Developing a new specialty – sport and exercise medicine in the UK

Abstract

Sports physicians have existed since ancient times. However as a recognised specialty, sports medicine is a relatively new discipline and even today very few countries have formal postgraduate training programmes which allow doctors to pursue a career in this discipline. This paper outlines the development of sport and exercise medicine in the United Kingdom, describing the journey leading to specialty recognition in 2005 and the progress being made towards establishing it as an integral component of the National Health Service in the 21st century.