10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The SM exam has 200 questions and runs 4 hours.
These 10 free SM questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Sports Medicine (SM) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A team physician evaluates a 22-year-old soccer player with an acutely swollen knee. The Lachman test has a reported sensitivity of approximately 85% and specificity of approximately 94%; the pivot shift test has a sensitivity of approximately 24% and a specificity of approximately 98%. A POSITIVE pivot shift is MOST useful to:
Correct answer: B - Confirm ACL rupture, since few uninjured knees will test positive
A 19-year-old male collegiate distance runner reports 6 months of fatigue, declining race times, and low libido. Workup shows low total testosterone, bone mineral density below the expected range for age, and an estimated energy availability of 22 kcal/kg fat-free mass per day. Which framework BEST characterizes this presentation under current international consensus?
Correct answer: C - Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, staged with the IOC REDs CAT2
The parents of an 11-year-old competitive gymnast ask whether her training load is appropriate. She trains 16 hours per week, year-round, with no off-season and no other sports. She currently has no injury. Which recommendation is MOST consistent with current guidance on youth sport specialization?
Correct answer: A - Reduce organized training to no more than her age in hours per week
A 17-year-old football player collapses during an August practice. He is confused and combative. The athletic trainer reports a tympanic temperature of 38.4 C (101.1 F). His skin is hot and diaphoretic. Which action is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: B - Obtain a rectal temperature and begin cold-water immersion
A 42-year-old marathon runner arrives at the finish-line medical tent 20 minutes after finishing, confused and vomiting. She weighed 61 kg before the race and now weighs 63 kg. Rectal temperature is 37.8 C (100.0 F). Which is the MOST appropriate immediate management?
Correct answer: C - Administer small boluses of hypertonic (3%) saline
A football player is unconscious on the field with a suspected cervical spine injury. His breathing is adequate. Athletic training staff trained in equipment management and an EMS crew are present with the appropriate cutting tools. Regarding his helmet and shoulder pads, current inter-association guidance recommends:
Correct answer: D - Removing both together on scene before transport
During a basketball game, a 19-year-old collapses without contact. He has brief generalized jerking movements, then lies still with occasional slow, irregular gasps. A teammate states that he has a known seizure disorder. Which action is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: D - Begin chest compressions and apply an AED
A 51-year-old recreational tennis player has 5 months of medial knee pain. Examination shows medial joint line tenderness, no effusion, and no locking or true mechanical block. MRI shows a degenerative medial meniscal tear with mild cartilage wear. Which initial management is BEST supported by current evidence?
Correct answer: B - Structured exercise therapy with quadriceps and hip strengthening
A 20-year-old basketball player sustains an inversion injury. Radiographs show a transverse fracture at the metaphyseal-diaphyseal junction of the fifth metatarsal, just distal to the tuberosity. Compared with a tuberosity avulsion fracture, this injury is MOST notable for:
Correct answer: A - A higher rate of delayed union and nonunion
A 21-year-old female collegiate distance runner with 8 months of amenorrhea reports 3 weeks of anterior groin pain, now present with walking and at night. MRI shows a stress fracture involving the superolateral cortex of the femoral neck. Which is the MOST appropriate next step?
Correct answer: A - Non-weight-bearing with urgent orthopedic surgical referral
The SM exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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