Explore firsthand experiences, practical insights, and expert tips from those who have already taken their Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) electives around the world. Key words: Sports and exercise medicine, Electives, Undergraduate education Introduction This is part two of three to the 2025 Undergraduate SEM Elective series. 1. Doha; Aspetar Hospital – Isa Waheed I […]
Category: General
Development and Validation of the Wisconsin Sport Specialization Questionnaire
Key Words: Youth athlete, injury, sports This blog is based on recent research published on BJSM (1). Why is this study important? Sport participation is a common way for children and adolescents around the world to stay physically active. However, the professionalization of youth sports has led many young athletes to select a main sport […]
The domain difference: How context shapes physical activity’s mental health benefits
Why is the study important? Physical activity is well known for supporting mental health, but it’s often assumed that any movement is good. Research shows that lots of different types of physical activity – walking, running, yoga, resistance training – can help, but in reality, not all activity does. Physical activity is more than just […]
How physical activity changes over time may predict the risk of early death
Key words: Epidemiology, Health, Physical activity Why is this study important? Physical activity is known to help prevent early death.1 Current guidelines recommend 150-300 weekly minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, or 75-150 weekly minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination of both, to achieve health benefits.2 However, most research on physical activity that supported the […]
Micro-fragmented adipose tissue vs. saline: Can ‘stem cell’ injections help knee osteoarthritis?
Key words: Stem cells, knee osteoarthritis, ortho-biologics Why is this study important? Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a massive clinical challenge. For many, it means daily pain, reduced mobility, and eventually, joint replacement. As clinicians, we are always looking for effective, low-risk treatments that delay or reduce the need for surgery. In recent years, “stem cell” […]
Barriers to mental health help-seeking among Olympic and Paralympic coaches
This blog summarises a recently published study in BJSM investigating barriers to mental health help-seeking among Olympic and Paralympic coaches. Why is this study important? Olympic and Paralympic coaches face a range of stressors that may compromise their mental health and wellbeing. These demands may include the pressure of having to qualify for a Games, […]
A Guide to Sports Medicine Electives (A BJSM Blog Series)
Explore firsthand experiences, practical insights, and expert tips from those who have already taken their Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) electives around the world. Key words: Sports and exercise medicine, Electives, Undergraduate education Introduction Imagine trading your regular lecture hall for an international sports clinic, or shadowing top doctors at a Premier League academy. Whether you’re […]
Simpler means safer when responding to an emergency: The new FIFA Medical Set-Piece toolkit and Pre-Match Emergency Action Plan
This blog examines FIFA’s new approach to medical emergencies in football – the “Medical Set Piece.” Just like rehearsed free kicks, FIFA have created a standardised emergency protocol where medical teams practice coordinated responses until they become automatic. Here, we explore the Pre-match Emergency Action Plan (PEAP), which assigns colour-coded roles to team members, ensuring […]
Optimising Performance Through Sleep: An Evidence-Based Review
Introduction Sleep is an important part of an athlete’s health and overall functional performance. Recently, this emphasis has grown, with some teams hiring sleep coaches to optimise this as best as possible. This has meant that more emphasis is being put on the quality and quantity of sleep for athletes and how it can affect […]
Understanding the female athletes’ heart
Key words: exercise, sex differences, heart Why is this study important? This blog is a summary of a recently published BJSM study (1). The heart of the athlete often demonstrates physical changes as a result of regular endurance training such as bigger chamber or ‘ventricular’ size[2, 3] . However, this phenomenon has predominantly been described […]