Sports injuries can happen in an instant, but the repercussions of not having proper treatment can last a lifetime, especially in the case of young athletes. To help further educate athletic trainers with the latest knowledge on how to properly identify and treat the common injuries in young athletes, the Orthopaedic Institute for Children will host its annual Sports Medicine Conference May 21 on its downtown LA campus.

“Young athletes present unique challenges to athletic trainers due to the repetitive and high strain they put on their bodies during what is often a year-round schedule of sporting activities in Southern California,” said Richard Bowen, M.D., director of the Center for Sports Medicine at OIC. “This conference brings together many of California’s best-known and most widely-respected physicians in the field of sports medicine to share their insights on many of the unique pathologies found in youth athletes so these trainers can get these athletes back in the game—not just next season but for the long haul.”

Dr. Bowen says that while injuries happen to even the best athletes, they can be particularly frustrating for children. “There are physical and psychological impacts of injuries on children – missing out on the fun of sports, missing their friends and companionship on the field, feeling like they are missing out or getting behind,” he says. “Through our conference certified athletic trainers will be exposed to many important innovative assessment, evaluation, and rehabilitation solutions for pediatric orthopaedic sports-related conditions.”

Topics and speakers for the all-day conference will include:

  • Ankle Injuries: Tarsal Coalitions, OCDs, Accessory Naviculars – Richard Bowen, M.D., Director of Sports Medicine at OIC and Clinical Professor Department of Orthopaedic Surgery David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Lateral Adjuncts to ACL Reconstruction – Jennifer Beck, M.D., Director of Outreach & Research for OIC’s Center for Sports Medicine and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • The Impact of Sleep and Nutrition on Concussion Recovery – Josh Goldman, M.D., MBA, Assistant Clinical Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Division of Sports Medicine, Departments of Family Medicine & Orthopaedics
  • CTE: Fact vs. Fiction – Talin Babikian, PhD. ABPP, Assistant Clinical Professor of Neuropsychology Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and Associate Director, UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program
  • Neuromuscular/Somatosensory Training Aspects of Rehab – Christine Caron, PT, DPT, PCS, Assistant Director of Sports Medicine at OIC; co-presenters Joanna de La Cruz, DPT, OCS, PCS and Isaac Aguilar, DPT from OIC’s Pediatric Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Center
  • Mental Health in Student Athletes – Emily Miller, M.D., Assistant Team Physician, UCLA Athletics and Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA Department of Family Medicine & Orthopaedics
  • Overtraining in the Year Round Athletes – Calvin Duffaut, M.D., Assistant Team Physician, UCLA Athletics; Assistant Primary Care Physician, Los Angeles Lakers and Assistant Clinical Professor, UCLA Department of Family Medicine and Orthopaedics.
  • Increase in Injuries Post/During Pandemic Especially Overuse Injuries – Sabrina Sawlani, D.O.. UCLA Primary Care Sports medicine Physician

The Sports Medicine Conference will be held May 21 from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. in the Luck Family Conference Center on the downtown campus of OIC at 403 West Adams Blvd. Certified athletic trainers can earn up to 6.5 Category A CEUs for attending. Registration is $40 per person and includes lunch. The deadline to register is May 16, and online registration can be completed at ortho-institute.org/sportsmedicineconference. For questions contact Summer Runestad at [email protected] or call 213-910-3526.

[Source(s): Orthopaedic Institute for Children, Business Wire]

Related Content:
A Sports Medicine Physician Weighs In on eSports Benefits, Risks