The title suggests that this book might be a basic text useful for a practitioner in the general area of sports medicine. The editors intend to enhance the understanding of medical issues in sports by physicians, coaches, trainers, and athletes and their parents.
The book contains three parts: "Physiology in Sports" (39 pages), "Recognition and Treatment of Injuries" (322 pages), and "Preventative Sports Medicine" (63 pages). Emphasis is on risks and incidents in athletic training and competition, and, therefore, it is understandable that the orthopedic side of sports medicine takes up most of the text.
In the first chapter of Part 1, the physiology of the cardiovascular system is covered adequately, but there is no follow-up chapter on pulmonary function. The neuromuscular system is treated quite thoroughly. The chapters on nutrition and on the nonmedical use of drugs in sports provide useful information for the dialogue between the physician and