HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY AND UNC GREENSBORO, ARE PLEASED TO CO-HOST THE ACL RESEARCH RETREAT IX: THE PEDIATRIC ATHLETE – 2022

LOCATION AND DATE

Location: Congdon School of Health Sciences; High Point University, High Point NC
Date: Thursday March 17 – Saturday March 19, 2022

MEETING INFORMATION

• Program at a glance – coming August 2021
• Registration and Hotel Information:
  • Register Here
  • Hotel Booking Here at the Courtyard High Point, Highpoint NC
• Call for Abstracts – Information Here (PDF) – abstracts due December 6, 2021
• Final Program – coming 2022

CONTEXT

Despite current prevention efforts, the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury continues to rise annually.  Adolescent females are more likely than adolescent male athletes to injure their ACL, and this risk increases rapidly during maturation. Many adolescent females who tear their ACL do not return to their prior competitive level of sport, and those who do return are more likely than adolescent males or older age groups to suffer a second ACL injury and subsequently experience poorer health outcomes. Evidence-based screening and prevention strategies to mitigate the risk of both primary and secondary injury and to improve long-term outcomes are critically needed. Because many risk factors associated with ACL injury develop or change during physical maturation, we must better understand the maturational biopsychosocial factors that contribute to primary and secondary ACL injury and that affect both short- and long-term joint health.

ONGOING MISSION

The goal of the ACL Research Retreat is to bring together researchers and clinicians to present and discuss the most recent advances in ACL injury risk and prevention across the injury continuum. The Pediatric (pre-adolescent to adolescent) athlete will be the focus of the 2022 retreat and will cover the ACL injury risk and prevention continuum from primary ACL injury to short-term and long-term consequences (e.g., secondary injury, post traumatic osteoarthritis) that develop following the initial trauma. Proceedings from the meeting will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, also dedicated to ACL Injury in the Pediatric Athlete.  Our expectation is that the Retreat and the JAT Special Issue will make a valuable contribution to the existing body of literature, continue to strengthen the foundation for evidenced-based interventions, and identify critical areas for novel scientific inquiry.

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

• The meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday and run through 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.
• The format will feature keynote presentations by experts in the field related to ACL risk and prevention in the pediatric athlete, and podium and poster presentations of original research.
• Significant time is provided for group discussion following each keynote and each group of podium presentations.
• The meeting will conclude with a consensus meeting to identify knowledge gaps and set directions for future research.
• A welcome reception and meals are included to foster networking among participants.

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS

• “ACL During Growth and Development: Basic Science and Implications for Prevention and Treatment of Injuries”
  Dr. Matt Fisher, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor, Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
• “Pediatric ACL Injury: How Research is Advancing Treatment and Prevention”
  Dr. Theodore J. Ganley, MD
  Bisignano Family Distinguished Endowed Chair of Sports Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
• “Short-term gain, long-term pain? Joint health after ACL injury”
  Dr. Laura C. Schmitt, PT, MPT, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Ohio State University

View our keynote speaker bios.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS AND SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM COMMITTEE

• Kevin Ford PhD,  High Point University
• Brian Pietrosimone PhD, ATC, UNC-Chapel Hill
• Randy Schmitz PhD, ATC, UNC Greensboro
• Sandy Shultz PhD, ATC, UNC Greensboro
• Jeff Taylor PhD, PT, High Point University

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact  Randy Schmitz or Sandy Shultz.