Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: sports

  • Improving health and saving lives: The unusual relationship of religion on sports and health

    Ira D. GlickDanielle KamisStanford, California, United StatesNeil EisenbergSan Francisco, California, United States Religion has always had a powerful effect on culture. As such, it is surprising that there has been scant literature on the effect of religious beliefs and teachings on participation in sports and the subsequent effect on individual health. The beliefs, guidelines, advice,…

  • Sports and the uneven playing field

    Jayant RadhakrishnanDarien, Illinois, United States “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” — Napoleon (the pig) Animal Farm by George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair, 1903 – 1950). The motto of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — Citius (Faster), Altius (Higher), Fortius (Stronger) is incomplete without “si ego te permitto” (if…

  • Eye-brain-extremity coordination and enduring sports achievement

    Marshall LichtmanRochester, New York, United States Neuroscientists have imaged the brain of athletes, looking for changes related to the sports they played, whether principally aerobic or anaerobic. These efforts have suggested expansion of the gray matter in certain anatomical areas of the brain in elite athletes. These analyses have been crude by necessity, as the…

  • Review of Fracture: Stories of How Great Lives Take Root in Trauma

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The lives of people who seem to be endowed with extraordinary abilities have long been a source of fascination. The famous Italian physician, researcher, and founder of the science of criminology, Cesare Lombroso, professed this interest in his 1889 book The Man of Genius, stating that genius was a form…

  • A sporting end to Henry II, King of France

    Julius P. BonelloAdam AwwadPeoria, Illinois, United States Since the first wheel rolled out of the mouth of a cave, sports have been a staple in our social fabric. From throwing balls to picking up sticks, from tug-of-war to wrestling, from chess to football, and from horse racing to car racing, sporting events have united humans.…