This edition of BJSM serves the primary care sports doctor as well as the generalist primary care doctor. Articles cover sports injury and the role of exercise as treatment. How life has changed for the procedural or full-service general practitioner. Twenty-five years ago, we focused on being technically good at our craft. The emergency room was full of accidents, infectious disease and the smattering of coronary artery disease and cerebro-vascular disease. We aimed to improve pregnancy outcomes through attentive antenatal care and well-honed obstetric skills in the delivery suite.

General Practice in Australia now focuses on lifestyle and the ‘new’ neglect – self-neglect. Counselling skills including motivational interviewing, risk factor modification, chronic disease management and morbidity control, have replaced the practical skills of fracture management, suturing and acute illness management. Obstetric management means preventing gestational diabetes, macrosomia and managing labour in the obese patient.

This issue is the first shaped by BJSM's newest member society, Sports Doctors Australia (SDrA). It provides valuable tips relating to exercise in daily GP practice. Exercise prescription is not an easy thing to do in an ad-hoc way that …