Conti Andrea A, Gensini Gian Franco
Dipartimento di Area Critica Medico Chirurgica, Università, Firenze.
Recenti Prog Med. 2008 Feb;99(2):100-5.
A historical analysis of Western medicine clearly indicates high attention to the body dimension and to corporeal functions. Even if what today may be defined "the science of physical exercise in medicine" goes back only to the last fifty years, the great Mediterranean cultures have always dedicated great care to the harmonic development of the human body. The importance of the role of physical exercise in maintaining an appropriate health status is mentioned in the Hippocratic Corpus (V-IV century before Christ). In the contemporaneous Hippocratic Oath one may read that the physicians of the Hippocratic School are called upon to "regulate the lifestyle of sick people in the light of their well being". At that time the prescriptions regarding patients' lifestyle, taking into account the limited effectiveness of therapeutic measures, were primarily concentrated on an appropriate diet and motor activity. This historical review describes the evolution of physical activity in medicine with regard to the current awareness of its relevance at every stage of life; the presentation of the historical roots of the concepts of motor activity and of physical exercise and of their progress through time aims at defining their current preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitative roles.
对西医的历史分析清楚地表明，人们高度关注身体维度和身体功能。即使如今所谓的“医学中的体育锻炼科学”仅可追溯到过去五十年，但伟大的地中海文化一直都非常重视人体的和谐发展。体育锻炼在维持适当健康状态方面的重要作用在《希波克拉底文集》（公元前五至四世纪）中有所提及。在同时期的《希波克拉底誓言》中可以读到，希波克拉底学派的医生被要求“根据病人的健康状况来规范他们的生活方式”。当时，考虑到治疗措施效果有限，关于病人生活方式的处方主要集中在适当的饮食和运动上。这一历史回顾描述了医学中身体活动的演变，涉及到当前对其在生命各个阶段相关性的认识；阐述运动活动和体育锻炼概念的历史根源及其随时间的发展，旨在明确它们目前在预防、治疗和康复方面的作用。
