Altmetrics

December 9, 2016 by

ga9jrnsf

Are you familiar with this logo?

As 2016 winds down, you’re all certainly aware of the power of social media. You would probably have to have been on a space ship heading to Mars to be unaware of the phenomenon of Donald Trump: TIME’s “Person of the Year”, and the president-elect of the USA, has achieved so much of his success arguably through his use of Twitter!

Imagine that.  Only a few years ago, I recall seeing people still smile at the absurdity of ‘tweeting’, of compressing ideas into a mere 140 characters.  And now we have the proverbial ‘leader of the free world’ ascendant at least in part because of his use of social media.

There is no doubt that Twitter, and other social media platforms (such as this blog, or our podcasts), have become major suppliers of information to the media consumer.  If not supplanting traditional media, social media is certainly nudging it to the side.  This is as true in the worlds of sports, sports medicine, and sports medicine research as it is elsewhere.

In the world of sports medicine research, the ‘impact factor’ has played the defining role as the measuring stick of a journal’s heft for a long time.  The metric has had its critics, but its importance has not waned.  I for one can vouch for that:  when I went ‘up’ from Assistant to Associate Professor last year, part of my application involved demonstration of publication in journals with a worthy impact factor.

At CJSM we just concluded our semi-annual associate editors meeting, bringing together a host of clinicians and researchers from around the world.  We are proud of our journal’s impact factor (2.308), but we are also self-critical and are looking for other measures of the journal’s role in the modern world.

Altmetric is one such measure.

Sound familiar?  Thinking you have heard about ‘alt-someting’ recently? Read more of this post

Filed under Anterior knee pain / patellofemoral pain syndrome, CJSM Podcasts, General Interest Tagged with , , ,

The CJSM Blog: 2015 in review

December 30, 2015 by

kit sunset

The sun sets on 2015– photo, Kit Yoon

It’s hard to believe 2015 is wrapping up–as I write, it’s already New Year’s Eve in places like Australia and New Zealand, where members of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians [the ‘ACSP,’ one of our affiliated societies] live.

This time of year is one of reflection and thanks.  As I look back on 2015, it is remarkable, I think, to reflect on the many high points this journal enjoyed in its 25th year. The year began with the highly anticipated position statement on musculoskeletal ultrasound, authored by members of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine [‘AMSSM,’ another one of our affiliated societies].   Mid-year we published a statement that made a huge splash in the research world and the wider, lay media:  the Statement from the proceedings of the 3rd International Exercise-Associated Hyponatremia Consensus Conference.   And we wrapped things up with a controversial study looking at the limitations inherent in screening for sudden-cardiac death in young athletes.

Through it all, we’ve enjoyed our interactions with you, our readers.  Whether on our iPad app, the website, our blog posts and podcasts, or our Twitter feed, we have spent a remarkable year with you.

Thank you.  May you have a wonderful New Year’s, and may 2016 be a professionally fulfilling year for you all.  We look forward to advancing the science of clinical sports medicine with you all.  And before the clock ticks down the final seconds of 2015, we welcome you to see our annual CJSM blog report, below.

Cheers!  See you in 2016!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 37,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Filed under General Interest Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Midsummer

July 8, 2015 by

mo and me beaver island

The joys of summer!

July 4th is in the rear-view mirror, and for those of in the USA, that means the glass is half empty (or full): summer has hit the halfway mark.

In many respects, in the sports medicine world we’re well past the halfway point, because August two-a-days and hitting in football begin, at least here in Ohio, precisely four weeks from today.  Then the ‘busy season’ begins.

But we still have July to enjoy – in a slightly more leisurely fashion – such offerings as Wimbledon, the Open golf championship at St. Andrews, and, of course, the new issue of CJSM: Volume 25, issue #4 was published one week ago.

Do check this out, as there are several significant offerings on board this issue.  First and foremost is the publication of the statement from the 3rd International Exercise-associated Hyponatremia (EAH) Consensus Development Conference. This statement has been gathering a lot of buzz in the mainstream and social media, as has the accompanying editorial written by Dr. Mitchell Rosner of the Univ. of Virginia.   The Washington Post published a good review of the statement’s published findings, for instance, and the message to “Drink To Thirst” and avoid overhydration is making its way over various media channels…..including iTunes!  If you haven’t checked out the podcast conversation I had with the statement’s lead author, Dr. Tami Hew, by all means listen in here.

There is, as ever, some exciting original research in this issue as well, including a study of the incidence of EAH in ultramarathoners: in work coming out of Australia, a 2% incidence of EAH was found in ultramarathoners competing in the Cradle Mountain Run in Tasmania, Australia.  And so……EAH may be seeing us more than we are seeing it!!!!

Another very exciting study in this month’s journal is a high quality (Level 1), randomized clinical trial comparing various techniques of ACL reconstruction, with patient-reported and clinical outcomes with 2+ years of follow-up. This is fabulous stuff–no spoiler alert here, as the offering is currently FREE – and so click on that link and read the study yourself to see what differences there may be between double bundle, patellar tendon, and hamstring tendon grafts.

Whether you’re by the pool, a lake, the ocean….or you’re in clinic (as some of us must still be!)–enjoy your summer, and enjoy the July 2015 CJSM.

Filed under General Interest Tagged with , , ,

Death Valley: The ‘Baddest’ Sports Venue in the USA

March 18, 2015 by

Quietdunes

Dunes in Death Valley National Park

I’m on spring vacation with my wife and children in, naturally, Death Valley.

dead sea

Lounging in the Dead Sea

While other folks seek their spring sun and sand dunes by the oceans, I have taken my family out to the hottest, driest, lowest area of the United States:  Badwater Basin is fully 282 ft (86m) below sea level.  The only place on this planet I’ve been ‘lower’ is the Dead Sea in Israel.

Hey, the Dead Sea:  combines desert and water.  That could be Spring Break Destination 2016!

In truth, I’ve been intrigued by such places my whole life.  The fascination may resemble that which grips some members of the sporting community:  those desirous of  scheduling endurance events in some of the more inhospitable places on the planet.

There is the Hotter ‘N Hell 100, which takes place Aug 29 2015 in Wichita Falls, Texas–not a place one normally goes at that time of year, and certainly not a place one normally goes to bike a century:  the average daily high is 96.6 F (35.9 C)!

And, of course, there is the famous Badwater 135, which takes place in Death Valley itself.  After a one year hiatus, it returns this year and will be run July 28 – 30.  A 135 ultramarathon run at the hottest time of the year in Death Valley!  No wonder the event bills itself as “the world’s toughest foot race.”  (there’s competition for that moniker; the Marathon des Sables, held in the Sahara desert, would quibble over this issue I’m sure)

There is some great sports medicine research that comes out of these very human attempts to push the limits. Read more of this post

Filed under General Interest Tagged with , , , , ,

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