medical specialties Exercise medicine Sports cardiology Emergency medicine Lifestyle medicine General practice Adolescent medicine Physical medicine and rehabilitation Rheumatology Orthopaedic sports medicine Pediatrics Occupational medicine Establishment as a medical specialty Historical roots of sports medicine Although sports medicine was only established formally as a specialty in the 20th Century, the history of doctors having involvement in treating athletes goes back to ancient times in Greek, Roman and Egyptian societies. Modern establishment of the specialty The Italian version of this page Medicina dello sport states that Sports Medicine societies were first established in Switzerland (1922) followed by: Germany (1924), France (1929) and Italy (1929) (Italian Sports Medicine Federation). In Germany in the 1920s, an attempt was made to upskill thousands of doctors and other health professionals in sport and exercise medicine, without establishing it as a distinct specialty at that stage, but it failed due to lack of funding in the Depression. Sports medicine was established as a specialty in Italy, the first country to do so, in 1958. The European Union of Medical Specialists has defined necessary training requirements for the establishment of the specialty of Sports Medicine in a given European country. It is a goal of the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations to eventually establish Sports Medicine as a specialty in all European countries. In Australia and New Zealand, Sport and Exercise Medicine is a stand-alone medical specialty, with the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians being one of Australia's 15 recognized medical specialty Colleges. The USA (and many other countries) follow the model of recognizing Sports Medicine as an official subspecialty of multiple other primary medical specialties. Public health SEM physicians are frequently involved in promoting the therapeutic benefits of physical activity, exercise and sport for the individuals and communities. SEM Physicians in the UK spend a period of their training in public health, and advise public health physicians on matters relating to physical activity promotion. Common sports injuries Common sports injuries that can result in seeing a sports medicine specialist are knee and shoulder injuries, fractures, ankle sprains, concussions, cartilage injuries, and more. 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. A sports medicine specialist works to help make the performance of the athlete more advanced, as well as ensuring their safety while performing the