On Thursday, 16th of March, the Los Jerónimos Campus hosted the first day of the VII International Conference on the Prevention of Sports Injuries organised by the UCAM Chair of Sports Traumatology, co-directed by doctors Pedro Guillén and José Luis Martínez Romero. At this first day, leading international experts offered some of the keys to the latest trends in prevention, the result of research projects and daily work with professional athletes.  

Martínez Romero recalled the key principle that should always be applied in the world of sports: ‘The best treatment for an injury is prevention’. And that is why he stressed that ‘the first job in prevention is proper sports training’. According to the orthopaedic surgeon, efforts should be redoubled at an early age, when children opt for a discipline, because ‘if someone starts doing a sport that they really like but which is not well adapted to their conditions, sooner or later they may have problems. Medical and sports assessment and guidance examinations in childhood are essential so that we know which sports are suitable for each child. This way, young people do not exceed their capacity for effort, so as to avoid injuries.’ 

Risk sports have had their share of limelight at this conference, thanks to the presentation of Miguel del Valle, president of the Spanish Society of Sports Medicine. He focused on the fact that ‘most of them have no control or rules, and there is a very large legal and medical loophole. There are very few scientific publications and we should therefore educate ourselves and work more in this field, as there are no medical examinations and there is often no technical or medical assistance.

From the Faculty of Sports, its dean, Lourdes Meroño, pointed out that many students in the Bachelor's Degree in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences have been interested in this conference: ‘UCAM’s research nature and conferences such as this one are aimed at conveying the applied reality of what they are learning in the classroom and the importance of training in this field to our students.’ 

Researchers and renowned professionals such as José María Villalón, head of the Medical Services of Atlético de Madrid; Ana de la Torre, doctor of Getafe CF; or Pilar Doñoro, doctor of the Spanish Basketball Federation, among others, took part in this first day.  

Tribute to José Luis Mendoza on the second day of the event

On Friday, the second and last day of the conference will take place. This day, a tribute to José Luis Mendoza Pérez, founder of the UCAM, who passed away on 18 January, will take place. Prior to this, leading international researchers and professionals such as Pedro Guillén, head of the CEMTRO Clinic and of the UCAM Chair of Sports Traumatology; Igor Jukic, head of the Croatian Olympic Training Centre; Francesco Cuzzolin, head of Sports Performance at Olimpia Milano; Julio Calleja, dean of the Faculty of Education and Sport at Universidad del País Vasco and former coach of the Spanish Basketball National Team and NBA teams; and Nicolás Terrados, head of the Regional Sports Medicine Unit of Asturias, among others, will take part in the event.