Sports medicine: does the family physician need to acquire new knowledge and skills?

The knowledge and skills required to be competent in practising sports medicine can be defined and are discussed. Musculoskeletal injuries are the most common type of sports-related trauma, and their management requires diagnosis, acute treatment, and rehabilitation. Many other areas of management are involved, particularly exercise, with all its ramifications in children, adults, and the chronically sick. Use and abuse of drugs must be discussed with the athlete so that errors of legitimate use will not be made, and harmful effects can be explained. Family physicians in Canada receive variable training at both undergraduate and residency levels, but it probably forms a good foundation for amplification.