American College of Sports Medicine

Preventing Sudden Death in Sport– CoxHealth Sports Safety Conference

Brad Endres, ATC, CSCS

Assistant Director of Sports Safety Policies

The prevention of sudden death in sports begins well before a catastrophic injury occurs.

It may be true that heroes are made in how they respond when they are needed most. Many stories throughout the country give testament to the life-saving nature of an appropriate and timely response to medical emergencies in sport. While these stories are indeed uplifting, they are often the result of a great amount of effort dedicated to being prepared in the event of an emergency. During their 2017 Sports Medicine Conference, the Sports Medicine team at CoxHealth exemplified the old adage that “practice makes perfect”, and it was truly a sight to behold. This team, led by Dr. Shannon Woods, was a shining example of how to collaborate with multiple health care providers in order to create, implement, and practice “best-practice” policies and procedures intended to promote athlete safety. KSI was invited to travel to Springfield, MO to take part in the Conference, and it was inspiring to witness the rubber meet the road in regards to the practical application of research.

Throughout the two days of the conference, KSI staff led evidence-based educational sessions on exertional heat illnesses. KSI Vice-President of Communication and Education Dr. Yuri Hosokawa started off the conference on Friday morning with an evidence-based presentation about the prevention, recognition, and treatment of exertional heat illnesses. After the presentation, she led the participants through a practical lab session on the “best-practices” of responding to an individual suffering from exertional heat stroke (EHS).  The participants attending the Friday session of the conference included athletic trainers, coaches, sports medicine physicians, EMS personnel, and school administrators from local area high schools, given that these practical skills would be vital for treating one of their athletes in the event they developed EHS while participating in sports. On Friday afternoon, CoxHealth staff led mock emergency scenarios where participants  were able to gain hands-on practice of what they had learned in the morning. The participants took the scenarios seriously, which led to great discussions during the scenario debriefings. Additionally, the local Springfield news station recorded a news segment about the Conference in order to spread the word about emergency preparedness and athlete safety.

On the final day of the conference, the participants included physical therapists, physicians from other specialties, parents of young athletes, and other interested members of the community. Yuri and I geared our presentations to a slightly different audience, but the message was largely the same: evidence-based policies and procedures can indeed save lives.

Yuri and I were thankful to be invited to the 2017 CoxHealth Sports Medicine Conference, and proud to represent KSI at such an impressive collaborative event. Being in compliance with “best practice” emergency response policies is not always the easiest thing to do, but networks like CoxHealth Sports Medicine are proving that it can be done. Because of their efforts, the athletes they serve will undoubtedly be safe and well cared for.

2017 ACSM Annual Meeting Recap

Yasuki Sekiguchi, MS, CSCS, Assistant Director of Athlete Performance

 

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting was held in Denver, CO from May 30-June 3. Most of the KSI staff attended this outstanding conference and they were honored with the opportunities to present their research. We had great discussion with the audiences and received critical feedback for future work via these presentations.

  • Douglas J. Casa, PhD, ATC, FACSM- Catastrophic Heat and Exertional-Related Conditions among Athletes
  • Robert A. Huggins, PhD, ATC- Biomarkers of Endocrine, Muscle, and Inflammatory Health Track Training Loads of a Collegiate Soccer Season

  • William M. Adams, PhD, ATC- Monitoring Cardiovascular, Hepatic, Renal, and Hematological Markers of Health in Collegiate Soccer Players
  • Yuri Hosokawa, PhD, ATC- Outcomes from a Modified Heat Tolerance Test to Track Thermal Strain

  • Samantha E. Scarneo, MS, ATC- Assessing the Reliability and Validity of an Objective Method of Measuring Postural Stability: Preliminary Data

  • Luke N. Belval, MS, ATC, CSCS- Comparison of Rectal Temperature Prediction Models Utilizing Machine Learning

  • Ryan M. Curtis, MS, ATC, CSCS- Starters and Non-starters Require Separate Load Monitoring and Analyses Throughout a Collegiate Soccer Season
  • Rachel K. Katch, MS, ATC- Weighted Heat Stress Score as a Predictor of Rectal Temperature in a Warm Weather Race

  • Courteney L. Benjamin, MS, CSCS- Monitoring Markers of Nutrition Status Throughout a Collegiate Soccer Season

  • Gabrielle EW. Giersch, MS- The Effect of the Cypla2 -163 c>A Polymorphism on the Metabolism of Caffeine and Effect on Performance

  • Yasuki Sekiguchi, MS, CSCS- Thirst Modulates Cycling Performance in the Heat in Dehydrated Males
  • Andrea R. Fortunati, MS, ATC- Monitoring Markers of Oxygen Transport Throughout a Collegiate Soccer Season
  • Brad D. Endres, BS, ATC- Epidemiology of Sudden Death in American Youth Sports.

 

 

Furthermore, the ACSM annual meeting provided great opportunities to meet with former colleagues. The University of Connecticut Alumni Association Reception was held on Thursday night (6/1). A lot of attendees spent time with old friends and shared current work with them. This kind of reunion always enables us to recall great memories and have energy for future work. We are grateful for all of the people who helped coordinate this event.

 

 

This conference also allows attendees to make new relationships with other professionals through attending various sessions and meetings. These opportunities lead KSI staff to obtain further knowledge, skills and new ideas. They certainly help to develop KSI and execute our mission “to provide research, education, advocacy and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety and prevent sudden death for the athlete, soldier and laborer.” The KSI staff members are thankful to all of the presenters and attendees for their contributions to this field as well as helping make this conference one where individuals who are passionate about similar topics can meet, collaborate, and enjoy one another. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon!!!

 

2016 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting

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

ACSM 2016

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

By Sarah Attanasio, Assistant Director of Research

Upcoming Presentations

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 63rd Annual Meeting- May 31- June 4th 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 67th Clinical Symposia and Expo- June 22-25th 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