How do we ensure sport is a safe space for athletes? An interview with Dr. Margo Mountjoy.

March 2, 2022 by

Dr. Margo Mountjoy

Our March 2022 issue has just published, and we are excited to focus on just one of the many important offerings we have in this, the second CJSM issue of 2022.

Margo Mountjoy MD, PhD is an internationally esteemed sports medicine physician and Associate Clinical Professor at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Her career has encompassed an extraordinary breadth of activity in the field of sport medicine.  In particular she has worked extensively in the area of identifying, treating and preventing athletic harassment and abuse.

She is the lead author of three recent CJSM publications focusing on these important sport safety issues, and in this podcast she talks with CJSM about these studies and the work she leads in the international “SafeSport” initiative.

The issue is topical; unfortunately, one does not need to look very far for stories of athletes who are under duress: perhaps most notably in these Olympics, the story of 15-year-old Kamila Valieva has me thinking about some of the subjects Dr. Mountjoy and I discussed in the podcast. Read more of this post

Filed under CJSM Podcasts, Ethics and probity in SEM, General Interest Tagged with

What is the association between suicide risk and a history of playing high school football? The CJSM Podcast.

November 2, 2021 by

The concern over the potential long-term negative consequences of playing youth contact sports has grown over the last two decades.  The Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine — this blog and the CJSM podcasts as well — have been a vital forum for publishing the evidence regarding the relative safety of these sports exposures.

The impact of ACL ruptures and other musculoskeletal injuries — with long-term risks of osteoarthritis — give me pause as a pediatric sports medicine physician, but it is the long-term risk of concussions that generate the most concern among my colleagues, parents, and the public at large.  Will my child get CTE like Junior Seau?

In the United States especially, this concern over long-term risk gets wrapped up with medicolegal concerns, resulting in clickable stories such as this: “WIll Injured Kids Sue the Catholic Church Over Youth Football?” It is easy and understandable that fear may soon outrun the current evidence.

The science underpinning such concerns has grown in parallel with the awareness of the safety issues themselves, and in today’s podcast (and in the November 2021 CJSM) we examine a new study investigating the potential association of exposure to football as a high schooler and long-term suicidality risk.

Senior author Dr. Douglas Terry of Vanderbilt University joins us today to report on his team’s findings in their new publication: Playing High School Football is Not Associated with Increased Risk For Suicidality in Early Adulthood.

The principal finding of the study is right there, in the title; as Dr. Terry and I joked on the podcast, the authors definitely did not bury the lede on this manuscript.  They found no association with playing high school football earlier in life and an increased risk of suicidality in early adulthood.  A valuable contribution to the growing literature, indeed.

Mental health in athletes, including concern for suicide, and the long term effects of concussions are among the most pressing issues in sports medicine.  We think you will find a listen to this podcast and a read of the study itself to be invaluable resources to you as engage with these same issues.

Filed under CJSM Podcasts, Concussion in Sport, General Interest, Mental Health in Sport Tagged with

Regenerative Medicine — the CJSM podcast.

October 28, 2021 by

It’s hard to believe we are on the cusp of November.

Where did you go 2021?

Good news:  CJSM is ending the publication year on a high note.  The November issue is absolutely full of  “can’t miss” manuscripts.

A new American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) Position Statement is one of those:  Principles for the Responsible Use of Regenerative Medicine in Sports Medicine.

As with much of AMSSM’s work, the position statement is the result of a collaboration among many expert clinicians. The lead author is Jonathan Finnoff D.O., a previous guest on the CJSM podcast and blog but whose day job now keeps him very, very busy:  as chief Medical Officer of the USOPC he has a LOT on his plate right now.

Yes, AMSSM is very much about collaboration.  If Dr. Finnoff were not available for a podcast to discuss some of the high points of the position statement, I knew it would not be difficult to find one or two other experts who were part of the authorial team.

Dr. Kenneth Mautner

Dr. Shane Shapiro

Kenneth Mautner MD, of Emory University, and Shane Shapiro MD of the Mayo Clinic joined me recently for a conversation about regenerative medicine, and I learned so very much.  As a pediatric sports medicine specialist, this subject is most definitely not in my wheelhouse. 

If you use regenerative medicine in your practice or are a naif like me, you will find much to like in the newest CJSM podcast. Take a listen on iTunes (and be sure to subscribe) or  go to our main website to see all 50+ of our offerings. 

And, as ever, make your way to the journal website itself to check out the November 2021 issue.

Filed under CJSM Podcasts, General Interest

CJSM Podcast: Screening for cardiovascular disease in athletes — the Australian Way.

September 28, 2021 by

Our podcast series this year has been tremendous.  If you haven’t yet subscribed to the podcast, go to the CJSM iTunes website to check out all our episodes.  You’ll see this year we’ve interviewed Dr. Neeraj Patel about pediatric ACL injuries and the effect race and insurance status have on outcomes; and Dr. Stephanie Kliethermes about youth sport specialization in the United States, to name just two of the special guests and topics we’ve had this year.

We have another special podcast to bring to your attention today.

Dr. Jessica Orchard

Dr. Jessica Orchard of the University of Sydney, Australia, joins us for a deep dive into the hows and whys of cardiovascular screening as practiced by elite sporting organizations in her home country. Dr. Orchard is the lead author of a newly published CJSM manuscript and headed up a ‘dream team’ of experts.

In the podcast Dr. Orchard gives a thoughtful and concise analysis of the challenges posed by such screening, and how different Australian sporting organizations have managed the issues.

Of special note, Dr. Orchard brings to the attention of the listeners a series of educational modules created by the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) — one of our affiliated societies.  The ECG modules are free and guide the learner in the ‘International criteria’ and the latest consensus standards for the interpretation of an athlete’s ECG, the core of what the Australian sports organizations use in their screening.

So — head to iTunes, head to the CJSM manuscript, and head to the ACSEP modules to become expert in screening elite athletes for cardiovascular disease.

Thank you so much Dr. Orchard for your time and effort in this area.

Filed under CJSM Podcasts, Elite sport, General Interest Tagged with , , ,

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