2 SAJSM  vol 24  No. 1  2012

EDITORIAL

Translation of research
Sports medicine and exercise 
science has blossomed as a 
discipline. For example, in the 
1960s the understanding of 
fatigue was restricted to changes 
in substrates and metabolites 
that could be measured in a 
muscle biopsy. The explanation 
of fatigue revolved around these 
measurements and interventions 
were planned using this limited 
k n ow l e d ge .  Now,  ove r  4 0 
years later, the functioning of 
the brain and muscles can be 

measured simultaneously during a bout of exercise and therefore the 
understanding of fatigue has both broadened and deepened. It goes 
without saying that the interventions have become more enriched 
with a much stronger impact. There are many other examples showing 
that the knowledge database has increased exponentially as the 
discipline has evolved. However, just like other branches of science, 
the gap between the knowledge of a topic and the translation of this 
knowledge into action is still wide. 

In South Africa two sports are setting the trend in translating 
research into action. Firstly, the South African Rugby Union has 
established a medical and scientific committee that has the mandate 
to incorporate principles of best practice into player management. 
The goal is to ensure that the game is made safer for the players – the 
BokSmart programme (www.boksmart.com) is aligned to this goal 
and implements training courses around the country.  Indeed, over 
20 000 coaches and referees have been trained since the programme 
began in 2008. Also about 50 evidence-based papers, on a range of 
topics from nutrition for rugby, to return-to-play after injury, are 
available on their website. 

The second example is cricket. Although they are a few years 
behind rugby in terms of developing their medical and scientific 
infrastructure, a full-time research officer has recently been appointed 
by Cricket SA to co-ordinate and stimulate research around the 
country. The goal is to foster communication between the coaches, 
players and researchers to ensure that relevant questions are answered 
and any intervention programmes, as a result of this research, are 
implemented in a systematic way. Both these sports have the 
infrastructure now to translate research in action – the results of which 
will most certainly be noticed from a performance perspective, and 

also from a player welfare perspective. The bar has been raised; other 
sports need to establish their own similar structures which encourage 
multi-disciplinary collaboration and the capacity to translate research 
into action.   

The same concerns exist in the health and wellness field. Although 
much is known about the value of exercise and the risk of physical 
inactivity, countries all over the world are faced with similar challenges 
of making their inhabitants more physically active. This is not a 
medically or scientifically based problem. This is based on the fact that 
more information about the value of exercise-induced adaptations is 
not going to be the deal-breaker or catalyst that encourages people 
to lead more physically active lives. Although certain medical 
insurance companies are setting the trend and providing rewards and 
incentives for their members who can demonstrate their adherence to 
a physically active lifestyle, the problem requires holistic input from a 
variety of sources. For example, town planners need to plan suburbs 
to make it easier and safer for people to cycle to work. They need to 
provide more parks for leisure time activities. Schools need to join 
in and create opportunities and facilities for their pupils to engage in 
exercise. Businesses need to provide facilities that make it easier for 
their staff to exercise during breaks, and then reward employees who 
remain physically active. Providing everyone shares a common goal 
this next step should not be too difficult to implement.

This edition of the journal has a range of topics which fit somewhere 
on the continuum between basic research and implementation. For 
example, there are two studies on injuries in cricket players, and a 
study on trail runners. There is a commentary on physical activity 
as a risk factor for non-communicable disease, a commentary on 
cerebral damage in diving and an excellent article on fatigue that was 
previously published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. I’m 
sure the papers will provoke ideas of ways in which the outcomes of 
the papers can be implemented.  

The format of the journal is changing slightly to align it with the 
requirements for the PubMed database. This is the first step in the 
process of having the contents published, which we anticipate will 
happen sooner rather than later. 

Mike Lambert
Editor-in-Chief