High school athletes suffer 2 million injuries annually and sports activities lead to 21% of all traumatic brain injuries amongst American children. Health professionals need to be brought up to speed on the prevalence, severity, and impact of sports injuries.

That’s why the University of Florida’s Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute is hosting the Safety in Adolescent & High School Sports Medicine Conference on Feb. 21. The conference will focus on adolescent sports medicine and musculoskeletal injuries, especially concussions.

Almost 8,000 children are treated in the emergency room daily for sports injuries. After a child’s first injury, he or she develops a significantly higher chance for a future injury. Sport medicine physicians, primary care physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers and other healthcare members therefore need to be equipped with the means by which to treat these athletes.

The conference’s presentations will focus on the diagnosis, treatment, research, education and prevention of musculoskeletal and athletic injuries. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to network with peers and faculty.

By the conclusion of the day, participants will be able to diagnosis and manage sports related concussions, put into practice safe and effect clinical recommendations of overuse injuries, understand and implement acute management of heat illness, know when to refer an injury to a sports medicine surgeon and become familiar with the most up-to-date information on the importance of pre-participation examinations.

The Sports Medicine Conference will be held in the heart of The Gator Nation, at the Hilton University of Florida Hotel and Conference Center in Gainesville, Florida.

For more information, visit the Continuing Medical Education program’s website.