American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy (AASPT)
The AASPT is proud to offer its members the opportunity to focus on issues of specific areas of practice in the form of our special interest groups (SIGs). This issue’s spotlight is on the hip SIG. The 3-part mission of the hip SIG is to (1) provide useful and clinically applicable information; (2) update SIG members on medical, surgical, and rehabilitation advancements related to the hip; and (3) facilitate future research related to hip function and pathology. We were fortunate to spend some time chatting with SIG Chair Mike Reiman about the past, present, and future of the hip SIG.
The hip SIG was founded in 2008 by Eric Meira to bring together sports physical therapists sharing a common interest in treating the hip and has developed over time to include those who are interested in lumbar spine/pelvic girdle pathology, as this body region is not well represented in the AASPT. The SIG has worked hard to increase student membership and would like to continue to extend an invitation to all students to join the hip SIG, as well as any AASPT SIG.
Interest in hip joint pathology has grown tremendously in the past several years, with an exponential growth in publications investigating hip surgery and treatment. Between 2006 and 2013, there has been a 2600% increase in the rate of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) surgery, and this increase is only expected to continue with a greater number of surgeons, especially newer surgeons, performing FAI surgery. There have also been advancements in diagnostic imaging and an overall improvement in the quality of studies investigating diagnosis and intervention, which may account for the increase in hip publications.
Members interested in getting more involved with the SIG are welcome to contact Mike. The SIG is always looking for people to lead monthly journal club article discussions. Another great way to get involved is to suggest or submit programming for the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting (APTA CSM). Topics do not have to be exclusive to the hip but can also include the lumbar spine and pelvis. Mike is willing to help if you have an idea!
For the next year, in addition to increasing programming at CSM, Mike would like to further grow the membership of the hip SIG to be inclusive of students. So if you haven’t joined the 438 members of the hip SIG yet, log into your member page at https://spts.org and add it today! If you’d like more information, contact Mike Reiman at reiman.michael@gmail.com.
American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM)
Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act Bill Passes U.S. Senate
The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act (S.808) has successfully passed the U.S. Senate, taking another critical step forward. Introduced by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in 2017, this legislation clarifies medical liability rules for sports medicine physicians, athletic trainers, and other medical professionals to ensure they are properly covered by their liability insurance while traveling with athletic teams to another state.
The bill previously passed out of the U.S. Senate HELP Committee in June and will now go back to the U.S. House of Representatives to approve language changes made by the Senate. The House approved a slightly different version of the bill in 2017. Once the House approves the changes, it will advance to the President for signature.
“The passage of S.808 will ensure patients are able to receive quality care from their respective medical teams, no matter where they are competing,” said AMSSM President Chad Asplund, MD, MPH. “This is another decisive step benefiting everyone involved in taking care of athletic teams.”
AMSSM has worked with members of Congress and multiple sports medicine organizations, including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and the American Physical Therapy Association, to advance this important legislation.
AMSSM Announces 2019 Japan Traveling Fellows
AMSSM has selected 3 junior traveling fellows for the September 17 through October 2, 2019, trip to Japan with senior fellow Brian Halpern, MD, a founder and past president of AMSSM.
Aaron Gray, MD, Kentaro Onishi, MD, and Kyle Smoot, MD, will join Dr. Halpern on the 2-week trip that will include stops and presentations throughout Japan—potentially in Tokyo, Kobe/Osaka, Kanazawa, and Akita. This is the first time that 3 junior traveling fellows have been selected.
AMSSM’s primary host for the visit will be 2019 AMSSM International Visiting Fellow Yuka Kodama Tsukahara, MD, who works at Keio University, the top school of medicine in Japan and is the team physician for youth women’s soccer for Japan. Dr. Tsukahara will be speaking at the 2019 AMSSM Annual Meeting and visiting several sports medicine centers in the United States while visiting here.
Save the Date for the 2019 Youth Early Sports Specialization Summit
The AMSSM Collaborative Research Network is pleased to provide more information for the 2019 Youth Early Sports Specialization Summit, which will take place April 12, 2019, in Houston, Texas.
Sports specialization is increasingly common during childhood and early adolescence. Early sport specialization may be a natural pathway for elite participation in certain individual sports that require advanced technical skills (eg, tennis, gymnastics); however, the necessity of early sport specialization in other sports is lesser known. Increasing evidence suggests a higher risk of burnout and injury among youth who specialize in a sport at a young age, though limited research exists regarding potential performance benefits and long-term health of these early-specializing athletes.
The goals of this research summit are to (1) conduct and present a rigorous review of the current scientific knowledge related to youth sport specialization and (2) develop a “research roadmap” to drive future research efforts based on existing evidence and knowledge gaps in the field of youth athlete training and development.
Registration for the summit will open in January 2019. Visit the AMSSM Collaborative Research Network home page for the 2019 Research Summit (www.amssm.org/CRN.php).
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM)
Join the STOP Sports Injuries Team
Did you know more than 1100 organizations currently collaborate with STOP Sports Injuries? The program was founded on the idea that grassroots efforts could help spread awareness and information about preventing overuse and trauma injuries in young athletes. This number includes more than 800 sports medicine practices, which hold local events and share our injury prevention information with patients. If you have not already signed up, be sure to visit STOPSportsInjuries.org and click “Get Involved” to learn more.
Research Grant Application Deadlines Around the Corner
AOSSM is committed to advancing orthopaedic sports medicine through high-quality research. This year, we have several new grant opportunities that provide support at different career stages and for different groups of AOSSM members. Visit sportsmed.org/research for complete details and deadlines.
Take Part in the Sports Medicine Conversation
Check out AOSSM on LinkedIn—just search for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine to receive regular sports medicine news and updates. You can also see recent member videos and journal updates on our YouTube channels: AOSSM1972 and AOSSMPublishing. You can also read the latest at
Upcoming Meetings (Learn More and Register at sportsmed.org)
20th Annual AAOS/AOSSM/AANA Sports Medicine Course (register at aaos.org)
January 30–February 3, 2019
Park City, UT
Specialty Day (register at aaos.org)
March 16, 2019
Las Vegas, NV
AOSSM/NFLPS/NFL Football Sports Medicine 2019
March 29-31, 2019
Nashville, TN
National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA)
NATA Launches New Networking Resource Gather
The NATA invites all NATA members to visit “Gather,” NATA’s new online community for athletic trainers. Gather is an online forum created by NATA to help athletic trainers share ideas, advice, challenges, and resources. Athletic training has always been a tight-knit community, and Gather is a way for you to access your professional community any time, at the click of a button. Once you are set up, be sure to use the Member Directory. It lets you search for other members of NATA, and, once you have located a member, you can click on “Add as a contact” and a request will be sent to them. Adding contacts to your virtual address book makes it easy for you to send messages to each other to stay in touch, ask questions, or even build a referral network. Visit gather.nata.org to learn more.
Housing for NATA 2019 Opens in December
You can start making arrangements to attend the 70th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT (Athletic Trainer) Expo when housing opens in early December. This special anniversary convention is June 24-27, 2019, in Las Vegas. The NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo is the largest gathering of athletic trainers in the world. Visit convention.nata.org to see housing options and updates on programing.
Register for Athletic Training Educators’ Conference (ATEC) 2019
Held every other year, the ATEC, the premier event for AT educators, is coming back in 2019. Registration has opened for the 2019 ATEC, held February 14-17, 2019, at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas. The theme is “Education Driving Clinical Practice,” and will feature large plenary presentations, interactive breakout sessions, focused model practice presentations, peer-to-peer discussions, and poster presentations. Keynote speaker Kulamakan (Mahan) Lulasegaram, PhD, an assistant professor with the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, will present “Bigger or Better? New Directions for Assessment in Professional Education.” For more information and to register, visit www.nata.org/career-education/education/events/atec.