Sports medicine is a good career to get into with all the health-related issues dealing with inactivity present in many nations. Finding quality sports medicine colleges that’ll give you the best education is a great way to enhance your career goals, giving you the best opportunities that might not have been available to you at another institution. Find out what courses sports medicine majors take, and what are the best sports medicine colleges.

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Physical fitness is extremely important if you want to live a well-balanced lifestyle with benefits that go beyond just keeping busy. Being active encourages the “use it, or lose it” philosophy and keeps people living longer, more fulfilled lives while also preventing major health-related issues like heart disease, bone loss and high blood pressure. With that being the case, no matter what age you are, there’s always the chance of injuries and unforeseen accidents happening the more active you are. That’s where sports medicine comes in. People pursuing careers in sports medicine are dedicated to physical fitness, ensuring that anyone who’s active in a sport – whether it be an Olympic sport, professional sport or an activity at a local YMCA – are well taken care of and are always receiving sound medical advice along the way.

The Coursework

When receiving education for a sports medicine major, you’ll be taught on physiology, motor behavior and biomechanics. Some of the courses you’ll be required to take include:

• Human Anatomy ( and indepth look at the human body; often includes laboratory sessions of dissecting a human cadaver)
• Sports Nutrition (studying nutrition and how they help enhance sport activity)
• Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Kinesiology (deals with the analysis of motor skills and skeletal movement)
• Neuromuscular Aadaptations to Training (focuses on flexibility training and the effects it has on skeletal, muscular and neural systems)
• Venture Initiation (relating more to the business aspect of sports medicine)
• Psychology of Exercise (helps enlighten students to the thought processes of those who can maintain a healthy lifestyle and those who cannot)
• Foundations of Health & Fitness (this course will assist students in developing and implementing their own exercise programs; also study in healthy nutrition, weight management and the dangers of inactivity are involved)

Sports medicine is not as popular within the medical field as some of the other professions, but schools are incorporating this major into their academic programs as physical health is an important issue. Alarming obesity rates cause governments across the globe to encourage programs that can help stave off the dangers associated with weight gain. Experts who can identify health-related problems that individuals or groups of people are having while providing solutions are in huge demand since fast food restaurants and processed foods are the main “go-to” source of nutrition for many.

Sports Medicine Colleges

Searching for colleges with the finest sports medicine programs can be tough, but will definitely be beneficial to you in the long-run when finding a career. A few popular sports medicine colleges are as follows:

• University of Virginia in Charlottesville
• Pepperdine University
• Stanford University
• Yale University
• Ohio State University

Looking into these schools offering decent sports medicine programs is a good way to start your college search. Also, finding a suitable college matchmaker available across the net will sure yield some great results as well. These typically identify your interests (e.g. sports medicine), and like the name suggest, matches you with a college that best fits your criteria. Then once you have a list of potential colleges, be sure to visit them in order to see first-hand what your experience is going to be like, paying particular attention to the physical education department.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions

Not only will a career in sports medicine give you, yourself, a heads-up on healthy living, but you’ll be motivated to get those around you – family, friends, maybe even neighbors – to live healthier lifestyles which will definitely beneficial. Having an in-demand career and being in good health is what most people want anyway, right? So be sure to invest quality time in your search for the best college with quality sports medicine programs, and also looking into what the social and club life at these colleges will be like. Are you interested in joining a sport? How do the athletic facilities look and is the equipment up-to-date? Is this a college traditional for a lot of health fanatics? Keeping in mind all these questions will help you determine how a college or university will best fit your needs.

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