Preventing
Sudden Death and Improving Sports Safety Nationwide with the Korey Stringer
Institute
It
is mid-September, the middle of fall sport seasons, the thick of the fall
academic semester, and a reminder that athletic trainers need to be at the top
of our game on a daily basis. We are the first and main line of defense for our
patients. We are the medical leaders in preventing, recognizing and treating
exertional heat stroke. Further, we are responsible for preventing, recognizing
and treating every potential condition that can lead to sudden death in sport.
It remains important that we stay up to date on the latest recommendations for
the management of these conditions despite our limited time and grueling
schedules. One of the best ways to keep up to date is to utilize resources
available to you.
There
are many organizations focused on sports safety from youth to the professional
level. One of the leading, and most trustworthy, organizations for this
movement is the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), based at the University of
Connecticut and headed by an athletic trainer, Dr. Douglas Casa. The KSI partners
with NATA, among others, to advocate for athletic training coverage for all
organized sport. Beyond the staff working at their headquarters, KSI has a
medical and science advisory board, composed of scientists and medical
professionals who are experts in sudden death conditions. KSI is a valuable
resource in education for athletic trainers, doctors, parents, coaches and
athletes, emergency action plan review, among other things that can benefit every
clinical athletic trainer.
Here
is an example of a few recent projects that the KSI has been up to:
-TED-Ed
TED-Ed
animation on exertional heat stroke directed by Dr. Douglas Casa was released.
(COOL FIRST, TRANSPORT SECOND!) http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-when-you-get-heat-stroke-douglas-j-casa
-National
Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research
A
consortium was formed between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
Korey Stringer Institute (University of Connecticut), and the University of
Washington to investigate catastrophic injuries reported in organized sports of
all levels (collegiate, high school, and youth). The goal is to create a
national database on sports-related catastrophic injuries and to improve
prevention and care for these injuries.
-CATCH-ON
Korey
Stringer Institute called every public and private high school in the United
States to investigate the availability of athletic trainers and the extent of
service provided by them. The final data on public high school investigation
will be published in the Journal of Athletic Training soon.
A
recent initiative KSI is promoting:
-Heat
Safety Pledge: Mission Athletecare
Mission
(a company that makes athletic gear) is investing 1 million dollars to promote
exertional heat stroke prevention and a safer sport environment in youth
sports. High schools that follow KSI's six pillars of heat safety (which can be
found here: http://blogmac.missionathletecare.com/heatsafetypledge) will be outfitted with
$1,000 in Mission cooling gear.
Upcoming
presentations will be given by KSI staff and advisory board members in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama to sports medicine advisory committees and State Athletic
Trainers' Associations. We will have an exhibit at the Stamford Hospital Heath Wellness & Sports Expo (http://www.hws-expos.com/expo-home.php?expo=stamford-2014). Other scientific lectures
will be provided to
Rocky Mountain University graduate students and at a
medical meeting in conjunction with the Marine
Corps Marathon.
KSI
has an upcoming board meeting, where
we will be expecting personnel from all of our corporate and education partners
including the NFL, Gatorade, CamelBak, Kestrel, Mission, One Beat CPR, NATA,
USA Football, Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Again,
every athletic trainer needs to be practicing according to the latest
evidence-based recommendations and doing the best we can in preventing sudden
death. Not anyone has all of the answers, so don’t hesitate to utilize your
resources that are meant to help you out!
Feel
free to contact me at brendonm@uark.edu if you need anything, or head
to http://www.ksi.uconn.edu for available resources and contact information for
others within KSI.
Brendon
McDermott, PhD, ATC
University
of Arkansas
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