If you’re active, eventually you’re going to encounter some physical complaint—joints, ligaments and muscles get stressed and need attention. And this applies to everyone from professional athletes, to Sunday beer leaguers.
And as more folks get off the couch in favor of active pursuits, the Global Sports Medicine Devices Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.6 percent from 2014-2019.
Sports medicine is a pretty broad practice, which concentrates on physical fitness, treatment, and prevention of sports and exercise-related injuries. Sports medicine devices are just as broad, ranging from surgical devices to therapeutic aids.
According to a new TechNavio report, there are a whole lot of ways a person can injure themselves which would fall under the jurisdiction of sports medicine.
In 2014, the knee segment accounted for the largest market share because of the high incidence of ACL injuries, along with other conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, meniscal tears, and patellar chondromalacia. This segment was followed by the shoulder, hip, foot and ankle, and spine segments.
High Interest in Sports
Recently, there has been a huge surge in popularity of some relatively extreme sports. Marathons, triathlons, CrossFit, and adventure sports like trekking and hiking (and training for said events) have taken a place in the daily lives of many people.
According to a few American studies, approximately 61.87 million people went jogging or running in the spring of 2013. In 2012 alone, more than 26,000 running events took place in the US and more than 16 million people registered as ‘starters’ in these events. While all this participation in sports is clearly a great thing, the number of inexperienced people taking up new activities is also leading to an increase in sports injuries, which is helping the growth of the Global Sports Medicine Devices Market.
High Cost of Sports Medicine Devices
Forget the cost of physio—sports medicine devices themselves can come with a high price tag. This poses a significant challenge, as most end-users in developing countries are reluctant to use branded sports medicine devices because of their high cost, which affects the overall revenue for device manufacturers.
To exacerbate the issue, the rising cost of raw materials is also adding to the cost of sports medicine devices. For instance, arthroscopic devices that are made of materials like platinum, titanium, and cobalt are witnessing an increase in their prices worldwide. This is the biggest challenge hindering the growth of the market in countries such as India and China. Vendors need to develop cost-effective sports medicine devices that are accessible to people with low disposable incomes.
Miniaturization
But despite some of the bigger challenges, the Sports Medicine Devices Market is still growing thanks to a few key trends that are expected to inject the market with revenue over the next few years.
User convenience, easy portability and accessibility have prompted a need for miniaturization among surgeons and end-users. Miniaturization of devices has made it possible to save space in operating rooms or intensive care units that have limited space. Vendors are stepping up their production of products to fill this specific requirement.
In addition, mobile medical devices have brought dynamism to the portable medical industry with the advent of superior wireless technology. Incorporating wireless technology into portable healthcare equipment has augmented healthcare standards and have also increased patient mobility both at hospital and home.
