Citation

Tuakli-Wosornu YA, Grimm K, MacLeod JG. Br. J. Sports Med. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsports-2022-105490

PMID

35609971

Abstract

Injuries are at the heart of sports medicine (SM), and athletes' well-being is every SM clinician's responsibility. Athletes experiencing interpersonal violence (eg, psychological, physical and sexual harassment and abuse, as well as neglect) in sport deserve equal access to the evidence-based care afforded those experiencing accidental sports injuries.1 2 Though many SM practitioners have not been trained in interpersonal violence or, more broadly, trauma and adversity, integrating data-driven trauma-informed clinical practice from other disciplines into global SM settings (here we mean diverse patient-facing clinical settings: outpatient clinics, polyclinics at sports venues, training rooms, pitch and court-side coverage sites, etc, ie, everywhere athletes are cared for, and the diverse group of SM professionals who care for them, from medical students to seasoned team physicians) can contribute to the healing and empowerment of athletes, teammates, families and staff affected by harassment and abuse in sport.3 We use the term 'trauma and adversity' in reference to both interpersonal violence and a broader range of societal and contextual factors contributing to toxic stress (eg, parental mental illness, housing insecurity and neighbourhood violence).

Language: en

Keywords

Athletic Injuries; Injury prevention; Sexual harassment; Sports medicine