Welcome to the BIOSPORT project
We are witnessing an unprecedented decade of elite sport in the UK, with the London 2012 Olympics, the Tour de France “Grand Départ” 2014 in Yorkshire, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the Rugby World Cup 2015, and the Cricket World Cup 2019, to name some of the big ones. And that’s on top of many other global events UK athletes are competing in. Injuries and innovative treatments will be in the news.
With star players sustaining injuries to tendons, ligaments, muscles, ankles, backs, knees and groins, what sorts of treatments - novel or established - will they undergo? And what is the market and evidence base for them?
Medicine and elite sport are two of the most prominent institutions in society today. Our research and debate project investigates the intersections of these two worlds, where the development, application and regulation of biomedical therapies cross over with the way sporting injuries are understood, managed, treated and prevented.The Biosport project focuses mainly on innovative biomedical technologies and techniques around musculoskeletal injuries, especially in professional football (soccer) and cycling. We explore these developments both regionally in the UK and globally.
Research Aims
We aim to describe current trends, clarify the ethical issues raised by ‘bio’ developments, and stimulate debate on how we all, as various publics, stakeholders, spectators and amateur sportspeople, understand and evaluate them.
- How does the elite sports injury marketplace affect the development of ‘bio’ therapies?
- How do biomedical innovations impact on elite sports’ athletes, medical advisors, therapists and other stakeholders, in making decisions about ‘return to play’ times, performance and longer term athlete welfare?
- Are sports-biomedical technologies and techniques developing into a sector of their own?
- What do these growing connections mean for us as a society? How could they influence values basic to the spectacle and industry of sport, and our ideas about fair play and high performance?
Find out more about our research and the team by visiting the ABOUT US pages.
Read our new RESEARCH BLOG here.
Find out more about our WORKSHOP 'Innovative/biological therapies in sports injury'.
We’re keen to hear from you, and welcome your thoughts, conversations and comments via our Guestbook, by email to biosport@sussex.ac.uk, and interactive features on this website.
We are examining the development, uses and evidence base for a range of established and emerging biological therapies for the regeneration, repair and recovery of cartilage injuries. For example, see a surgeon's talk on 'the bio- future of joint repair and replacement' below. For more information see Technologies.
