The Rise of Modern Sports Science

Sport Science began over two-thousand years ago in ancient Greece when between 776 BC to 393 AD ancient Greek physicians would plan the training regimes and diets of the Greeks who competed in the early Olympic Games. One of their most prominent physicians, Galen, wrote 87 detailed essays about what we today would call sports science. These were later translated into Arabic, and that is how the earliest knowledge of health, nutrition, aerobic fitness, and strengthening muscles spread throughout the early and later the medieval Middle East and Europe.

Nowadays, sports science is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern sporting competition at all levels. It is a collection of separate scientific disciplines channeled at analyzing and optimizing how the human body operates during physical exertion and the effects physical activity has on a person’s bodily and mental health.

The disciplines traditionally incorporated within Sports Science are Physiology, Psychology, Anatomy, Bio-mechanics and Biochemistry, although they can include more exotic fields of medical science such as Rheumatology.

Sports scientists and performance analysis consultants are growing in demand and employment numbers due to the desire by professional sports clubs and individual athletes to excel and succeed at their respective sports. Sports Science is used in both individual competition and team sports. Working as a performance analyst for a top sports club competing in one of the mainstream sports can be an extremely lucrative line of work for one knowledgeable about sports science.

Through the application of scientific study to sports and sports men and women, researchers have gained a far greater understanding of how the human body reacts to exercise, training, nutrition, different environmental conditions, and a wide range of other physical, mental and emotional stimuli.

Like all fields of science, Sports Science has its darker applications. Numerous sports men and women have been banned from competition for injecting themselves with banned substances in an attempt to manipulate the natural working of their bodies to gain a competitive advantage.

A lot of Universities and higher education establishments are starting to offer various degrees in Sports Science and Physiology to match the growing professional demand for people trained in those areas. People who obtain such qualifications are well positioned to find employment as a personal fitness trainer, a gym instructor, a Physical Education teacher in a school, a dietitian or nutritionist, a performance analyst, a sports coach or sports therapist, a health club or fitness center manager, a sports massage therapist, or a strength and conditioning specialist.