Professional services for sports people in the fast lane

The establishment of a sports medicine center in Ruijin Hospital was announced on Saturday.

It will provide professional services to athletes, help patients regain mobility and improve ordinary people's awareness of proper exercise and sports injury prevention and control.

The center also signed an agreement with Shanghai Sports Bureau to offer support to local athletes.

The center, which consists of departments of orthopedics, emergency medicine, rehabilitation and radiation, is one of the few facilities in the nation with cardiopulmonary exercise testing, or CPET, a dynamic, non-invasive assessment of the cardiopulmonary system at rest and during exercise.

"Based on the data, we can give targeted and suitable rehabilitation plans for patients and sports prescription and guidance for ordinary health seekers based on their age, physical condition, personal demand and sports habits," said Dr Wang Lei, director of the sports medicine center. "Improper sports approach and intensity are not beneficial but harmful."

"With the prevalence of marathon and sports on ice and snow, we are receiving an increased number of patients due to sports injury or an improper treatment or delayed rehabilitation after injury," Wang said.

"More education should be launched to arouse the public's awareness of sports injury prevention and timely treatment. We will promote such education in the community and office buildings."

In addition to Western medicine, Ruijin Hospital will also introduce features of traditional Chinese medicine into sports therapy, officials said.

"The traumatology of TCM has unique effects on many injuries, which don't need surgery," said Dr Cai Wei, vice president of Ruijin Hospital.