Preface [to Extreme Sports Medicine]

Extreme sports medicine is a rising discipline focused on medical commitment in the fi eld of extreme sports. Extreme sport does not just mean sport taken to its extreme extent . Extreme sports are to be strictly defi ned as sports – physical activity requiring specifi c skills – that expose participants to the risk of serious injuries or death in the case of mismanaged execution. However, a widely shared defi nition among scholars does not currently exist. Risk plays an undeniable key role when defi ning an extreme sport, but stating how much risk is required for an activity to be considered “extreme” may be debatable. The perceived risk may prevail over any actual danger. Thus, many activities involving high speed, height, or extreme strain are often generically ascribed to extreme sports independent of their real level of danger. Several remarkable features highlight extreme sports compared to traditional ones: • People’s drive to overcome their own limits and to break free from their daily routine. • The role of environmental and meteorological circumstances since many extreme performances depend on natural forces and are undertaken to challenge physical laws; environmental variables are in sharp contrast to the controlled circumstances of traditional sporting events. • The importance of high-tech equipment and the implementation of innovative approaches to the specifi c performance conduct (e.g., particular life pace management in solo oceanic sailing races). • A marked infl uence on the collective imagination and the attraction of media interest – a strong appeal that is exploited in marketing campaigns and by the fashion world. Albeit with some exceptions, extreme sports also share the following features: • Their solitary nature, usually being practiced alone or in remote areas. • A greater attention to aesthetic criteria rather than traditional quantitative parameters (distance, time, score, etc.) when assessing performance to such an extent that competition is not at the core of many of these activities. Extreme sports have never been so popular. Today, they are practiced by millions of people worldwide, and this is a phenomenon that medicine needs to face. The fact is that medicine has, so far, only been involved in these sports on a limited basis, dealing mainly with their sudden onset injuries. However, overuse injuries and illnesses, specifi c psycho-physical training, preparation and rehabilitation programs, and specifi c diet and supplements also need to undergo evaluation. Professionals working in the fi eld must gain the knowledge and skills needed to intervene in remote and adverse environments. A multidisciplinary approach involving many medical specialties – physiotherapy, psychology, physiology, and branches of engineering, ergonomics, physics, and materials science – is necessary. Research encounters many diffi culties. It requires distinct methods. On the one hand, extreme sports participants may be reluctant to take part in medical research because of their cultural conditioning. On the other hand, pursuing these studies is diffi cult due to the many variables involved, and the assessment parameters adopted in traditional sports may not be adequate for many extreme ones. For instance, the injury rate appraisal in terms of hours practiced may not be completely accurate since many of these sports are intermittent – the time in the fi eld is not necessarily spent in action. Consequently, medicine should approach extreme sports in a new, more meaningful way in terms of research, support, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This compendium includes the open contribution of the most authoritative experts in key fi elds of extreme sports medicine worldwide. This book is not structured systematically; the authors have been allowed to discuss their subjects freely. The editor took this approach deliberately due to the vastness of the theme and the variety of relevant subjects. This pioneering work conveys the energy of a new scientifi c fi eld that will defi nitely continue to develop and expand into the future.