Newswise — Dallas, TX – April 16, 2016 – Margot Putukian, MD, who serves as the Director of Athletic Medicine & Head Team Physician at Princeton University and Associate Clinical Professor of UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson presented “Team Physician Consensus Statement on Illness and Injury Prevention” today at the 25th Annual Meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine in Dallas, TX. Dr. Putukian served as president of the AMSSM from 2004-2005.
The 2016 conference, with more than 1,600 sports medicine physicians attending from throughout the United States and around the world, explores current decisions, controversies as well as best practices that defines the clinical practice of sports medicine.
Team physicians play many roles in the care of athletes. One of the often overlooked roles of the team physician is in injury prevention. The statement highlights the role of the team physician in injury prevention which includes:1. understanding the pathophysiology of injury and illness2. identifying risk factors3. developing interventions that minimize risk factors4. measuring the results of the interventions
Dr. Putukian’s presentation is based on a recent consensus statement addressing the role of the sports medicine physician entitled, “Selected Issues in Injury and Illness Prevention and the Team Physician Consensus Statement” that was published in the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine in 2015. The statement was created by the committee which was formed by a collaboration of professionals from six major professional associations: The American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine.
Some key factors highlighted in the presentation addressed the general concepts of injury prevention. Athletes have risk factors based on their own characteristics. Additionally, the sport itself, environment, and equipment also create inherent risk factors. Current studies have shown that identification and implementation of processes that modify these risk factors have been shown to reduce certain injuries and illnesses.
The consensus statement proceeded to address the risk factors and prevention strategies for several issues. The issues addressed in the consensus statement included: 1. Musculoskeletal injuries of the knee, ankle, elbow, and shoulder2. Concussion3. Cervical spine injuries4. Cardiovascular issues including sudden cardiac death5. Heat related illness6. Skin infection7. Equipment issues.
The goal of the consensus statement is to be a guide to the general strategies of injury and illness prevention. By understanding the key concepts of injury and illness prevention the team physician can implement evidence based strategies to improve the care of their athletes by reducing specific sports medicine issues. About the AMSSM Annual Meeting: The conference features lectures and research addressing the most challenging topics in sports medicine today including concussion and mental health, tendinopathy, running medicine with a focus on nutrition, mechanics, youth running and ultramarathon, thromboembolic events, diabetes, sideline management of abdominal and chest trauma, low back pain, emerging technologies, bone health including a stress fracture workshop and treatment/interpretation of bone edema on MRI and more.
About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of 3,000 sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org
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