Good-bye 2019

This CJSM reindeer is resting before her big night on Christmas Eve. While she works, we hope you all have relaxing holidays.

New Year’s day 2020 is just around the corner, and though a year is coming to an end the decade apparently is NOT (I have just read that the ‘teens’ will end on Dec 31 2020 and the new decade will begin Jan 1 2021).

But the end of a year, 2019 in this case, is always a cause for celebration, and for both reflection and anticipation. And so, right now in this blog post, it’s that time to give 2019 a proper send-off.

Reflection

As I look back at the many studies and toher writing that have been published in the six issues of CJSM, it’s hard to pick a favorite (a bit like a parent picking one’s favorite child — it’s simply not done).  But I can say that there are some studies that are perhaps more memorable to me…..

The year started out with our January issue and a study which looked at a genetic polymorphism associated with the incidence and severity of injury in professional football players. Medical genomics is predicted to become a powerful tool in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of sports-related injury and disease.  This study looked at the ACTN3 R577X polymorphism and found it associated with a nearly 3-fold increase in injury incidence and 2-fold increase in injury severity.

In May we published a position statement on a very hot topic: principles of mental health in elite and competitive sport Thanks to the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport for this very important contribution to an issue of growing concern.

And finally we ended the year in November, with our sixth issue, which included a systematic review and meta-analysis of functional performance tests (FPTs) and their ability to identify individuals with chronic ankle instability(CAI). This study garnered one of our higher Altmetric scores for the year (spoiler alert, “The side-hop, timed-hopping, multiple-hop, and foot-lift seem the best FPTs to evaluate individuals with CAI.”)

Anticipation

There is so much to look forward to in 2020, but I can tell you on top of the list for CJSM is the celebration of the 50th anniversary of our partner (and founding) society: the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM).  CASEM 50: A Golden Age of Sport Medicine is the theme of the annual symposium taking place this April in beautiful Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. We’ll be there — we hope you will as well.

Celebration

Finally, there is so much to celebrate about 2019, and so many people to thank.  Top of the list are the authors who submit the fruit of their hard work for consideration for publication, a process which is so very competitive.  Our many editors on the CJSM editorial board are invaluable to the work we do, as are the many, many peer reviewers.  On a personal note, I want to thank all my podcast guests, who generously donated their time for a slate of really memorable conversations. And, finally, we could not get this journal up and running without our publishers at Wolters Kluwer.

It has been a good 2019.  Have a wonderful holiday season, and we’ll see you early in 2020 with the publication of our January issue.