#Sports Medicine

[athletearrhythmia]

Nerd time! I rediscovered this old article I read about an experiment that's just too fuckin hot. They tested elite athletes to determine their heart's maximal capacity: how fast it can beat, how much blood it can deliver, how much oxygen it can deliver. Then the next day they threaded wires into their beating hearts and sent their hearts into overdrive, forcing them to beat up to 26 bpm higher than they could naturally achieve.

Especially enticing to me as a guy who loves feeling his heart race but can't get it to go super fast. These athletes' hearts would not go much past 184bpm but then they got to exercise maximally with their hearts as fast as 209bpm. Literal dream of mine. Super jealous lol.

Fascinating result nerd-wise btw. Tl;dr is basically that at overdrive pacing their stroke volumes decreased in such a way that their overall cardiopulmonary performance (blood delivered i.e. cardiac output and oxygen delivered i.e. vo2max) were equivalent to their natural maximum heart rates. So, the body seems to naturally cap the heart's fastest rate around when it has "mini-maxed" its cardiac output (rate x stroke volume, so fastest it can deliver blood without dropping the stroke volume, at least too dramatically). I wonder if this is kind of naturally preventative, like if it went faster while dropping stroke volume would it lead to hemodynamic collapse? I'm kinda shocked this study cleared ethical boards and I guarantee you testing my lil idea never would lol.

I gotta find me one of these studies to participate in. I wonder if we could augment some other aspect of my heart to maintain/improve stroke volume while increasing the rate. Someone find me a cardiac researcher!

[mania-sama]

oikawa always knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. from the moment he saw jose blanco when they were seven years old, he became certain that he would be a professional player. before he was old enough to understand how long it would take or how much energy it would require, oikawa was telling iwaizumi what number jersey he would wear on the national team.

iwaizumi loved volleyball. there was no question about it; he loved the weight against his fingers as he lightly tossed it in the air. he loved the green and brown bruises littering his arms, proving he fought and played well. he loved crouching on the court with five other people, waiting in bated breath to score the next point. he loved the sound the ball made when he spiked it to the ground with enough power to shake the net. he loved springing in the air and diving to the ground.

he loved watching his teammates glow with pride at every point earned, at every win. he loved having support during the hard losses. he loved oikawa, who threw himself so deeply into the sport that it made iwaizumi try that much harder, practice that much longer, want to win that much more.

but, he always knew his love came at a price.

he could see himself playing professionally. he knew that he'd only want to do it if oikawa would be on the court with him. he knew he was only as good as he was when the best high school setter in miyagi brought out his talents. he knew that, at the end of the day, his drive to be an Olympic athlete was crutched by his best friend.

oikawa had developed it alone, separate from iwaizumi. iwaizumi could recognize that, and that was what set them apart.

iwaizumi didn't know what he wanted to be when he grew up. he threw around ideas in his head, every now and then. he knew he couldn't do a corporate job. he'd seen the way men fell asleep in bushes and in shops, never making it home, then waking up again to return to where they worked. it sounded like hell and misery, so he threw it out immediately. he supposed he wouldn't mind traveling the world, but he didn't know where he'd get the funds for that. he didn't care much for history or archaelogy, and those master's and phd's would be what would get him places. he even settled on the military for a time, if he really couldn't figure what he wanted from life by the time he graduated.

then, like dominos, everything began to fall into place. it started like this:

in his third year of middle school, he injured his wrist. he had to see the athletic trainer twice a week, for those were the days the trainer was available to assist the volleyball clubs. his mother was a nurse, so she made sure he kept up with his ice and stretches at home. he cared for himself and the trainer cared for him, coaching him through certain workouts and tracking his progress on a clipboard. he admired the trainer for the first time in his life. not because he was caring for iwaizumi specifically, but because iwaizumi was seeing all of it work. the ice, the workouts, the way his wrist gradually heals until he feels no pain anymore. he found himself curious about the clipboard, though he never asked.

oikawa overworked his ankle and twisted it in their first year of high school. iwaizumi's injury had been minor, but oikawa's was considerably worse. he limped as he walked, and iwaizumi went online and nearly keeled over when the results told him that oikawa would die in the next twenty-four days, that his ankle would never heal properly. mother iwaizumi was far more rational, and their trainer was available four of the five days of the work week, so oikawa was functionally okay. it didn't stop bothering iwaizumi, though. he was by oikawa's side the whole time despite their new friends', matsukawa and hanamaki, teasing. when oikawa allowed him, he examined the twisted ankle, pressing his fingers against the bone, carefully tracing the slightly discolored skin.

he started volunteering at the hospital when he could, though he found he didn't enjoy the atmosphere much. he saw charts, though. he started to get an idea of what was on the paper on the clipboard. that, he enjoyed. he enjoyed seeing patients walk away with grins at good news, and he eavesdropped on nurses and doctors discussing diagnoses he didn't fully understand. his favorites were the ones of athletes, good or bad. shin splints, they said with relief. tendonitis. dislocation. a torn acl, they gasped after coming out of a screaming girl's room.

someone caught wind of his volunteering. during a training camp, a fidgeting player from a different team corners him outside. he asked if iwaizumi had anything, anything, anything at all, though preferably xanax. please, man, he begged. i know you work at a hospital. i'll pay you back. i just- i think somebody stole mine out of my bag a while ago. i can't get through this weekend. hook me up? iwaizumi denied him, told him to get help, told a trusted adult because although he knew it was "uncool" and he was a "snitch", the kid was shaking and knee-deep in drug addiction, and iwaizumi couldn't ignore it no matter how hard he tried. his skin burned from where the guy grabbed him to plead. his tongue was dry from when he tried to gently let him down the first time. his head hurts from the idea betraying his peers, even though he knew they would cover his ass if he had alcohol on him.

they lose to shiratorizawa for the second time in high school, and oikawa tried to get himself another overworked limb. iwaizumi shouted, and shouted, and shouted, and he dragged oikawa out of the gym more nights than not. he sat with him when oikawa was determined to give himself dry-eye from watching volleyball matches all hours of the day. he kept oikawa going.

that addict player died over an overdose over the summer, the news hitting him at the same time as the rest of the miyagi volleyball community. and he started to understand. he understood the way the kid - for though he was older than iwaizumi, he was still just a kid - would react slowly to block the ball, or how he would twitch before his serve. he understood the first time oikawa hurt his ankle, how it had been nothing like iwaizumi’s wrist injury, or how taking xanax during a training camp was nothing like camping out in a basement with a couple of friends and a case of cheap liquor store beer.

on the first full day back to school in their second year, hanamaki pulled iwaizumi aside and said that matsukawa had passed out briefly on the train ride over. iwaizumi didn't know what to do, necessarily, or what it could mean that matsukawa passed out for seemingly no reason, but he decided to keep an eye out. he watched him at practice. watched the way he was slow to block, blinking blearily, swaying on his feet. it could be sleep deprivation, but matsukawa had said he wasn't tired. his second thought was of that player the year prior. he watched, and as much as it pained him, he waited. he waited until they could all get ramen together, because for one reason or another matsukawa found a reason to bail out of after-school food runs. when matsukawa got up to use the bathroom after finishing his food, iwaizuimi waited one, two, three, ten seconds to follow, similarly excusing himself. he listened to matsukawa heave and wretch, and he sat there until matsukawa came out, one hand hastily wiping his mouth. he froze when he saw iwaizumi, and it must've been something on his face, must've been the memory of how he failed to help a kid who was now six feet underground, because matsukawa broke down into tears. i can't stop. i can't, he said. i need to do this to be better at volleyball. i can't gain more weight. it'll bring me down. don't make me stop.

iwaizumi made him do one thing: see the athletic trainer. he got the athletic trainer to give them advice on a diet that would both build muscle and increase their overall health. iwaizumi sent matsukawa on his way with a detailed regimen, but he himself stayed behind with the trainer. he asked, doing his best to remain neutral: which do you think is more important? mental health or physical injuries?

after a while of deliberation, he got received the trainers honest answer. physical injuries. athletes can get severely stressed and disordered after even a minor injury.

iwaizumi nodded. how do i become an athletic trainer?

go to school, the trainer said, smiling. study hard.

taking that to heart, he left. he left with a plan: to go to university, study hard, and write a paper proving that trainer wrong. his paper would be on the psychology behind sports injuries, how its the state of an athelete's mental health that causes injuries. he would then work as an athletic trainer, and he wouldn't let a kid like oikawa overwork themselves, or kids like that player accost underclassmen and overdose, or kids like matsukawa avoid food and expel what little they consumed. because they all wanted one thing. to play better, to be better. and iwaizumi wanted to be there for them, to tell them that a game wasn't worth their lives.

he wanted to be there for the middle school kid with a wrist injury, whos only wish was to keep playing with his best friend.

iwaizumi studied hard. he researched and researched, and he kept volunteering at the hospital even though he hated the smell of sterile rooms and the miserable faces of interns and residents and the floor that housed most of the terminally ill. he shadowed the trainer as they worked with other seijoh clubs when he had the time. he worked, and he cared for oikawa and his various discreet attempts at overworking himself to death.

in his third year of high school, an acceptance letter from the university of california, his top choice of school, arrives at his front door with a full-ride scholarship.

[drhouseoncesaid]

13

Wilson: I’ve got the oncology thing! I-I…The rectal cancer lecture, they booked me a year ago! I-I-I-I-I can’t get out, there’s no way out! House: Fine. I’ll ask one of my other friends... What, you’re saying I’ve only got one friend? Wilson: Uh, and who…? House: Kevin, in Bookkeeping. Wilson: Okay, well first of all, his name’s Carl. House: I call him Kevin. It’s a secret “friendship club” name.

[invisibleicewands]

S01E12 "Sports Medicine"

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Colin Wright

Published: Mar 25, 2025

The debate over fairness in women’s sports has become a major cultural issue in recent years, as sports organizations and political leaders try to figure out how to handle the participation of transgender women—biological males—in female sports categories. Most Americans support keeping sports divided by sex, but political responses have been deeply split along party lines. President Donald Trump has made this a key issue, recently announcing an executive order called Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. The order aims to protect Title IX and ensure that only biological women can compete in female sports. A few weeks later, the Trump administration also cut off $175 million in federal funding to the University of Pennsylvania over how it handled the case of Lia Thomas, a male swimmer who competed on the women’s team after hormone treatment.

Polls consistently show that about 70–80 percent of Americans believe male athletes shouldn’t compete against females, but the Democratic Party has had difficulty separating itself from its more progressive wing on this issue. As a result, many voters—especially women and girls—feel frustrated, since their opportunities, safety, and fairness in competition are directly affected.

In an effort to move beyond politics and focus on facts, a new paper in the Journal of Applied Physiology titled “Evidence on sex differences in sports performance” offers a timely, in-depth look at the biological differences between male and female athletes. Written by experts in physiology and sports medicine, the review examines performance differences before and after puberty and provides a solid foundation for understanding what true fairness in sports means.

One of the paper’s main findings challenges a popular argument made by some inclusion advocates—that male athletes who block puberty before adolescence can compete fairly against females. In reality, the evidence shows that meaningful performance differences between boys and girls exist even before puberty begins. These differences, while smaller than those observed in adulthood, are nonetheless significant—and they demonstrate that blocking puberty does not eliminate the athletic advantage conferred by male biology. The takeaway is this: both men who went through male puberty and those who blocked it still have physical advantages that make competition unfair for females.

The review highlights seven major conclusions about the nature and persistence of sex-based differences in athletic performance. In the sections that follow, I’ll go through each one—explaining the evidence behind them and what they mean for policymakers, sports regulators, and the broader public conversation about fairness and inclusion in sports.

1. Males Consistently Outperform Females in Events Dependent on Strength, Speed, and Endurance

The data is clear: in almost every sport that depends on strength, speed, power, or endurance, male athletes outperform female athletes. In track and field, for example, thousands of males—many still in their teens—have beaten the female world records in running, jumping, and throwing events. The performance gap between top male and female athletes ranges from about 10 percent to over 40 percent, depending on the sport. These differences are not random or anecdotal; they are consistent and grounded in biology.

2. The Male-Female Performance Gap Appears Before Puberty

The authors of the new review show that performance differences between the sexes are evident even before puberty. Among elite prepubescent athletes in the United States, boys outperform girls by 3–10 percent in running and jumping events, and by up to 5 percent in swimming. While some of these differences may be influenced by behavioral factors—such as greater participation by boys in vigorous physical activity—clear biological disparities are already present. Early hormonal influences, differences in muscle development, and patterns of physical activity all contribute to a measurable male advantage prior to adolescence.

This conclusion is supported by the work of Dr. Greg Brown, a professor of exercise science at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, whose detailed analysis was recently published here on Reality’s Last Stand. Brown reviewed data from school-based fitness tests, national youth track meets, swimming records, and a five-year dataset of top U.S. track and field performances among children under age 11. He found that boys consistently ran faster, jumped farther, and threw significantly farther than girls of the same age—often by margins of 5–40 percent depending on the event. Brown also emphasized that even when puberty blockers are used to suppress male development, existing research shows that sex-based differences in height and lean body mass persist—traits that directly affect athletic performance.

Together, the review paper and Brown’s findings clearly demonstrate that the male athletic advantage does not begin at puberty; it begins well before. This challenges the increasingly common claim that fairness is preserved so long as puberty is medically suppressed. The evidence shows that even before puberty, males have real performance advantages over females—advantages that can make a difference in competitive sports where tiny margins decide who wins.

3. Puberty Dramatically Increases the Performance Gap

The divergence in athletic performance between males and females becomes most pronounced during and after puberty. At this point, testosterone levels in males rise quickly, causing a series of physical changes—more muscle, bigger lungs and hearts, longer bones, and more red blood cells. These changes boost speed, strength, and endurance. By late adolescence, the performance gap reaches adult levels, firmly establishing the large male advantage.

4. Testosterone Is the Main Driver of Male Athletic Advantage

The paper emphasizes that the surge in endogenous testosterone during male puberty is the main driver of the performance gap. Testosterone promotes the growth of skeletal muscle, enhances oxygen delivery through increased hemoglobin, strengthens bones, and improves recovery. Even small differences in testosterone levels can have large effects on athletic performance, which is why sports organizations strictly regulate doping.

5. Female Physiology Constrains Athletic Performance

While male athletes benefit from a host of performance-enhancing adaptations during puberty, female athletes face different physiological constraints. These include higher body fat percentages, a shorter average adult height, and changes in joint structure that increase injury risk. The menstrual cycle can also affect comfort, fatigue, and temperature regulation, and many women must take time off for pregnancy and recovery. These factors further compound the male-female performance gap.

6. Testosterone Suppression Reduces but Does Not Eliminate Male Advantage

One of the most relevant findings for policy debates is that testosterone suppression in “transgender women” (i.e., males who identify as women) modestly reduces physical performance but does not erase the male advantage. A well-documented case study of a transgender swimmer (Lia Thomas) who competed in both male and female NCAA categories showed only a 5 percent drop in performance following hormone therapy—significantly less than the typical 10 percent gap between elite male and female swimmers. Similar results have been found in studies of athletes and military personnel: transgender women often still perform better than biological females, even after years of testosterone suppression.

The explanation is due to what scientists call “legacy effects.” While hormone therapy reduces circulating testosterone, it does not reverse traits like height, limb length, lung capacity, or overall body structure. Muscle mass and strength do go down somewhat, but typically not to female levels. Some scientists also suggest that muscles developed under high testosterone might keep a kind of “memory,” helping them stay stronger or grow faster even after hormone levels drop.

7. Female Doping with Testosterone Improves Performance, but Falls Short of Male Levels

Finally, the paper examines whether exogenous testosterone can close the performance gap from the other direction—by enhancing female performance. Evidence from past state-run doping programs and recent controlled studies shows that women respond strongly to testosterone. They build muscle, lose fat, and improve endurance. However, even with these improvements, female athletes still don’t perform at the same level as male athletes, past or present. This supports the idea that the male advantage in sports can’t be fully recreated or erased just by changing hormone levels.

-

The paper concludes with a clear but important message: differences between males and females in athletic performance are large, measurable, and mostly permanent after puberty. These differences are much bigger than the small advantages (often less than 1 percent) that sports organizations try to remove through equipment rules or anti-doping efforts. In sports where winners are decided by fractions of a second or a few millimeters, a lasting 10–40 percent performance gap can’t be ignored.

This body of evidence provides a clear guide for sports policymakers. Inclusion cannot come at the cost of fairness. Letting males compete in women’s events—no matter their “gender identity”—undermines the level playing field that female athletes have worked hard to protect. It’s not just hormone levels that matter, but all the physical advantages that come from male development.

In the end, protecting women’s sports means acknowledging that sex-based performance differences are real, significant, and long-lasting. Insisting on fairness in competition is not bigoted or transphobic—it is foundational to the integrity of sport.

--

Abstract

Sex differences in sports performances continue to attract considerable scientific and public attention, driven in part by high profile cases of: 1) biological male (XY) athletes who seek to compete in the female category after gender transition, and 2) XY athletes with medical syndromes collectively known as disorders or differences of sex development (DSDs). In this perspective, we highlight scientific evidence that informs eligibility criteria and applicable regulations for sex categories in sports. There are profound sex differences in human performance in athletic events determined by strength, speed, power, endurance, and body size such that males outperform females. These sex differences in athletic performance exist before puberty and increase dramatically as puberty progresses. The profound sex differences in sports performance are primarily attributable to the direct and indirect effects of sex-steroid hormones and provide a compelling framework to consider for policy decisions to safeguard fairness and inclusion in sports.

==

Saying what everyone knows is true isn't "hate."

[mahalkitabbg]

Samirah "Sam" al-Abbas fanart :> . I made it after taking my Sports Medicine final. (Sorry if it looks weird. lol)

[mindblowingscience]

The study adds to the growing body of science that suggests that “cocoon therapy”—bed rest in the dark with minimal mental stimulation after concussion—isn’t good for patients. Instead, when done under the guidance of a trained clinician, exercise is preferable, says Landon Lempke, a research fellow with appointments at the University of Michigan Concussion Center and the Exercise and Sport Science Initiative, both housed in the School of Kinesiology and first author of the study in the journal Sports Medicine. The observational study monitored more than 1,200 college athletes at 30 institutions nationwide before injury and at injury until medical clearance. The study wasn’t designed to establish a causal relationship between exercise and concussion recovery, but the findings are in line with previous smaller, randomized controlled trials identifying similar relationships. Athletes who began light exercise within 48 hours were considerably more likely to see symptoms resolve than those who did not exercise, with about 2.5 days faster symptom recovery time. Athletes who started exercising roughly eight days or later after injury were significantly less likely to experience symptom recovery than those who did not exercise, and took about five days longer to recover.

Continue Reading

[thornsofrosesdumps]

Team STRQ as unhinged sportsmed quotes: The time EMS visited to teach us shit edition.

Tai: Now kids the best advice I can give you on being a medic is don’t.

summer: We’re supposed to be encouraging them to join up.

Tai: Well, I don’t want to lie to them!

———

Qrow, trying his best: What’s your favorite energy drink kids?

Taiyang: Which ever one doesn’t put me into AFIB.

———

Taiyang: Sometimes patients do try and attack you, you just have to be ready to hold them down.

Raven: Conk that motherfucker out.

Taiyang: brother below please stop.

———

Taiyang: Alright kids, I’m going to tell you a secret sense your teacher is gone. I’m currently running on four hours of sleep, seven cups of coffee and a prayer. Thus is the fate of a EMS.

———

(A/N this was a thing where a EMS team came to our school to talk to us about the options of future careers and our options. Now I later learned that they weren’t the original team that was supposed to show up, they were a team who got roped into it because the other team was out on urgent.)

[ivebeenmade]

Once again I have come to (somewhere on social media) to complain about hustle culture.

I'm almost delirious even though I should be on the correct (never saying rig*t ever again) side of a bout of RSV.

Yeah. That's right. The chick who never stopped masking. Not even on days when my lipstick was super cute.

Someone related to someone in a position of power was encouraged to go in very fucking sick. We had a 35 second interaction from a 3ft distant. And so, FML.

Anyway it's such bullshit. So you're "tough"? Chronic illness feels that hard and much worse every single day. You don't know when your peers have something like this going on. A sick family member perhaps. All the arguments we made at people who were stupid about covid (which they think is over? Seriously not asking for a friend, some idiot asked me why I was still masking 'isn't it all over with?' No?!)

I'm sick. It's pissing me off (I'm not contagious anymore, just feel like ass).

On the bright side I have now seen a World Famous Expert on nerve and muscle pain. He's written 150+ scientific papers and a textbook. And during the physical exam he was already diagnosing and planning. I can't say good enough about him.

The best part? On the way out he was asking me if I was ready for his plans or if I thought he was a whacko. I told him it had been wonderful and he's giving me more hope than anybody I've seen for my chronic issues.

He replied 'that's great, so you're not going to leave a review saying I'm a cruel, incompetent, right wing nutcase?' I laughed and told him that he seemed like an awesome doctor and a professional, and I didn't see him letting our being on 2 opposing sets of political beliefs getting in the way.

He replied, "great! The part I *just couldn't* figure out was where they got the idea that I'm conservate." So, yeah, even better.

[hyenabeanz]

Oh man, from where we were sitting at the X, we didn't see Spooner go down; I hadn't realized she was injured. Watching the replays, the hit didn't look worse than any of the other hard hits they were letting go on both sides, but something went wrong.

Hope she's okay and can come back.

I also hope with the increase of focus on women's sports we finally see sports medicine research start to catch up. We know cis women athletes (and presumably AFAB nonbinary people who aren't on any kind of hormones) are way more prone to knee injury than cis men. Would be cool if we could do some science to decrease the risks.

I hate watching players go down with knee injuries. Because I know exactly how that feels. (Bad. It feels very bad.)

[jefferybezosisurmom]

Life update even though I’m the only one that reads this tbh

1. I got injured playing football (Ik shocking 🙄)

I was doing a drill and my teammates beside me fell on my knee so I got a patellar subluxation (partial knee cap dislocation) and I’m out for the season

2. Also football related, my team is EATING.

We went 6-0 regular season and we’re now going into the second round of playoffs before our finals

3. I did dash 2 math

I realized maybe it’s better to do something at a lower level that you’ll actually succeed in. Rather than trying to follow everyone else and struggle

4. I hate to admit it 🫣 but Lowkey I’m liking Shakespeare this year.

Macbeth actually eats and is 110% better than Romeo and Juliet

5. All my classes except for English are at 92+.

English tho I gotta lock in cause my mark’s at 79 and it’s because of dumb group projects so it’s not even entirely my fault. That’s also why I’m locking in for Macbeth so I can get an insanely high mark to boost my average. I cant stand having all my marks really high except for one. Especially when it’s sitting at 79 idk why but that number bothers me. Which is ironic since it’s my football number.

6. I’m at a point where I’m looking at uni’s

I obviously won’t say which university’s I’m looking at cause that’s like internet safety 101, but I’ll talk about the programs. So I want to become a junior high phys ed teacher which means 5-6 years of post secondary and two degrees. Obviously I need an education degree and I’m thinking I want to get my second degree in something like kinesiology, athletic therapy, or physical literacy. I’ve done sports med in high school and really enjoyed it and became passionate about it so I think those degrees would make sense for me.

[none-ofthisnonsense]

No it's NOT a date please stop with this awkward crush of Cameron's on House

[phoenyx-embers]

Went to a sports med class tour today at a tech school!!! Very excited about it. They put a TENS unit machine on my arm and it helped SO SO much. My hand hasn't been trembling anymore, and my wrist feels a ton better. I really hope I get into the program

[thetransplant]

How to gym as a cripplepunk

I confess I still feel a bit uncomfortable referring to myself as a #cripplepunk because my disability is invisible. I literally walk in to a gym like anyone else. CAT scans, MRIs and all the metal detectors can see me, but the others have no clue. To make it even more baffling I can get away with not using a cane or walker if I time my day right by spending most of it supine or seated. Right now…

[mahalkitabbg]

Guys- my grade is on the line. 😭😭😭