The relationship between sport, medicine and health in our society is
becoming increasingly complex. This important and timely study explores
this relationship through an analysis of changing political economies,
altered perceptions of the body and science's developing contribution to
the human condition. Surveying the various ways in which medicine
interacts with the world of sport, it examines the changing practices
and purposes of sports medicine today.
Drawing on the latest research in the sociology of sport, this book
investigates the scientific discourse underlying the promotion of
physical activity to reveal the political context in which medical
knowledge and public policies emerge. It considers the incongruities
between these policies and their attempts to regulate the supply of and
demand for sports medicine. Through a series of original case studies,
this book exposes the social construction of sports medical knowledge
and questions the potential for medicine to influence athletes'
well-being both positively and negatively.
Sport, Medicine and Health: The medicalization of sport? provides
valuable insights for all students and scholars interested in sports
medicine, sports policy, public health and the sociology of sport.
