The 2022 T. David Sisk Awards

Another year, another successful edition of the T. David Sisk Awards. These awards memorialize the life of Dr T. David Sisk, who chaired the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Medical Publishing Board during the development of the Sports Health journal. ⁴ Dr Sisk was a staunch advocate of the multidisciplinary approach to sports medicine. He encouraged the Sports Health journal from the first moment that this journal was proposed.

For the 12th edition, the T. David Sisk Awards for research excellence were more than special. Held in July 2022 in Colorado Springs, CO, the award ceremony was set to parallel the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the AOSSM, celebrated during the 2022 AOSSM Annual Meeting.

As in previous years, the T. David Sisk Awards were presented in 3 categories of research excellence: Best Original Research, Best International Paper, and Best Review Article. Notwithstanding, for the first time, all the awarded research came from non-US universities.

The Winners

The 3 awarded groups of investigators that contributed to the clinical care of athletes this year come from Canada, ¹ Brazil, ² and Saudi Arabia. ³

As the Best Original Research, the 2022 T. David Sisk Award hallowed a paper published by a Canadian research team headed by a young Brazilian researcher. The Best International Paper award was given to a scientific publication led by a researcher from a Saudi Arabian university. The research excellence prize for the Best Review Article was given to a paper published by a Brazilian research team.

Fábio Carlos Lucas de Oliveira, a physiotherapist, PhD, headed a group of researchers from Université Laval (Quebec City, Canada) who demonstrated, through a randomized controlled clinical trial, that kinesiotaping does not provide additional benefits for treating rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP). In this high-quality study, 52 patients with RCRSP received a 6-week rehabilitation program based on sensorimotor training, with kinesiotaping added to the treatment of the experimental group. After 6 weeks of treatment, the authors found that both groups significantly improved (P < 0.02) symptoms (pain, function, range of motion, and acromiohumeral distance) and functional limitations over time. Interestingly, the level of improvement was similar between groups at the end of the treatment, at 12 weeks, and at 6 months’ follow-up. Besides a very high methodological rigor, this study has a substantial clinical impact. Although kinesiotaping is widely used in clinics and highly requested by patients, clinicians should not expect supplementary gains in symptoms and functional limitations yielded from kinesiotaping when a rehabilitation program based on exercises is performed simultaneously. This work ¹ was recognized at the 2022 AOSSM Annual Meeting with the T. David Sisk Award for Best Original Research.

In the international category, Wesam Saleh Al Attar, physiotherapist, PhD, led a team that investigated the effects of combining the Copenhagen adduction exercise (CAE) and the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) in improving the dynamic balance of 200 male athletes, randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups (CAE, NHE, CAE+NHE, control). All the interventions (CAE, NHE, and CAE+NHE) were effective in improving the dynamic balance (P < 0.01) after 6 weeks, compared with the control group. More significant improvements were observed in the group that received the CAE+NHE exercises. When used clinically and on the field as components of injury prevention programs, such findings can improve balance capacity and performance in athletes, potentially decreasing injury risk absenteeism and injury-related financial burdens. This work ³ was awarded the T. David Sisk Award for Best International Paper.

In the review article category, Raphael Einsfeld Simões Ferreira, MD, PhD, authored a systematic review with meta-analysis on the effects of caffeine supplementation on the physical performance of soccer players. The authors examined 17 studies (n = 241) and observed that most studies administered caffeine in capsules 30 to 90 min before testing, with doses varying between 1 and 6 mg/kg. Meta-analyses did not reveal significant differences between caffeine and placebo (mean difference [MD] = 44.9 m and MD = 169.8 s, respectively) for aerobic endurance assessed with the Yo-Yo test and time-to-fatigue test. The anaerobic power meta-analyses also did not find significant differences for vertical jump (MD = 1.01 cm), repeated sprints (MD = -0.02 s), peek speed (MD = 0.07 m/s), reaction time agility test (MD = 0.02 s), and rating of perceived exertion (MD = 0.16 pts).

Regarding safety, only a few minor adverse events were reported. Based on very low certainty of the evidence, there was no substantial improvement in soccer-related performance with caffeine supplementation compared with placebo or no intervention. However, this intervention seems to be safe. This work ² received the T. David Sisk Award for Best Review Article.

Boosting The Research Career Goals

As recipients of these awards, we are all very grateful, happy, honored, and proud to have our work recognized as contributors to advancing athletes’ clinical health care and the science of sports medicine.

We believe that this award indicates that we are on the right track to becoming a worldwide recognized researcher. We also believe this award may increment our potential to lead high-quality research projects and confirm that our research can significantly impact clinical decision-making in sports medicine.

Participating in this outstanding event and receiving these awards, provided us with several benefits. Among the benefits, we highlight the following:

1. Increase our research networks, which may expand our opportunities for collaborations.

2. Increase our skillsets and undertake clinically oriented high-level studies contributing to health care practice, research, and policy.

3. Increase the possibility of being funded by recognized institutions to conduct high-quality clinical research with a highly relevant impact on clinical practice.

The international recognition of our work can be an additional motivating factor for academics and young researchers to keep researching, besides encouraging publications in Sports Health.

Special Acknowledgment

Although this award represents a significant individual achievement for our academic scientific career, we cannot emphasize enough that we would not have achieved anything without the effort of our research team.

This is also a convenient time to recognize the commitment, professionalism, and hard work of a fantastic team dedicated to consistently delivering the best evidence to improve decision-making for clinicians working in the sport. We also highlight the outstanding work that the editorial staff, namely Ms Christine Diedrich and Ms Christine Watt, the editors, and all Sports Health editorial board members, have done. A special acknowledgment and well-deserved congratulations for the continuous increasing success of the Sports Health journal must be given to Dr Edward Wojtys, who has devoted much of his time to developing this journal. Because of him, Sports Health is one of the world’s best scientific sports medicine journals.

Equality, Diversity, And Inclusion

We take advantage of this opportunity to point out that for more than 1 decade, the Sports Health and the T. David Sisk Awards have represented research excellence in sports medicine, but not only. Since its first edition, Sports Health has well-represented equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), embedding inclusive behaviors across every element of sports medicine and health.

This year, we have, among the awarded researchers, the 2 first Brazilians and South Americans to receive the prize of Best Original Research Paper and Best Review Article. As the Best International Paper, a research team composed of researchers from 4 countries and 6 universities had their work recognized by this very prestigious award. These awards undoubtedly reinforce that EDI is a priority for Sports Health, the AOSSM, and its members.

We believe we are well oriented to continue contributing to advancing sports medicine, health, and science knowledge. Is that all? Surely not! More must be done, and we are ready to do it.

—Fábio Carlos Lucas de Oliveira, PT, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Rehabilitation
Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada

—Raphael Einsfeld Simões Ferreira, MD, PhD
School of Medicine, Centro Universitário São Camilo, São Paulo, Brazil

—Wesam Saleh A Al Attar, PT, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia