The postponed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have finally come to a close, with Hong Kong’s elite athletes achieving unprecedented success and igniting a wave of sports enthusiasm that swept the city, bringing vitality to the community amidst the pandemic. The historic medal results have also received positive responses from all sectors of society, with the government announcing a series of measures to support sports development and collaborating with the sports, education, and business sectors to explore how to promote the professionalization and industrialization of sports in Hong Kong. The government has also allocated a huge amount of funds to establish a foundation to promote sports science research and sports medicine development, which will have a profound impact on sports development and the construction of a healthy and vibrant community. The unprecedented success of the Sports Medicine Day held at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in August shows that the seed of sports medicine has taken root in the community and is now bearing fruit. The relationship between sports and health is inseparable, and promoting sports medicine to different levels of the community is a vital solution for building a healthy community. In this article, the importance of community sports medicine for the development of primary healthcare will be explored.
Sports Medicine and Integrated Care for the Elderly and Their Intrinsic Capacity
The “Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Implementation Framework” developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Aging and Life Course Department advocates for a person-centered goal to maximize the intrinsic capacity and functional ability of the elderly, with one of the key areas being locomotor capacity (see Figure 1). The most effective way to achieve this is through personalized exercise prescriptions developed by professionals with sports medicine knowledge, which can help the elderly improve their physical activity and overall function. In addition, the key areas of intrinsic capacity also include psychological and cognitive capacity, where the positive effects of sports medicine are evident. Therefore, promoting community sports medicine is a solution for improving integrated care for the elderly.
Figure 1: Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) Implementation Framework
(Image source: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/325669/9789240010949-chi.pdf?sequence=38&isAllowed=y)
Sports Medicine is Key to Primary Healthcare
The aging population has brought about an overwhelming burden on healthcare resources, making it necessary to promote primary healthcare and preventive medicine to reduce the over-reliance of citizens on secondary and tertiary healthcare services, including specialty and hospital care. Primary healthcare is the first line of defense in the healthcare system, providing comprehensive services to the community, including promoting health, preventing acute and chronic diseases, early detection of diseases and assessing health risks, supporting patient self-management, and treating and caring for acute and chronic diseases. Primary healthcare relies on the collaboration of different healthcare professionals and stakeholders in the community to succeed, with sports medicine being a vital part of preventive medicine. As leisure and recreational activities become increasingly popular, the systematic integration of sports medicine is beneficial for promoting the concept of preventive medicine. With the increasing awareness of health and the growing demand for sports services, the development of community sports medicine promotes the further professionalization, personalization, and technological advancement of sports. Professionals with sports medicine knowledge can effectively monitor personal performance, such as heart rate and exercise volume, through widely available wearable sports devices and smartphones, and provide appropriate exercise prescriptions, which can greatly enhance public health awareness and align with the development direction of primary healthcare.
Community Sports Medicine as a Platform for Integrated Health Services
Hong Kong’s sports medicine and sports science standards have reached international levels, and the historic achievements of the Tokyo Olympics have brought attention and recognition to the sports medicine and sports science teams at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Professionals in sports medicine and sports science not only assist elite athletes in pursuing their dreams but also play a crucial role in promoting the integration of medicine and sports in different levels of the community. The “Muscle-Up” Campaign, sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and jointly conducted by the Dr. Stephen Hui Research Centre for Physical Recreation and Wellness at the Hong Kong Baptist University and the Sports Medicine Team at the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, trained nearly 300 “Muscle-Up Ambassadors” to provide correct muscle exercise guidance to the elderly in different community service units, using peer-to-peer influence and mobile applications with remote learning modes to promote community sports medicine, which is a perfect demonstration of the integration of community sports medicine and health services.
– “By the Hong Kong Association of Sports Medicine and Sports Science
