Copy of Critical Reflection Essay - Piper Hook
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PIPER HOOK 219457985 A13
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Working for the big leagues may come with many benefits, but it also comes with lots
of challenges. Big league sports teams often have their own medical team including doctors,
chiropractors, athletic trainers, and sports medicine physicians. A sports medicine physician
treats musculoskeletal injuries that occur as a result of participation in sports. This may also
include conditioning, injury prevention, treating chronic health conditions, suggesting diet
plans and exercise programs, alongside planning treatment and rehabilitation for their
patients. Sports medicine physicians coordinate with coaches, physical therapists, strength
and conditioning coaches, dieticians and other personnel to create the best plan towards
success for an athlete.
One main role in a Sports medicine physician’s job is the rehabilitation and
assessment of athletes’ injuries. They make the decision as to when a player is healed and
ready to be back in the game, however, this decision is not made lightly and has many other
sources impacting it. There are pressures from all areas for an athlete to be the best they can
be when playing or performing. These pressures do not necessarily prioritize the athlete’s
health, rather prioritizing winning or entertainment. This puts a dilemma on both the athlete
and sports medicine physicians on what decision to make and where. The time it takes for
athletes to return to the game after an injury, as well as the decisions made by sports medicine
physicians, are heavily influenced by financial interests, media pressures, in addition to
companies and/or coaches with superiority.
Being an athlete comes with a great deal of benefits including a large salary, but an
injured player may not make the same amount of money as an active one. While recovering
from an injury, the amount of money a player receives depends on what was agreed upon in
their contract (Alikpala 2021). Sports teams are run by wealthy people; athletes could be
considered by the organization as non-performing assets or less profitable, and could possibly
be dropped (Alikpala 2021). Being injured can pose a serious issue for players and their
PIPER HOOK 219457985 A13
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financial needs. The financial gains associated with sports complicate the use of sports
medicine because heavy financial rewards often compromise the ethical conduct of
healthcare providers in the sports field (IvyPanda 2022). The financial attachment associated
with sports affects both the wellbeing of the patient and the wellbeing of the organization
(IvyPanda 2022). Athletes often face the decision of balancing between their long-term
wellbeing but losing on long-term contracts that pay a lot of money (IvyPanda 2022). These
financial impacts can affect the way the sports medicine physician does their work and could
compromise their opinion on the athletes treatment. If a superior does not like the opinions of
the sports medicine physician, the way they handle situations, or does not listen to the way
the superiors want to handle the situations; they could possibly be fired and therefore lose
their financial income.
Bigger companies and superiors have an impact and say on the recovery of athletes
and their salaries; a common example of hegemony. These superiors have influence and
authority over the way athletes' health is handled and their payment while injured. These
powerful decisions could make or break a player's life both physically and financially. This is
also an example of the trickle-down effect; higher ups are paid a great deal of money and as
you go down the ranks, they are paid less and less. Injured athletes, being less essential due to
limited performance ability, can make significantly less money or no money at all. This is
also an example of social determinants of health. There are economic and social factors
influencing the health of the athletes. These factors can cause athletes and sports medicine
physicians to make poor decisions and compromise their health because of it.
Being a professional athlete comes with fame and a large media presence, but this
comes with lots of pressure. The media influences both the decisions of the sports medicine
physician and the athletes. These pressures could possibly devalue the trust created between
society and the health care providers (Peer 2017). Media coverage poses another aspect of
PIPER HOOK 219457985 A13
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decision-making in sports medicine. The physician’s care comes under more pressure
possibly causing a positive or negative influence on the physician’s practice and therefore
their career (Dunn 2017). The AMA Code of Medical Ethics discusses that it is the medical
professional’s responsibility to protect the health and safety of athletes. They should not
include the desires of the promoters or spectators in their decisions. It states the physician’s
judgment should be made by medical considerations only (Dunn 2017). The media puts
pressure on the sports medicine physician to return the athlete to the game as soon as possible
even if their health is not ready for it. Similar pressure is put on the athlete to recover fast so
they can play in the game once again.
An example of this would be a recent article about former Pitt Panthers player Damar
Hamlin. Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a game and was in intensive care. Instead of
focusing on Halin’s health condition, the article talks about his return to football and focuses
on if he will ever play the game again (Tompson 2023). This shows how the media put
pressure on athletes to recover quickly and return to the game instead of focusing on their
wellbeing and full healthy recovery.
As discussed in KINE - 1000, This is an example of media and representation in
sports. The media portrays male athletes as strong and able to do anything. Therefore, they
should be able to recover from an injury fast because they are strong and masculine. What is
shared by the media is politically motivated to gain traction. An active player gains more
activity and stories to share than an injured non playing athlete. This is also an example of
structure versus agency. The media (structure) puts pressure on the athletes (agent) to return
to the sport. This structure can affect the agent's life as they have no say in the way the media
perceives sports and the pressures they put on athletes to play and win. The influences that
the structure places on the agent can affect their physical health and their media presence.
Athletes may be the face of sports, but it is the people above them which are running
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the show. Sports teams are influenced by many sources: health care professionals, the athletes
themselves, and the team owner (Greenfield 2012). These various stakeholders often have
different interests and goals. Therefore, health care professionals are frequently conflicted
about the proper course of treatment for an injured athlete (Greenfield 2012). These superiors
have a large influence on the decisions made by the athletes and physicians. Sports medicine
physicians may have contractual and non-contractual obligations to third parties. These could
take over their primary duties to help the athlete. They should never be convinced or
persuaded into agreeing to the return to athletic competition of an athlete who is not ready to
do so (McNamee 2014). Sports medicine physicians face the issues of balancing patient
preferences with team priorities as well as medical risk with nonmedical benefit (Dunn 2017).
Sports medicine physicians follow a code of ethics provided by professional boards. These
physicians are still challenged by conflict of interest between care of the athletes and the
decisions influenced by coaches and sponsors (Peer 2017). Not only do the sports medicine
physicians make decisions influenced by stakeholders but athletes do as well. Athletes must
balance external pressure from teammates, coaches, and agents (Dunn 2017). Athletes have
personal drives for the game and pressures from other sources to get back to the game as soon
as possible. Both these influences may compromise the athletes treatment.
A recent example of this would be during the 2023 Super Bowl. With the superbowl
being the biggest football game and one of the most watched events in the world, it comes
with a lot of pressure. Patrick Mahomes, from the Kansas City Chiefs, refused treatment from
the sports medicine doctor on an injured ankle during the game. He continued to play on his
injured ankle for the rest of the game (Salvador 2023). This goes to show the pressures the
stakeholders and superiors put on athletes and the importance of winning the game. Mahomes
put his physical health at risk to win a game.
This is an example of the course concepts reading the body and body as a machine.
PIPER HOOK 219457985 A13
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The stakeholders do not see the athletes as people and souls but instead see them as a
machine that plays sports to win and bring in money. These bodies are seen as machines to
get things done for them. These superiors do not take into account these human feelings or
pain. Stakeholders see these machines as just pieces in a game they can manipulate. These
machines have real feelings and have real lives that are impacted by these decisions. The
technological habitus explains how the body is seen as linear and used for something. Their
bodies are taught how to play the game and are used for different types of gains for different
people.
In light of these problems, it is possible to apply the topics learned in KINE - 1000 to
the future as a sports medicine physician. As discussed in lecture, the media has a large
impact on sports and people in general. It influences the way decisions are made which could
ultimately be harmful. Understanding the pressures the media places on athletes and making
sure it does not affect one's work is a key factor in the practice as a sports medicine
physician. Focusing solely on the patients health, what they need to get better, and giving
them all the time they need for rest and recovery is important. The media wants athletes to
recover fast and be back in the game as soon as possible, but that is not always possible. One
needs to ignore the media and make sure the athletes health is number one priority.
Another concept from KINE - 1000 to keep in mind is the body as a machine.
Oftentimes the media, stakeholders, coaches, and other higher ups see these athletes not as
people but as bodies that play sports. They are there solely there to play the sport, win the
game, and make everyone money. The fact that they are actual people who feel emotion and
pain are not often taken into consideration. It is important as a sports medicine physician to
think of clients as a real person and not just a body/machine. Instead of the goal being to fix
the body as soon as it can to get back to the sport, the goal should be to get the athlete feeling
the best they can be. Not just for the game, but for their personal, physical, and mental health.
PIPER HOOK 219457985 A13
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In general, KINE - 1000 expresses that there are always external influences that can
affect one's life. It is important to understand where these opinions and biases come from and
how to not let them influence the way you go about your life and career. Overall, as a sports
medicine physician it is important to not let others' opinions, biases, or pressures influence
the way the job is done and what is best for the patients and athletes.
Overall, there are many external pressures placed on athletes and sports medicine
physicians that might compromise their jobs. As a sports medicine physician, it is their job to
help injured athletes' health and get them feeling better. As an athlete, it is their job to play
the sport, entertain people, and win the game. But, other people's opinions might compromise
both of these. Financial interests, media pressures, and companies and/or coaches with
superiority all place pressure on the time it takes for athletes to return to the game after an
injury as well as the decisions made by sports medicine physicians. A paradigm shift needs to
take place in order to protect both athletes' health and sports medicine physicians jobs. The
first step: realizing athletes' physical and mental health should take priority over a sports
game.
References
Alikpala, G. (November 5th, 2021).
Do NFL players get paid when they are injured?
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Who pays for the players’ medical bills?
. Diario AS.
https://en.as.com/en/2021/11/05/nfl/1636111487_338373.html
Dunn WR, George MS, Churchill L, Spindler KP. (2017)
Ethics in Sports Medicine
.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0363546506295177
Greenfield BH, West CR. (2012).
Ethical issues in sports medicine: a review and
justification for ethical decision making and reasoning
. Sports Health, 4(6), 475-479.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3497948/
IvyPanda. (2022, April 27).
The Ethical Issues in the Sports Medicine
.
https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ethical-issues-in-the-sports-medicine/
McNamee, M. (Ed.). (2014).
Sport, Medicine, Ethics (1st ed.)
. Routledge.
https://doi-
org.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/10.4324/9781315885971
Peer, K. S. (2017).
The Changing Context of Sport and Medicine’s Social Contract
with Society: Implications for Sports Medicine Ethics.
International Journal of
Athletic Therapy and Training, 22(1), 5-10.
https://doi-
org.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca/10.1123/ijatt.2016-0023
Salvador, J. (February 13, 2023).
Patrick Mahomes Refused Treatment on Injured
Ankle in Super Bowl.
Sports Illustrated.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/02/13/chiefs-patrick-
mahomes-refused-treatment-injured-ankle-super-bowl-57
Tompson, S. (January 5, 2023).
Doctors Give Detailed Update on Former Pitt S
Damar Hamlin’s Health
. Sports Illustrated.
https://www.si.com/college/pittsburgh/football/doctors-give-detailed-update-former-pitt-
panthers-damar-hamlins-health