Clinical tissue engineering approach and biotechnological advances to improve athlete healthcare

Abstract

Sports activities have continued for centuries and have become essential to daily life. Professional athletes participating in various sports competitions have many advantages, such as a promising career and high income. On the other hand, being a professional athlete also has some disadvantages. The most dramatic one is the risk of injury. Even though injuries are a part of sports, they have become a significant problem today due to the long recovery period which in turn overshadows sports competitions. In addition, the performance loss is an extra handicap for the athletes compared to the pre-injury levels. In this case, biomedical and biotechnological sciences are a glimmer of hope for shortening the treatment process and minimizing performance loss in returning to professional sports life. Combinations of scaffolds, biological factors, and cells are utilized based on mentioned approaches to treat such injuries, which are frequently seen nowadays and have become the nightmare of professional athletes. This review discusses various regenerative medicine and biotechnology-based therapeutic methods used in the treatment of spinal cord, cartilage, tendon, and musculoskeletal injuries in athletes. Additionally, wearable technologies, which are used to evaluate physiological signals, monitor health, prevent possible injuries, and create personalized training programs are mentioned, as well.