Foreword: stem cell applications and tissue engineering approaches in sports medicine- from bench to bedside

Musculoskeletal tissue is frequently damaged or lost in sports injuries. Although surgery has been successful in repairing, realigning and replacing damaged musculoskeletal structures, the challenge of the coming years is to establish whether a paradigm shift from fixation towards regeneration of tissue is possible, clinically feasible and financially viable. There has been an increasing interest in stem cell applications and tissue engineering approaches in surgical practice to deal with damaged or lost tissue caused by sports injuries [1-3]. Tissue engineering is the science of generating tissue using molecular and cellular techniques, combined with material engineering principles, to replace tissue. Although there have been developments in almost all surgical disciplines [1], the greatest advances are being made in orthopaedics, especially in sports medicine [3]. This is due to many factors including the familiarity with bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells.