Interdisciplinary study of physical activity
Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and 💲 how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives.
The study of sports science traditionally 💲 incorporates areas of physiology (exercise physiology), psychology (sport psychology), anatomy, biomechanics (sports biomechanics), biochemistry, and kinesiology.
Sports scientists and performance consultants 💲 are growing in demand and employment numbers, with the ever-increasing focus within the sporting world on achieving the best results 💲 possible.
Through the scientific study of sports, researchers have developed a greater understanding of how the human body reacts to exercise, 💲 training, different environments, and many other stimuli.
Origins of exercise physiology [ edit ]
Sports science can trace its origins to ancient 💲 Greece.
The noted ancient Greek physician Galen (131–201) wrote 87 detailed essays about improving health (proper nutrition), aerobic fitness, and strengthening 💲 muscles.[1][2]
New ideas upon the working and functioning of the human body emerged during the Renaissance as anatomists and physicians challenged 💲 the previously known theories.
[3] These spread with the implementation of the printed word, the result of Gutenberg's printing press in 💲 the 15th century.
[4] Allied with this was a large increase in academia in general, universities were forming all around the 💲 world.
[5] Importantly these new scholars went beyond the simplistic notions of the early Greek physicians, and shed light upon the 💲 complexities of the circulatory, and digestive systems.
[6] Furthermore, by the middle of the 19th century, early medical schools (such as 💲 the Harvard Medical School, formed 1782) began appearing in the United States, whose graduates went on to assume positions of 💲 importance in academia and allied medical research.[7]
Medical journal publications increased significantly in number during this period.
In 1898, three articles on 💲 physical activity appeared in the first volume of the American Journal of Physiology.
Other articles and reviews subsequently appeared in prestigious 💲 journals.
The German applied physiology publication, Internationale Zeitschrift fur Physiologie einschliesslich Arbeitphysiologie (1929–1940; now known as the European Journal of Applied 💲 Physiology and Occupational Physiology), became a significant journal in the field of research.
A number of key figures have made significant 💲 contributions to the study of sports science:Austin Flint, Jr.
, (1836–1915) One of the first American pioneer physicians, studied physiological responses 💲 to exercise in his influential medical textbooks.[8]
Edward Hitchcock, Jr.
, (1828–1911) Amherst College Professor of Hygiene and Physical Education, devoted his 💲 academic career to the scientific study of physical exercise, training and the body.
Coauthored 1860 text on exercise physiology.[9]
George Wells Fitz, 💲 M.D.
(1860–1934) Created the first departmental major in Anatomy, Physiology, and Physical Training at Harvard University in 1891.[10]
August Krogh (1874–1949) Won 💲 the 1920 Nobel prize in physiology for discovering the mechanism that controlled capillary blood flow in resting or active muscle.[11]
Per-Olof 💲 Åstrand (1922–2015) Professor at the Department of Physiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.
Wrote a seminal paper which evaluated the physical working capacity 💲 of men and women aged 4–33 years.[12]
Study of sports science [ edit ]
A notable amount of research in the field 💲 of sports science is completed at universities or dedicated research centers.
[13] Higher-education degrees in Sports Science or Human Physiology are 💲 also becoming increasingly popular with many universities now offering both undergraduate, postgraduate and distance learning degrees in the discipline.
[14] Opportunities 💲 for graduates in these fields include employment as a Physical Education teacher, Dietician or Nutritionist, Performance Analyst, Sports coach, Sports 💲 therapist, Fitness center manager, Sports administrator, Strength and Conditioning specialist or retail manager of a Sports store.
Graduates may also be 💲 well-positioned to undertake further training to become an accredited Physiotherapist, Exercise Physiologist, Research Scientist and Sports Medical Doctor.
Sports science may 💲 also be useful for providing information on the aging body.
[15] Older adults are aware of the benefits of exercise, but 💲 many are not performing the exercise needed to maintain these benefits.
[16] Sports science provides a means of allowing older people 💲 to regain more physical competence without focusing on doing so for the purposes of anti-aging.
[15] Sports science can also provide 💲 a means of helping older people avoid falls and have the ability to perform daily tasks more independently.[15]
In Australia the 💲 majority of sports science research from 1983 to 2003 was done in laboratories and nearly half of the research was 💲 done with sub-elite or elite athletes.
[17] Over two-thirds of the research was done regarding four sports: rowing, cycling, athletics, and 💲 swimming.
[17] In America, sports play a big part of the American identity, however, sports science has slowly been replaced with 💲 exercise science.
[18] Sports science can allow athletes to train and compete more effectively at home and abroad.[18]
José Mourinho, a football 💲 manager who won UEFA Champions League twice, reflected his studies of sport science as "sometimes it is difficult to understand 💲 if it is sport or if it is science".[19]
Academic journals in sports science [ edit ]
Reproducibility [ edit ]
A 2018 💲 study criticized the field of exercise and sports science for insufficient replication studies, limited reporting of both null and trivial 💲 results, and insufficient research transparency.
[20] Statisticians have criticized sports science for common use of magnitude-based inference, a controversial statistical method 💲 which has allowed sports scientists to extract apparently significant results from noisy data where ordinary hypothesis testing would have found 💲 none.
[21]See also [ edit ]
