Overhead athletes such as baseball, softball, and tennis players are no strangers to injury. The methods clinicians employ to evaluate and treat injuries in these athletes vary, and in some cases, can be ineffective. The expert faculty at The Shoulder Center of Kentucky’s 17th Annual Shoulder Symposium attempted to address these issues and others.
The faculty, comprised of team physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and researchers who work with professional baseball and tennis players, presented information that both supported and challenged traditional methods of injury evaluation and treatment in an attempt to assist the symposium participants with understanding current practice trends and existing evidence.
The symposium highlighted a key concept in anatomical function known as “the kinetic chain.” The kinetic chain describes the development of energy in one part of the body, and the manner in which the energy is transferred to other parts of the body. Using the overhead throwing motion as an example, the larger muscles of the legs and trunk develop the energy needed to a throw a ball overhead, while the smaller muscles of the arm absorb the energy to help direct the ball towards its target. Evidence was presented showing better post-injury outcomes when all kinetic chain segments are addressed in both the evaluation and treatment of overhead injuries. The symposium participants were encouraged to utilize the kinetic chain approach with their patients because it provides a comprehensive means of examination and can improve treatment results.
The differences between treating elite athletes and recreational athletes were discussed by Michael Ciccotti, MD, director of the Sports Medicine Team at the Rothman Institute, head team physician for the Philadelphia Phillies, and past president of Major League Baseball Team Physicians. The elite professional athlete has repeated exposure to injury, but also enjoys consistent training and rehabilitation therapy for injury that the non-professional usually does not, said Ciccotti. When describing the challenge of returning injured athletes to the playing field, Ciccotti quoted Winston Churchill, saying, “Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.”
2014 KMA Annual Meeting
The 2014 KMA Annual Meeting was September 15–17 at the Hyatt Regency Louisville. FOCUS FORWARD, The Path to Quality Care, was the theme, with Dr. Fred Williams Jr, president, presiding with the installation of new officers, David Bensema, MD, as president 2014–15 and Thomas Bunnell, MD, KMAA.
The Tuesday, September 16th, morning session included an address to the membership by the Honorable Jerry E. Abramson, Lieutenant Governor, Commonwealth of Kentucky who described the achievements and challenges of the Kyhealthnow initiative and goals for 2019.
Abramson repeatedly pointed out the success of Kynect, the state’s health care insurance connection which he noted signed up over 527,000 individuals for health care insurance. Kyhealthnow, (kyhealthnow) said Abramson is a collection of strategies focused on improving the health and health care of all Kentuckians.