time.
Use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in medicine began in the early 1980s. MRI presents a hazard-free way to get images of thin slices of the body and a reliable method of detecting injuries. It is a superior imaging technique because it doesn’t use radiation or need any special dyes. MRI uses magnets to concentrate and focus on small areas of the body, which produces detailed images. Besides being used to diagnose sports injuries, MRI is capable of producing high-contrast pictures of the brain, heart, liver, kidneys and can detect things such as tumors.
It is quite possible that with the increased interest in sports, the field of sports medicine will become even more specialized. Sports medicine continues to grow and take care of the needs of athletes from the professional playing in front of a stadium full of people to the person working out at their local health club.