Saint Francis Medical Center will host a spring clinic for coaches and parents featuring Chris Nowinski, president and CEO of the Sports Legacy Institute, and other physicians and professionals, on Thursday, March 24 at the Health and Wellness Center, 150 S. Mount Auburn Road. The Coaches Clinic will run from 8 am to 2:30 pm, and the Parents Clinic will run from 6 to 9 pm.
“We are adding the Parents Clinic for the first time this year because we have seen such involvement from parents in their children’s athletic activities,” says Mark Donelson, ATC, assistant manager of Outpatient Rehabilitation Services at Saint Francis.
Nowinski is a former professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) whose career abruptly ended in 2003 due to a series of concussions. Later diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome, he discovered he had suffered undetected concussions during his college football and wrestling careers. Through his efforts, he has linked multiple concussions with serious long-term neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, memory impairment and depression, and found a startling lack of concussion awareness and treatment.
In 2006, Nowinski wrote the book “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis,” to educate parents, coaches and children on this public health issue. His concussion advocacy raised the issue into national awareness, forcing the National Football League and WWE to upgrade their concussion-management protocols. To continue this neuropathological research, Nowinski co-founded the nonprofit Sports Legacy Institute, partnering with the Boston University School of Medicine to create the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.
Other speakers are Mark Hyman, sports journalist and author; Wendi M. Carns, MD, FACOG, obstetrician/gynecologist; and James M. Edwards, MD, Orthopedic surgeon. Hyman is the author of “Until it Hurts: America’s Obsession with Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids.” In 2003 alone, more than 3.5 million children younger than 15 required medical treatment for sports injuries, nearly half the result of overuse. The quest to turn children into tomorrow’s superstar athletes leads adults to push kids beyond their physical and emotional limits. The book’s multiple perspectives open the dialogue about the perils of youth sports culture today, focusing on the unfortunate cases of overzealous parents and overly ambitious kids and on how positive change is being made. Carns specializes in comprehensive care for women’s health and wellness at every stage of life. She understands that female student athletes have different physiological makeups than their male counterparts. She will instruct coaches on how to effectively train girls in sports. As an experienced Orthopedic surgeon and former baseball player, Edwards understands the impact injuries can have on athletes and works diligently to get them back into the game. He has brought advanced shoulder repair techniques to the region and will be showing coaches how to effectively manage and treat a number of shoulder injuries often common in younger athletes.
Following the afternoon presentations, one Coaches Clinic participant will receive Saint Francis Medical Center’s Athletic Republic™ speed and agility training scholarship for five deserving athletes from his or her school — a $1,700 value.
The Coaches Clinic begins at 7:30 am on March 24 with registration and will adjourn at 2:30 pm. Parents are invited to attend the evening clinic from 6 to 9 pm. To register, call 573-331-5877.