# Sports medicine service and popular sports: a multidisciplinary contribution to a specific component of the health system of the German Democratic Republic

## TL;DR

This paper examines the history and impact of the Sports Medicine Service in East Germany, highlighting its role in promoting sports for public health and the consequences of its dissolution after reunification.

## Contribution

The paper provides a historical and critical analysis of the Sports Medicine Service in the GDR, emphasizing its multidisciplinary contribution to public health and the need for renewed initiatives in amateur sports promotion.

## Key findings

- The SMD initially focused on promoting mass sports as a preventive public health measure.
- From the 1970s, resources for amateur sports were reduced as national professional sports were prioritized.
- The dissolution of the SMD in 1990 left a gap in health-promoting amateur sports initiatives without replacement.

## Abstract

Against the background of decreasing levels of physical activity in industrialized nations, the promotion of sports as a preventive medical concept is of current importance. The so-called Sports Medicine Service (“Sportmedizinischer Dienst”; SMD) in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) pursued this objective with varying degrees of intensity. Through a systematic literature review on a conventional and internet-based basis, original documents and scientific articles were made available. In 1963, a significant milestone was reached with the establishment of a specialist in sports medicine and the development of the SMD as a care institution. The initial focus was on mass sport as a public health preventive measure. Through defined tasks, a centralized organizational structure, general medical sports advice and district centers for medical sport consultation, as many East Germans as possible were to receive support in their sporting activities. However, from the 1970s onwards, for ideological reasons, national professional sport was increasingly prioritized within the SMD, which in some cases led to a substantial reduction in resources for amateur sport. With the reunification of the two German states, the SMD was swiftly dissolved in 1990 without replacement. From a neutral but critical perspective, the dissolution of the SMD without replacing the health-promoting aspects of amateur sport and without technical reflection was inappropriate. A well-thought-out use of health-promoting elements of the SMD within a democratic society would be an approach to remedy this deficit, which calls for renewed initiatives to promote amateur sports and subject-related research projects.