[Possibilities and limits of preventive sports medicine examination by the Essen public health service].

Prevention is mainly based on combatting the well-known risk factors, one of them being insufficient movement and mobility exercise, by no means an unimportant factor. The knowledge that regular sports activities are important and relevant, is steadily growing, but it also entails uncertainties. Persons who have been inactive for years do not know what they can cope with and which kind of sports would be most appropriate. The Public Health Office in Essen offers a detailed medical examination by a sports physician coupled with counselling on further training for all who are interested in sports activities.