The origins of British sports medicine, 1850–1914

Abstract

This article, by focussing on athletes’ training methods and treatments for sporting injuries, examines the origins of sports medicine in Britain from around 1850 to 1914. Although, the phrase ‘sports medicine’ had not yet been invented, the article explains how the development of sports medicine during this period was shaped by a wider historical context. Difficulties over defining sports medicine, for example, stemmed from its status as a holistic practice in an increasingly professionalised medical world. Moreover, ideas concerning the training of athletes reflected both contemporary shifts in medical thinking, especially physiology, and a power struggle between orthodox and unorthodox medical practitioners. During this period, an increasingly competitive sporting world, also gave rise to the sporting injury and the need for specialised treatments. However, rather these treatments further mirrored contemporary medical practices.