Author: Yuri Hosokawa

Back in Falmouth

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC, Director of Communication and Education

Twenty-seven research and medical volunteers from the Korey Stringer Institute, EC Lee Lab and University of Connecticut joined the 44^th New Balance Falmouth Road Race in Falmouth, MA on August 21^st. This was the fourth consecutive year in which KSI conducted a field research study at the race in conjunction with working in the medical tent treating exertional heat stroke patients. In this year’s study, we aimed to (1) investigate runner’s knowledge on heat and hydration and behaviors on race day and (2) investigate the use of real time gastrointestinal temperature feedback in altering runner’s behavior during the race. We also assessed participants’ readiness to exercise in the heat by measuring their cardiovascular fitness and their response to heat stress in our environmental chamber.

KSI’s Rebecca Stearns, PhD, ATC and Luke Belval, MS, ATC also spoke at the Medical Symposium hosted by the Falmouth Hospital, which was attended by many medical volunteers and local healthcare professionals. Dr. Stearns’ presentation, The Tale of Two Heat Strokes, introduced case studies of two runners who suffered from exertional heat stroke at the same race with distinctly different prognosis due to the different treatment they received. Belval’s presentation, The Fluid Needs for Today’s Athletes, provided evidence-based suggestions on hydration. At the Health & Fitness Expo, William Adams, PhD, ATC spoke on Optimizing Safety and Maximizing Performance During Running the Heat, which was attended by many runners who were going to be racing the following day.

We would like to thank the Falmouth Road Race Board of Directors for their continued support and partnership with the Korey Stringer Institute in supporting our mission to educate runners and continue our research in ways to optimize their performance and safety during warm weather road races such as Falmouth Road Race.

Colby Concussion Summit and Beach to Beacon Road Race

Posted on August 9, 2016August 9, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By William Adams, PhD, ATC, Vice President of Sport Safety

This past weekend, KSI’s Vice President of Sport Safety William Adams, PhD, ATC and Director of Communication and Education Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC were in attendance at the first annual concussion summit held at Colby College, hosted by the Concussion Institute at Colby College. They joined representatives from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, as well as faculty members from the University of New Hampshire, University of Pittsburgh, Colby College and others.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the diagnosis and management of concussion and to establish the next steps that are needed from a research perspective to enhance clinician’s objective assessment of concussion in athletes. The meeting concluded with an action plan to examine specific areas of concussion diagnosis and management to continue to add to the body of scientific literature surrounding the validity and reliability of tools that clinicians can use in their toolbox for concussion management.

Following the concussion summit, KSI traveled south to Portland, Maine for the Beach to Beacon Road Race. The race weekend began with the medical symposium, where both William Adams and Yuri Hosokawa were two of the invited speakers. Adams spoke on hydration in today’s athletes while Hosokawa presented a case series examining the treatment and management of two exertional cases recently published by Stearns et al. in Current Sports Medicine Reports. The symposium was a huge hit and was extremely well received by all of the attendees.

The road race occurred on Saturday in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. For those unfamiliar, Beach to Beacon is a 10-kilometer (6.1 mile) road race finishing at the picturesque Portland Headlight Lighthouse in Fort Williams. KSI staff members William Adams, Yuri Hosokawa and Samm Scarneo had the opportunity to volunteer as medical staff during the race. The day finished off with roughly 6,500 runners finishing the race and the medical volunteers providing excellent care to those needing it, including four individuals who had suffered exertional heat stroke. The best part of the race weekend were the new friendships that were made with the other physicians, nurses and athletic trainers who were also volunteering in the medical tent.

KSI Fellowship

Posted on August 2, 2016July 29, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Savannah Knighton, Korey Stringer Institute Fellow

My name is Savannah Knighton and I am an undergraduate athletic training student at Louisiana State University. I became aware of the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) in 2014 after my brother suffered a heat stroke. KSI played an integral role in his return to the football field. I have always admired the work that they have done, and this summer I was fortunate enough to become part of the team when I was offered the 2016 summer fellowship.

My main focus this summer was the Athletic Training Locations and Services (ATLAS) project. The goal of ATLAS is to create a real-time database of the athletic training services in secondary schools across the country. Being an athletic training student and a strong advocate for the importance of the presence of athletic trainers at all levels, this was a very appropriate task. I spent much of my time uploading the information from new surveys to our database. I also created numerous contact lists of athletic trainers from different states to help promote ATLAS. This was my first real experience working with excel, but I was able to learn numerous tips and tricks.

I was also asked to write letters to authors that inadequately described exertional heat stroke. I have become very knowledgeable about heat illnesses, especially exertional heat stroke; so I was glad to be able share this knowledge. I was even able to learn a little bit more about the specifics and misconceptions of heat illnesses while writing these letters. My creative side was put to the test by designing some social media graphics to help promote KSI and its initiatives.

During my last few weeks here, I was able to help out with some of the research studies. I spent many hours in the heat chamber, helping out with max testing, and collecting data before and after testing. This was my first experience with research, but it has definitely made me consider about going into research in the future.

I cannot thank the KSI team enough for all the mentoring they have done. The amount of knowledge I have acquired from them this summer is unfathomable. I am excited to bring everything I have learned back to Louisiana and carry it with me throughout my career. I can only hope that future fellows learn just as much as I have. KSI does some amazing work, and being apart of the team even for a summer is an experience I would recommend to any athletic training student.

Pre-College Summer @ UConn

Posted on July 19, 2016July 18, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

Pre College Summer

By Rachel Katch, MS, ATC, Associate Director of Military and Occupational Safety

The Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut is conducting its first Emergency Issues in Sports Medicine Pre-College Summer academic focus. In total there will be four, 1-week (17.5 hour) long seminars targeted towards future leaders in the high school setting, which features a curriculum of evidence-based prevention, recognition, and treatment of the Nation’s leading emergency issues in sports, military, and occupational settings. Each session includes interactive presentations disseminated by the experienced staff of the Korey Stringer Institute, as well as a hands on learning lab simulating the emergency treatment of a life threatening aliment. A broad range of emergent topics will be covered during the sessions including:

Cardiovascular events
Exertional heat illnesses
Concussions
Traumatic injuries
And other significant contributors to sudden death

Despite recent and proposed rule and policy changes at all levels of activity (i.e., NFL, USA Youth Soccer, NCAA, etc.), including the now punishable act of head-to-head contact during tackling in football and the removal of heading in youth soccer, sudden death due to the above conditions can still be an inherent aspect of sport and physical activity. Participants can expect to learn imperative knowledge in the understanding of today’s leading causes of death in sport and physical activity, including essential firsthand skills in the prevention, recognition, and treatment of these emergent injuries and illnesses.

With our first Sports Medicine session in the books, our curriculum has been very well received by students and has been regarded as interactive, engaging, rigorous, and very informative. Students have come away from this course with a new understanding of sports medicine and the number one causes of sudden death in sport and physical activity. When asked what was the most interesting/important thing they learned in our seminar, all responded with a resounding, “Everything!” Unfortunately, registration has closed for our 2016 seminars; however, keep a look out next year for our 2017 Pre-College Summer Sports Medicine Seminars!

If you have questions regarding the Emergency Issues in Sports Medicine Pre-College Summer academic focus, or the activities of the Korey Stringer Institute, please contact Rachel Katch at rachel.katch@uconn.edu

The ATLAS Project: The Start of Something Big

Posted on June 17, 2016September 14, 2021 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Robert Huggins, PhD, ATC, VP of Research, VP of Athlete Health and Safety

ATLAS UPDATE

There are countless new and innovative ideas that we have at KSI every day, but every once in a while there is that truly life changing idea. Even as daunting as that idea may seem, there is something deep within your gut, I mean really deep down, that you know can make and impact and is worth doing. The ATLAS Project was one of those ideas for us here at KSI and in true KSI fashion this idea would not be possible without the collaboration of the NATA Secondary School Committee and the members of the NATA.

The Athletic Training Locations And Services Project was developed by KSI from the “Athletic Training Services in Public Secondary Schools: A Benchmark Study” with the main goals to:

Create a real-time database of athletic training services in secondary schools
Create a directory for each state’s athletic training association and high school athletics association
Assist states in moving toward full-time athletic training services
Provide useful data to each state’s athletic training association and high school athletic association
Identify common factors associated with increased athletic training services across the country
Provide data to assist with legislative efforts to improve healthcare for high school athletes

Since its official launch in January, over 4,500 surveys have been taken by Secondary School Athletic Trainers all across the country. The Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association has the largest percentage of high school athletic trainers who have taken the ATLAS Survey closely followed by Mid-America Mid-Atlantic and Southwest Athletic Training Associations as depicted below. In terms of raw number of surveys California leads with 220 surveys taken and Pennsylvania is in close second with 203 surveys. However, if we look at percentage of surveys taken, District of Columbia, New Mexico, and Utah are in the lead with 80%, 71%, and 55% respectively.

Currently KSI uses Zeemapsä by Zeesource to map each states’ Athletic Training services and we are proud to say that Vermont and Maine were the first two states to be 100% mapped. Delaware, District of Columbia, Rhode Island and Wyoming are all within 40 schools of being 100% mapped and additional efforts in those states by KSI and their athletic training associations are being made as we speak.

Recently Robert Huggins PhD, LAT, ATC and Larry Cooper, NATA Secondary School Committee Chair, presented the ATLAS project data at the Collaborative Solutions For Safety In Sport Meeting held at the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis and will also be discussing this with Athletic Trainers at the NATA Symposium next week in Baltimore where they hope the project will continue to gain more momentum so be sure to stop by booth #2057 at the NATA Expo to map your high school!

2016 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting

Posted on June 6, 2016June 5, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Samantha Scarneo, MS, ATC, Director of Sport Safety

As conference season is upon us, KSI kicked off the summer first attending the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting. This year’s ACSM annual meeting was held in Boston, MA and proved to be one of the most special conferences for KSI. KSI’s CEO, Dr. Douglas Casa was honored with the opportunity to give one of the President’s Lectures on Thursday morning of the conference. Dr. Casa’s presentation began with his personal story of his own heat stroke and how that grew to his passion for saving lives in the realm of exertional heat stroke and other causes sudden death in sport and physical activity. The presentation also included a detailed timeline of he inception of KSI and the work that KSI is doing to this day. Change takes time, dedication, and perseverance; Dr. Casa certainly made that known to those in attendance.

Over the course of several years, KSI has been able to assist over 30 states in their quest to make policy changes to make sport safer at all levels of competition. Heat acclimatization, environmental conditions, AED policies, coaching education, and conditioning sessions were some of the policy change topics presented upon. However, despite the positive changes, we have observed an increase in non-traumatic deaths over the past few years. Dr. Casa stressed, that although important changes have been made, there is still work to be done to identify why this trend is occurring and how we can mitigate these deaths. The presentation was well received to a ballroom full of attendees. Congratulations to Dr. Casa on this milestone achievement!

The conference also included presentations by other KSI staff:

William Adams, PhD, ATC – Thirst As A Marker of Hydration Status During an After Exercise in the heat
Lesley Vandermark, PhD, ATC– Beverage Content Influences Voluntary Fluid Intake During Exercise: A Systematic Review
Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC – Assessing Warm Weather Race Preparedness Using the Heat Stress Score
Samantha Scarneo, MS, ATC – Lower Extremity Injury Risk in Youth Female Basketball Athletes with and without a History of Concussion

Annual meetings allow professionals to re-connect with old colleagues, make new relationships and build upon their knowledge base by attending the several sessions. ACSM has always been an educational event that each of us look forward to every year, and this year was no different. We thank all the presenters at the meeting along with the staff who were able to put on such a great event. It was great to see all of our former colleagues and friends and we look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Upcoming Scientific Presentations

Posted on May 25, 2016May 24, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Sarah Attanasio, Assistant Director of Research

Come visit and engage with the KSI staff members at the upcoming annual NATA and ACSM Conferences. Find out which members are presenting, where and about what can you expect to learn from each presentation below.

The American College of Sports Medicine 63^rd Annual Meeting- May 31- June 4^th 2016- Boston MA

William Adams, PhD, ATC– Thematic Poster

“Thirst as a Marker of Hydration Status During and After Exercise in the Heat”

Date: Wednesday, 6/1; 1:00-3:00pm

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Assessing Warm Weather Race Preparedness Using the Heat Stress Score”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 2-3:30pm

Lesley Vandermark, PhD, ATC, EMT, PES– Poster Presentation

“Beverage Content Influences Voluntary Fluid Intake During Exercise: A Systematic Review”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 2-3:30pm

Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA– President’s Lecture

“Preventing Sudden Death in Sports and Physical Activity: The Struggles (and Successes) to Implement Evidence into Clinical Practice”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 10:30- 11:20am

Douglas Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM, FNATA– Symposium

“Preventing, Recognizing, and Treating Exertional Heat Stroke at Endurance Events”

Date: Thursday, 6/2; 9:20-9:45am

Samantha Scarneo, MS, ATC– Free Communication/Slide

“Lower Extremity Injury Risk in Youth Female Basketball Athletes with and without a History of Concussion”

Date: Friday, 6/3; 1:00-3:00pm

The National Athletic Trainers’ Association 67^th Clinical Symposia and Expo- June 22-25^th 2016- Baltimore MD

William Adams, PhD, ATC– Minicourse

“Developing and Implementing Evidence-Based Best Practice and Procedure for the Prevention of Sudden Death in Sport”

Date: Wednesday 6/22; 5:15-6:15pm

Lesley Vandermark, PhD, ATC, EMT, PES– Free Communication Oral Presentation

“Investigation of Provisional Medical Care in the Public Secondary School Setting”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 9:15-10:15am

Rachel Vanscoy, MS, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Does The Shortened Environmental Symptoms Questionnaire Accurately Represent Physiological Adaptations Following a 10 Day Heat Acclimation Protocol?”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:15-12:00pm

Rachel Katch, MS, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Use of the Heat Stress Score to Predict Preparedness to Run in an Outdoor, Warm Weather Race”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

William Adams, PhD, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Policy Changes Reduce Exertional Sickling Related Deaths in Division I Collegiate Football Players”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Poster Presentation

“Tarp-Assisted Cooling is an Effective Method of Whole Body Cooling in Hyperthermic Individuals”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

Luke Belval, MS, ATC, CSCS– Poster Presentation

“Efficacy of a Novel Cooling Vest Following Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

Sarah Attanasio, BS– Poster Presentation

“Occurrence of Exertional Heat Stroke in High School Football Athletes Before and After Implementation of Evidence-Based Heat Acclimatization Guidelines”

Date: Thursday 6/23; 11:30-1:15pm

Yuri Hosokawa, MAT, ATC– Feature Presentation

“Malignant Hyperthermia in Physically Active Populations”

Date: Thursday, 6/23; 1:30- 3:30pm

Alicia Pike, MS, ATC– Oral presentation

“Private Secondary Schools Use Various Individuals When Providing Medical Coverage”

Date: Friday, 6/24; 10-10:15am

Rebecca Stearns PhD, ATC– Special Topic

“Protein’s Effectiveness As An Ingredient in Hydration Beverages”

Date: Saturday 6/25; 10:45-11:45am

5th Annual Korey Stringer Institute Gala and Fundraiser

Posted on May 10, 2016May 9, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Alicia Pike, Assistant Director of Youth Sport Safety

The 5^th Annual Korey Stringer Institute Gala and Fundraiser was held this past Thursday evening, May 5^th, at the NFL Headquarters. Every year we are in awe of the immense support received from colleagues, friends, and family, and this year’s Gala was no exception. The night started by greeting guests and catching up with those who traveled near and far to attend the event, but this was not just a night for socializing. After welcoming remarks from Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy for the NFL, guests got to hear from James Gould, Chairman of the advisory board for the Korey Stringer Institute, Jeff Seemann, Vice President for Research at the University of Connecticut, and Kelci Stringer, Founder and Spokesperson of KSI. All emphasized the impact that KSI has had on spreading knowledge and advocacy to prevent sudden death in athletes, soldiers, and laborers both locally and nationally.

We are able to achieve this mission through the immense support of passionate, motivated people, especially our corporate partners, many of whom were in attendance. It was an exciting night for the KSI staff, as two announcements were made that will undoubtedly maximize the potential for research opportunities and more. Josh Shaw, Founder and CEO of Mission Athletecare, proudly announced the building of a state of the art heat chamber and performance lab on UConn’s campus. To add to the exciting news, Scott Sailor, President of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), announced an established partnership between the NATA and KSI, which will result in collaborative research efforts and opportunities.

This was also a night of recognition. Every year, KSI acknowledges three leaders in the realms of research, service, and education who have had a significant impact on health and safety for athletes and the physically active. The 2016 KSI Lifesaving Research Award was awarded to Frederick Mueller, former Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. Through his research, he reduced the number of football fatalities and catastrophic injuries in high school and college sports. Rachael Oats, Associate Executive Director of the NATA, received the 2016 KSI Lifesaving Service Award. In addition to being a key advocate for KSI, Rachael has been involved in a vast number of projects and meetings, served on countless committees, and has volunteered hours of her time to advance health and safety initiatives and promote the prevention of sudden death in sport and physical activity. The final award, KSI Lifesaving Education Award, was presented to Lawrence Armstrong, distinguished professor in the Department of Kinesiology at UConn and President of the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Armstrong has dedicated years to teaching and research, primarily focused on the effects of dehydration on cognitive functioning and exercise performance, as well as factors impacting thermoregulation and physiological strain.

It was another unforgettable night spent with colleagues, friends, and family who all share and support the same passion for preventing sudden death in the physically active. To those who traveled to attend, some traveling across the country to show support, we cannot thank you enough. It is your continued encouragement, advocacy and support that allow KSI to grow, thrive and save lives.

Philips AED Rebate Offer

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Yuri Hosokawa

Have you recently purchased HeartStart FRx and OnSite AEDs from Philips? They are offering a rebate program for these units that were purchased between April 15, 2016 and October 15, 2016 from a Philips authorized distributor.

For more information, please contact Jeff Petak (jeff@onebeatcpr.com).

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Pre-College Summer at UConn

Posted on May 6, 2016September 14, 2021 by Yuri Hosokawa

By Rachel Katch, Assistant Director of Military and Occupational Safety

The Pre-College Summer at UConn program is a rigorous academic opportunity offering rising high school juniors and seniors (class of 2017 or 2018) the chance to study and live on a top-ranked public university campus. Students are immersed in challenging and intensive one-week sessions in an academic area of their choice, choosing from a multitude of topic areas. The Korey Stringer Institute is proud to announce that we will be offering four sessions of our first ever Pre-College Summer Sports Medicine course.

Our one-week (17.5 hour) programming features a curriculum of evidence-based prevention, recognition, and treatment of the nation’s leading emergency issues in sports, military, and occupational settings. Each session includes interactive presentations disseminated by the experienced staff of the Korey Stringer Institute, as well as hands on learning labs simulating the emergency treatment of life threatening aliments. A broad range of emergent topics will be covered during the sessions including:

Cardiovascular events
Exertional heat illnesses
Concussions
Traumatic injuries
Other significant contributors to sudden death

Despite recent and proposed rule and policy changes at all levels of activity (e.g., NFL, USA Youth Soccer, NCAA, etc.), including the now punishable act of head-to-head contact during tackling in football and the removal of heading in youth soccer, sudden death due to the above conditions can still be an inherent aspect of sport and physical activity. Participants can expect to learn imperative knowledge in the understanding of today’s leading causes of death in sport and physical activity, including essential firsthand skills in the prevention, recognition, and treatment of these emergent injuries and illnesses.

To register for our course, as well as find additional parent information regarding cost, accommodations, scheduling, etc., please visit the Pre-College Summer at UConn Sports Medicine website:

http://precollege-summer.uconn.edu/academic-areas/sport-medicine/

For any additional questions regarding the course’s curriculum, or the activities of the Korey Stringer Institute, please contact Rachel Katch at rachel.katch@uconn.edu. We look forward to seeing you in the summer!