DOs help prepare new team physician consensus statement

The American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine recently joined several other professional organizations to create a new consensus statement on the team physician’s role in illness and injury prevention. The statement appears in the January issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, which is published by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

“The goal of this document is to help the team physician improve the care of the athlete by understanding and practicing methods of injury and illness prevention in specific sports medicine problems,” the statement’s introduction reads.

The statement provides overviews and recommended injury reduction strategies for the following conditions in athletes:

• Musculoskeletal injuries to the ankle, knee, elbow and shoulder.
• Concussion and cervical spine injuries.
• Cardiovascular issues.
• Heat-related illnesses.
• Skin infections.

The full text of the statement is available on the ACSM website.