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03 Feb Does sport need medical translation?

Sport is an international language, but it may require a medical translation of some documents for easing communication. Medicine and sport are very related fields as sport always means health. Any professional sportsman/sportswoman must be in good health for doing his/her best, so healthcare and medicine play an essential role. But, does such relationship require a medical translation? If two countries speaking a different language appear on scene, the answer is «yes».

Top level sport

A top level sportsman who signs up for a team always undergoes a medical examination. This is a way to check that he is in good health. But, apart from such routine medical examination, he is also subject to provide some medical documents as the always required medical history record or a discharge summary if he has recently been in an hospital. These documents are issued in the local language, so an international sign up may require a medical translation for confirming the contained information related to the sportsman’s health.

Medical assistance

Sometimes a sportsman may require emergency medical assistance due to a sport injury. For example – a football player who breaks his leg or a cyclist who fells down and dislocates his shoulder. So, if it happens abroad, he will have later to present some documents and a corresponding medical translation of them for administrative purposes.

Drugs

For a better organisation of a sport team, it should better have some important documents of all its sportsmen, such as those indicating allergies, intolerances or reactions. It is very useful when the sportsman needs to be administrated any drug. But, when travelling abroad it is even more necessary- e.g. imagine the following situation: a Spanish basket team who plays a match in Ukraine, a sportsman suffers an accident and the Ukrainian medical services decide to administrate him some drugs. Is it safe for him? Maybe, but if the Spanish staff does not speak Ukrainian, the Ukrainian staff does not speak Spanish, and no other common language is spoken among them (as technical/medical English), it would be uncertain and difficult to know. So a previous medical translation of those informative documents will be safer.