OUTDOOR SPORTS MEDICINE
There is a continuum in outdoor sporting practice ranging from leisure exercise to professional action sports participation. The Society of Outdoor Sports & Performance Medicine a.k.a. EXTREMESPORTMED covers this broad spectrum and also includes the role of outdoor sport practice in poor health and chronic diseases prevention. Outdoor sports medicine requires a interdisciplinary approach which includes several branch of medicine, physiotherapy, bioengineering, biomechanics, physiology, psychology, etc.
Action and adventure sports are revolutionizing the sports world. Kitesurfing made its first appearance at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina and will be included in the 2024 Paris Olympic games. Surfing, rock climbing and skateboarding will also be making their debut at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Meanwhile, snowboarding, mountain biking and triathlon, by now, are mainstays included in the Olympic programs.
The high velocity, high altitude, strong accelerations and extreme physical precision required to perform these sports is exactly what characterizes them and what attracts the attention of the media and the world of fashion. Nearly all of them being born in the 70’s, extreme sports are now practiced by millions of participants around the globe. With the continually rising participation in these activities, medicine and science need to focus on these sports with the same attention which is already given to more traditional sports. This must be done with the awareness that the world of action sports requires very specific considerations and a dedicated approach. This is exactly the goal of the Society of Outdoor Sports & Performance Medicine a.k.a. EXTREMESPORTMED.
EXTREMESPORTMED pushes the boundaries of exercise science with research projects on overuse injuries, fluency of movement and coordination, wearable measurement systems, smart clothing, telemedicine.