On May 10th, a panel of experts from across a range of elite disciplines will convene at the home of Welsh rugby to discuss the latest advances in sports medicine.
A WRU organising committee consisting of Prav Mathema (National Medical Manager) and Dr Geoff Davies (National Team Doctor), assisted by Caroline Morgan, has brought together some of the brightest minds in their fields – from football to rugby and judo to cricket – to share their learnings.
“This is by far the biggest event we’ve had,” said Mathema, who will this summer be joining the British and Irish Lions for a third consecutive tour. “The feedback from our past conferences has been exceptional, so we feel this is something that has real value. It’s designed to be directed at all physios, doctors and healthcare practitioners currently working or interested in sports medicine. We have a great mix of candidates ranging from those at the very highest level to those working at grassroots. The response has been exceptional, selling out all 200 tickets within a week.”
The conference will open with a focus on concussion, one of sport’s most pressing subjects, with three experts discussing the latest developments in this field. The audience will then hear how the FAW’s Sean Connelly, Jason Laird, Lead Physiotherapist at the English Institute of Sport, and the ECB’s Lead Physiotherapist Ben Langley have all managed their athletes back to successful competition.
“We’ve aimed to broaden our horizons with this year’s conference,” said Dr Davies. “It’s an event that provides education for all professionals within sports medicine. There has traditionally been an emphasis on rugby, but we’re now looking further afield and picking up lessons from other sports, because there’s a lot of knowledge here in UK sports medicine that we want to harness and share.”
The WRU medical department has been providing free educational events for several years – something both men agree makes this latest conference all the more unique. “You’d be hard-pressed to go to any event and hear the calibre of speakers we have free of charge,” Mathema said. “We’ll have the likes of Mike Hughes [analyst – England Rugby, British and Irish Lions] and Nick Grantham [renowned Strength & Conditioning expert] looking at data and how we use it in sports medicine, to name just one aspect of the event. We are also delighted to be able to present Professor Damian Hughes, who will be discussing sports psychology in successful sports medicine.”
Endorsing player welfare is at the forefront of the union’s mind, adds Dr Davies: “This conference allows us to share any new advances, concepts or techniques in bringing somebody back from injury effectively. If somebody in cricket is doing something unique, then we want to know about it; if somebody at the FAW is doing something that’s a little bit different that may buy you a little extra time, it’s good to hear about that.”
The full itinerary of the conference can be viewed here. Although the event is currently sold out, prospective candidates are encouraged to register on the waiting list should more tickets become available
The WRU would like to thank the following for sponsoring the 2017 Sports Medicine Conference: GE Healthcare; Hospital Innovations; Nuffield Health; Physique; Sempris; and TRB Chemedica.
