Catch up on what you missed from the latest FSEM webinar

The Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) in Ireland have adapted their educational content to bring both national and international experts direct to your screens to discuss the hottest topics of the new SEM world. These hugely popular and far-reaching webinars are hosted and lead by the FSEM Sports & Exercise Specialist Registrars. Check out our website www.fsem.ie for details of past and future events.

Webinar 2: Navigating a New Normal in SEM

11^th September 2020

The event was delivered by an international panel with field leaders from Ireland, UK and Qatar taking part. Topics were selected in response to feedback from our local SEM community following our first webinar which prompted focus on practical applications in medicine and sport during the Pandemic and beyond.

• Dr Paul Dijkstra, Consultant Sport and Exercise Medicine Physician and Director of Education in Aspetar, Qatar, presented on his recent publication in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on Remote Assessment in SEM and shared his recent experiences on performing such assessments in athletes in Aspetar. This is a particularly topical subject as virtual clinics have been established across a variety of hospital specialties and Primary care settings across the country, including Physiotherapy services. Dr Dijkstra proposes a template for SEM assessment which can be utilised by MSK clinicians in their individual practice. Dr Dijkstra delivered a highly informative evidence based talk which was very well received. Have a read of the recent BJSM publication from Dr Dijksra et al. for some key tips on TeleSEM, https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/19/1162 (1).
• Dr Lisa Hodgson, Lead for Medical Education in the FA, discussed providing medical care and first aid in organised sport. Dr Hodgson, who recently led an expert panel in reaching a consensus for delivery of medical care in Elite and Non-elite sport during the Covid-19 pandemic, discussed considerations for medical room set-up and provision pitch side care. Rationale for appropriate PPE, Emergency Action Plans, Aerosol Generating procedures were discussed. Check out the previous BJSM blogs from Dr Hodgson et al. on the topic for a more in dept read (2), (3) and (4).
• Dr Phil Glasgow, Head of Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy IRFU, delivered the final session of the webinar, ‘Lessons from Lockdown in Elite Sport’. Common injuries during the lockdown period were presented and analysed, as elite athletes trained outside of their daily environments and away from professional supervision. Dr Glasgow discussed strategies around minimising the effects of de-loading during lockdown and preparing to re-load on return to training and games. He reflected on lessons learned based on feedback from the elite support staff and highlighted that rest and regeneration was equally as important for staff as well as the athletes that they were managing.

The next webinar of our series is scheduled for mid-December and is entitled ‘Hand injuries in sport – what not to missed’ and again will be led by a panel of experts in hand injuries and management, with speakers to be revealed in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, check out www.fsem.ie and follow our social media platforms for updates!

Figure 1. A quick generic sport and exercise medicine (SEM) guide to assessing an athlete with a sports injury remotely (1)

Authors and Affiliations:

FSEM Sports & Exercise Specialist Registrars: Dr Ronan Kearney, Dr Stuart O’Flanagan, Dr Matt Cosgrave and Dr Joe Jordan

Twitter: @FSEM_IRL @KearneyRonan @DrSOF_ @MatthewCosgrave @joe_jordan

With thanks to Annemarie Creighton (FSEM Administrator), Dr Ciaran Cosgrave (FSEM Educational Committee Chair) and Dr Philip Carolan (FSEM Dean) for their help throughout the development and production stages of the webinars as well as Premier Surgical and Medcafe for their sponsor and support of the event.

References:

1. Dijkstra HP, Ergen E, Holtzhausen L, et al Remote assessment in sport and exercise medicine (SEM): a narrative review and teleSEM solutions for and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:1162-1167.
2. Hodgson L et al. 2020. BJSM Blog. Accessed 12.10.2020. Pitch side emergency care & personal protective equipment: a framework for elite sport during the COVID-19 pandemic: Part 1 of 3. (https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2020/07/08/pitch-side-emergency-care-personal-protective-equipment/)
3. Hodgson L et al. 2020. BJSM Blog. Accessed 12.10.2020. Pitch side emergency care & personal protective equipment: a framework for elite sport during the COVID-19 pandemic: Part 2 of 3. (https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2020/07/08/pitch-side-emergency-care-personal-protective-equipment-a-framework-for-elite-sport-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-part-2-of-3/)
4. Hodgson L et al. 2020. BJSM Blog. Accessed 12.10.2020. Pitch side emergency care & personal protective equipment: a framework for elite sport during the COVID-19 pandemic: Part 3 of 3. (https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2020/07/08/pitch-side-emergency-care-and-personal-protective-equipment-a-framework-for-elite-sport-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-part-3-of-3/)