PRiSM 2017 — Dallas

Dr. Jim Andrews, one of the pioneers of pediatric sports medicine, gives the keynote address at PRiSM 2017, Dallas photo: Kevin Ford

The last time we wrote about the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society (PRiSM) we were in sunny San Diego.  This year’s annual meeting took place in another sunny, albeit slightly cooler, locale:  Dallas.

PRiSM is a relatively young society, but one which is up and coming.  There were 250+ attendees at this year’s meeting, the 4th annual gathering.  What makes this organization special is its focus and membership:  1) its focus is pediatric sports medicine research; 2) its membership is multidisciplinary, drawing from physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers and radiologists.  One of the speakers this year, in fact, came from the world of veterinary medicine: Cathy Carlson of the Univ. of Minnesota gave several interesting talks on aspects of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), focusing on the animal models (swine, caprine) she uses in her research.  Her insights into the early development of OCD were among the most powerful, I thought, of the conference.

The keynote conference was delivered by a true pioneer in the field:  the world-renowned Dr. Jim Andrews, from the Andrews Sports Institute.  He bemoaned the epidemic of pediatric sports injuries and spent time identifying many of the factors contributing to this important public health issue.  At the same time, he described some of the success stories out there — models for how we can improve injury prevention in our young athletes.  These include the @safekids initiative he is involved with.  I would add MomsTeam Institute to any list of such safety initiatives.  This is the non-profit youth sports safety group I am involved with.

[on a side note — I am presenting research that MomsTeam has done, along with Executive Director Brooke de Lench, at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in Sport in Monaco in March — expect posts a plenty coming from that conference]

David Howell, of Boston Children’s Sports Medicine, wins the best scientific poster of PRiSM 2017. Photo: Greg Myer

The faculty at PRiSM 2017 was simply stellar, including several who have graced the pages of our journal and our blog: Greg Myer, Pierre d’Hemecourt, Kate Ackerman and Andrew Gregory. There are several research interest groups (RIGs) that assembled at the meeting, looking at everything from the spondylolysis to overuse injuries in kids.  There will be multi-center research a plenty coming from PRiSM over the next year and more. I expect PRiSM to increase in membership, outreach and impact, and I look forward to some of that research output coming to the pages of CJSM.

At CJSM, we have a special interest in publishing research that pertains to young athletes.  They represent not just a unique sub-population of those we sports medicine clinicians serve, but also a very, very large group!  In just this current issue of CJSM, the January 2017 issue, we have, for instance, original research on the development of a chest wall protector for commotio cordis as well as that looking at the reliability of the BESS test in kids ages 5 to 14.

So, be sure to keep the CJSM website handy if you are interested in pediatric sports medicine, and be sure to circle January 25 – 27 2018 on your calendar and make your way down to Plantation Florida for PRiSM 2018.