Health is not just the absence of disease or infirmity, but a state of physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Physical wellbeing, knonw as fitness, refers to the body’s ability to deal with the physical demands of daily life, work and leisure activities, and to meet emergency situations. Modern life does not put physical demands on our bodies anymore, and unless one’s occupation is physical, most of us slip into sedentarism. One can quickly and unnoticeable lose fitness, and eventually health.
Performance medicine aims to optimise function to reach higher levels of well-being and performance. It aims to increase the human body’s ability to resist, postpone or prevent disease and/or injury, and maximise human performance in terms of adaptive capacity, endurance and physical fitness. Performance medicine measures the capacity and interaction of the body’s functional systems over time and modifies exposure to environmental factors in such a way that an individual’s health is optimised by operating at the “sweet spot” where both performance and longevity are maximimised. This is achieved through an increased adaptive capacity, which is the human body’s ability to turn stressors into growth opportunities. We support natural performance training and use medicine to treat conditions impending performance. We do not support enhancement or augmentation of natural characteristics through doping.
Sports & exercise medicine (SEM) deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise, specializing in the treatment of athletes and other physically active individuals. SEM doctors specialise in preventing and treating musculoskeletal injuries such as muscle, ligament, tendon, joint and bone problems, but may also treat chronic illnesses that can affect physical performance, such as asthma and diabetes. A sports medicine specialist can also be seen for advice in other areas of health, like nutrition, exercise, supplements, and how to prevent injuries before they occur.
