History of SEM in Finland

The dream of establishing a new specialist program and degree in sports and exercise medicine came to fruition at the beginning of the 1980’s. The idea was formed around the desire to examine and develop a deeper understanding of the wide array of effects and relations of exercise and human health. As well as the means to implement these scientific findings within the clinical network and provide benefits to the public health.

 In addition, there was focus on the diagnostics and care of medical problems associated with competitive and elite sports. From the beginning, many pioneers in the field gave their attention to the maintenance and development of an anti-doping system.

In 1981 The Finnish Olympic Committee, The Foundation of Sports Medicine, The Finnish Society of Sports Medicine, and The Finnish Physiological Society jointly motioned for developing a sports and exercise medicine specialist program (The Finnish Olympic Committee 1981). The advisory board of specialties of the National Board of Health set up a division to evaluate the need for this specialty or special competence and how it would be joined with the national health care system. The division was also assigned to explain the educational demands, training positions and other matters required in the training. Professor Kaarlo Hartiala was invited to be the chairman of the division and Markku Järvinen, Timo Kuurne, Reijo Vihko, Ilkka Vuori, and Markku Äärimaa as members. Manu Jääskeläinen from The Finnish Medical Association was invited to be the secretary.

During the preparation time the working committee had discussions with many external bodies including the National Board of Health. The working committee left its report to the Ministry of Education in 1983. The division perceived that exercise medicine filled the criteria of a full specialty. The other option of a special competence “built upon another specialty” was considered to potentially lead to too varied and narrow competency profiles. The division proposed that a complete specialty of exercise medicine should be established. 

The division set the following goals for the specialty of exercise medicine :  

1. The development of healthy living habits at both individual and population level by increasing physical activity and directing the effects of physical activity in order to sustain or increase the health of the population as well as to rehabilitate.  

2. The prevention and treatment of sports and physical acitivity related injuries.  

3. The use of medical expertise in issues related to the exercise capacity of the individual in accord with ethical standards, as well as research, teaching and communication related to these goals. 

The division mentioned exercising individuals, competitive athletes, school aged children, the elderly, and special groups with physical activity limitations as examples of key target groups. Already at the beginning of the 1980’s it was seen that the development of exercise medicine was a part of the society’s attempt to affect health enhancing behaviours. Exercise medicine was seen as one way to influence the positive development of community health (Hartiala and Jääskeläinen 1983). Later, this perception of the role of exercise medicine has become stronger.  

According to the division, the specialist training could best be carried out in the country’s six Centres of Sports and Exercise Medicine. 

The specialty of exercise medicine was founded in 1985 and the decree regarding it came in to effect the next year.  

To organise the specialist training, a group primarily of specialist in other fields of medicine (docents) who worked in the field of exercise medicine, were given the license of specialist in exercise medicine in 1986. The positions of specialising physicians were opened in the six Centres of Sports and Exercise Medicine with funding from the Ministry of Education.