CJSM May 2021 Journal Club — Blood Biomarkers in Pediatric Concussions

May 3, 2021 by

The May 2021 CJSM issue has just published, and as always it is full of articles you will want to read.

As I gaze at the table of contents, a non-random sampling of eye catching articles includes

CJSM Junior Associate Editor Jason Zaremski, MD breaks it all down for us.

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Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine

Online Journal Club May 2021

CJSM Junior Associate Editor Jason Zaremski, MD

Jason L Zaremski, MD, CAQSM, FACSM, FAAPMR

Anzalone AJ, et al. Blood Biomarkers of Sports-Related Concussion in Pediatric Athletes.

Introduction:  There has been a substantial amount of interest in the diagnosis, evaluation, and management sports related concussions (SRC) in the past decade. An emerging area of interest has been the study of biomarkers as a more objective measure of head trauma. Two blood biomarkers — Neurofilament light polypeptide (Nf-L), primarily found in axons, and Tau, a microtubule-associated protein necessary for axonal transport — have been studied at advanced level of sport (collegiate, professional, and Olympic athletes).

The authors of this new study evaluated these blood biomarkers in pediatric athletes.  The main outcome measures they looked at were correlations between self-reported symptom measures biomarker concentration levels.

Purpose/Specific Aims: The authors examined patterns of blood biomarker concentrations (tau and Nf-L) in pediatric athletes seen in clinic in the days following a SRC and at a six-month follow up.  A comparator group of non-injured controls were assessed as well.  Correlations between biomarker concentrations and self-reported symptom scores were assessed. Read more of this post

Filed under Concussion in Sport, General Interest, Journal Club, Youth Sport

Youth Sports Safety in the United States — a Podcast with Dr. Stephanie Kliethermes

April 29, 2021 by

The most recent annual meeting of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM2021) was a smashing (and virtual) success.

The March 2021 Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine highlights plenty of the work presented at AMSSM2021, with the publication of many of the research and case abstracts presented at the meeting.

The same issue also sees published one of the AMSSM’s most recent publications:  Defining a Research Agenda For Youth Sport Specialization in the United States:  the AMSSM Youth Early Sport Specialization Summit

The lead author of this publication, Stephanie Kliethermes, PhD, is the Director of AMSSM’s Collaborative Research Network, which has become a body which produces a considerable amount of sports medicine research.

Dr. Stephanie Kliethermes — researcher, glacier explorer

CJSM values its partnership with AMSSM. As the official journal of that society — and of Australasia’s ACSEP and Canada’s CASEM–we take a special interest in the research that emerges from these pre-eminent organizations.

And so it was a natural to reach out to Dr. Kliethermes to pick her brain on what we know — and perhaps, more importantly, what we don’t know — about the phenomenon of early youth sport specialization, rather recently identified as a significant public health problem in western societies.

Between her demanding academic schedule, her running, and her other outdoor escapades (glacier exploring it seems), she can be a difficult person to track down.  But also one who is unfailingly generous, humorous, and so very thoughtful and insightful in her interview style.

We know you will enjoy this podcast and will find the associated publication very informative.  So, take a listen and a read. You’re bound to learn a lot from Dr. Kliethermes and the AMSSM.

 

Filed under Five Questions, General Interest, Youth Sport Tagged with

Five questions with Dr. Carlin Senter, Program Chair for #AMSSM2021

March 29, 2021 by

Carlin Senter, M.D., Program Chair for the 2021 Annual AMSSM Meeting

CJSM is the official journal of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), and so we are especially eager for the upcoming AMSSM Annual Meeting to be taking place virtually (meaning: you can ‘touch bases’ anywhere on the planet) 13 – 18 April, 2021.

Carlin Senter, M.D. is the Director of Primary Care Sports Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Program Chair for #AMSSM2021. We can only imagine how busy she is right now, with only a few weeks left before the big event.

Somehow, she found the time to let us interview her. Thank you, Dr. Senter, and ‘see’ you in a few weeks at the meeting.

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1. CJSM: Dr. Senter, you are the Program Chair for the upcoming AMSSM 2021 meeting, to be held virtually, and we know you have been very, very busy with the preparations.  What have been some of your significant challenges getting the program up and running in the middle of a pandemic?  Have there been any unforeseen opportunities that a virtual meeting has offered you and the society?

Carlin Senter, M.D. (CS): Actually chairing the Program Planning Committee was a great project for me to dig into during all of the uncertainty and challenges of 2020. I really enjoy planning CME meetings and have experience doing so, so this was a fun project for me. I love the creativity involved in planning these meetings and the way you get to shape a meeting around important themes and hot topics. Planning a meeting also forces me to keep up on all the latest literature.  The AMSSM staff is incredibly skilled and experienced planning the meeting, so their guidance has been invaluable. I also have an awesome Program Planning Committee and great mentors from AMSSM who have helped me throughout the planning process, so really it’s been an honor and very enjoyable to work on this throughout 2020-2021.

When we decided to go virtual with the meeting, we were of course disappointed not to get to be in person to see each other, and to meet and honor our national and international guest speakers in person. However the virtual format does have benefits. From an educational standpoint, attendees will have a chance to view 100% of the meeting in the comfort of their homes. If you want to attend 100% of the morning ICLs you can do so! If you want to watch both the session on Knees and Running as well as the session on Hips and Spine you can do so! If you want to attend in your PJs or on your spin bike you can do so! Those watching live will have a chance to ask questions of our speakers using the meeting app, just as if we were in person. For our society, I think a virtual meeting allows more people from around the country and around the world to attend at lower cost, saving on hotel and travel. I’m really hoping that we have a great turnout!

2. CJSM: As the official journal of AMSSM, CJSM has already published (in our March 2021 issue) the research abstracts and case podium abstracts for the meeting.  We’re looking forward to seeing those podium presentations, and we’re looking forward to many of the speakers you have invited.  What are some of the big highlights you have in store for attendees?

CS: So many highlights, where to start? Read more of this post

Filed under Evidence-based Medicine in SEM, Five Questions, General Interest Tagged with

The CJSM Blog Post Journal Club — Neuromuscular Training and ACL Reconstructions

March 9, 2021 by

Needs surgical reconstructions, and NMT

The March 2021 issue has just published, and I invite you to review all of its contents.  These include original research, including the journal club selection for the month, as well as the abstracts for the upcoming 2021 American Medical Society for Sports Medicine meeting.

CJSM Jr. Assoc. Editor Dr. J Zaremski

And now, the newest in his series of CJSM journal clubs:  Jason L Zaremski, MD presents:

Christopher V. Nagelli, et al. Neuromuscular Training Improves Biomechanical Deficits at the Knee in Anterior Cruciate Ligament–Reconstructed Athletes. (Clin J Sport Med 2021;31:113 119). 

Introduction:  As we enter the spring sports season in the United States, CJSM continues to be amazed by the dedication of our athletes as well as sports medicine professionals throughout the world in preparing and competing in sport during challenging circumstances. Only a year ago the WHO declared SARS-CoV-2 had become a global pandemic.  The world entered a new era, one affecting the entire sports medicine community. That community is broad, and includes athletic trainers, physical and occupational therapists, physiotherapists, sports performance experts, strength and conditioning specialists, and physicians. Everywhere sports have resumed, it has truly ‘taken a village,’ a collection of such individuals, to get sports up and running safely.

With sport seasons pausing and re-starting to varying degrees over the past 13 months as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is of the utmost importance that we support our injured and rehabilitating athletes to an even greater extent in order to provide opportunities to return from injury without further set-backs.  With those thoughts in mind, the CJSM Journal Club will be reviewing the Nagelli et al manuscript just published in the March 2021 edition.  This study focuses on neuromuscular training and biomechanical deficits in athletes that have sustained ACL reconstructions (ACLR) versus those that have not.

Purpose/Specific Aims: The authors have 2 specific aims:

  • Quantify the effect of a Neuromuscular Training (NMT) program on knee biomechanics in a cohort of ACLR athletes.
  • compare post-training knee biomechanics between ACLR athletes and a control group.

Read more of this post

Filed under General Interest, Injury Prevention, Journal Club

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