Main description:

Knife in the Fast Lane charts the history of care for sportspeople from the expert view of a doctor and orthopaedic surgeon with over 40 years' experience. Bill Ribbans gives you the inside track on the life of a surgeon operating on some of sport's biggest names. From looking after world champions from eight different sports and Olympians with 27 medals between them, to having his actions scrutinised by millions at Twickenham, Bill's experiences are interwoven with fascinating, surprising and controversial subjects from the annals of sports medicine. The book explores the legal minefields and ethical dilemmas faced by medics in sport. It deals with current issues like concussion, depression, drug-taking and the dangers of sporting academies. It also asks whether the enormous resources poured into elite medical care have really reduced harm to athletes or made them so fit, fast and strong that it threatens their long-term health.