Under the scorching summer sun, USF athletic trainer Yuriy Chulskiy huddled over a human simulator lying on the Astroturf at the USF football practice field. Listening for breath sounds and watching for movement, Chulskiy studied each nuance of iStan, an advanced patient simulator, in an exercise designed to help recreate medical emergencies like cardiac arrest and spinal injuries that could occur during athletic competitions. “Whenever it does happen in real life, we’re dealing with peoples’ lives and that’s serious,” Chulskiy said. “You want to be confident when you face the […]

Playing rugby in a wheelchair with amputations to both arms and both legs is not easy.  But for Nick Springer, it motivates him to succeed in life. Springer is a paralympian, a member of USA’s Quad Rugby team, and winner of two world championship gold medals and an Olympic gold medal from the Beijing Olympics in 2008. In June, Springer spoke with USF athletic training students about his experiences, how he went from being a highly recruited hockey player in high school, to losing all four limbs to partial amputations, […]

USF Health’s Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC, has been selected one of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s 2011 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer (MDAT) award recipients. Dr. Konin, associate professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine and executive director of the Sports Medicine and Athletic Related Trauma Institue at USF, is one of 21 certified athletic trainers nationwide chosen to receive the award this year. Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC This National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) award recognizes outstanding dedication and service to the athletic training profession. Candidates for the award must have held […]

Coaches, parents and even kids are more aware about the seriousness of concussions, but more needs to be done to ensure that young athletes who experience these head injuries are properly identified and do not return to play prematurely. That was the consensus of a panel of experts, including two USF Health doctors, who participated in the Central Florida Concussion Summit presented by the USF Health Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and HealthyState.org.  The March 28 event at the USF College of Education TECO Conference Hall drew parents, coaches, […]

To view and listen to WUSF University Beat segments on the Central Florida Concussion Summit, click here. Concern about sports-related concussions is a major topic in the news today. One new study in the journal Neurosurgery reported that high school athletes who suffer two or more concussions may already experience early symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, including problems with sleep, memory and headaches. To help educate young athletes, their parents and coaches about the current state of concussion evaluation and management, the USF Health Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and […]

Volunteering as athletic trainer for Team USA Quad Rugby turned into gold for Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC, PT, FACSM, FNATA, associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine. Dr. Konin went on the road with the team of elite wheelchair rugby players last month when they competed and won the gold medal for the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Americans went undefeated in 2010 en route to winning the recent gold and haven’t lost a match at a World Championships or […]

It’s one of the hottest summers in Florida. As the temperature rises, so does the risk for athletes. Under the piles of padding and hard helmets, athletes or others working in the high heat and humidity put themselves in danger of heat illness. If unchecked, the body’s inability to cool itself can lead to potentially life-threatening heat stroke, the severest form of heat illness. “If we can start to identify those athletes, those kids, those workers … before they get into real trouble,” said USF Health’s Dr. Eric Coris, director […]

Tampa, FL (July 26, 2010) — Your son suffers a helmet-to-helmet collision during football training camp.  Your daughter falls and hits the back of her head on the soccer field during practice.  They’re conscious, but confused, so you go to the emergency room as a precaution.  The diagnosis is mild concussion – a change in mental function following head injury. After a few days of rest, your child is begging to get back in the game, but how can you be sure it’s safe for him or her to return […]

The University of South Florida has launched a multidisciplinary center with expertise in managing postconcussive syndrome, the sometimes disabling symptoms that linger after a concussion – even long after a seemingly mild head injury. The USF Concussion Center pulls together experts in neurology, neurocritical care, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, psychiatry, audiology, pediatrics, neuro-otology, ophthalmology, neuroradiology, athletic training, sports medicine and physical therapy. “A concussion doesn’t have to knock you out to leave lasting effects,” said Gianluca Del Rossi, PhD, ATC, associate professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine at USF Health and director […]

Students from Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences, a private university in Osaka, Japan, visited USF Health March 24 to learn more about how American athletic trainers care for injured athletes.   Approximately 20 Japanese athletic training students and two faculty members learned from 12 USF faculty and staff and  57 USF athletic training students.  “Having our students from USF and Japan interact together demonstrated very clearly that effective communications skills are a valuable asset to have if one aspires to be a competent healthcare provider.” said Jeff Konin, PhD, ATC, PT, […]