British Medical Journal Group To Publish Themed Sports Medicine Editions Supported By International Olympic Committe

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 04 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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The scientific and medical publisher, BMJ Group, is to publish additional themed editions of the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), supported by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it was announced today.

The themed editions, which focus on injury prevention and health protection, will be launched in September 2009, with the first issue dedicated to sudden cardiac death in athletes. Subsequent editions will appear quarterly in print and online.

As well as being distributed to all BJSM subscribers the Injury Prevention and Health Protection editions will be sent to all 205 National Olympic Committees as well as more than 35 major sports federations, including the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF).

BMJ Group co-owns British Journal of Sports Medicine with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM), which first published the journal in 1964.

The themed editions stem from the IOC's concern for athlete's health and injury prevention, and the development of sports as an important means of improving health, based on solid research evidence.

The new editions will not only help to reach those goals, but also signal the continuing expansion of sports and exercise medicine as a specialty, and the increasing international focus on prevention in recent years.

Lars Engebretsen, professor of orthopaedics at the University of Oslo's Medical School in Norway, and head of scientific activities at the IOC, will take the editorial lead on these special editions. He will be supported by IOC Medical Commission members, including its chairman Professor Arne Ljungqvist.

"Currently there are no journals on the prevention of injuries and ill health in sports, and this title will boost the profile of this very important area of research," said Professor Engebretsen, who also heads up the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre at the Norwegian College of Sports and Physical Education, and is chief of sports medicines at the Norwegian Olympic Sports Federation.

"Many of the published papers show that sports injuries could at least be halved with evidence based training and fitness programmes in place," he continued.

Commenting on the announcement, medical lead for the London Olympic Games in 2012 and BASEM chair, Richard Budgett, said: "The new editions also support the aims and objectives of BASEM, providing a lasting legacy of prevention and excellence in the new speciality of sport and exercise medicine."

"They are particularly relevant in the lead up to the London Olympics in 2012 in support of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games' vision of using the inspiration of the Games to change lives."

Peter Ashman, Publishing Director of the BMJ and BMJ Journals at BMJ Group, commented: "We are delighted that the IOC chose us to publish these important new editions. We look forward to working with them and helping to develop this key area of sports medicine research, using the experience we already have in this arena."

Source
British Medical Journal