On September 17, the ReFORM network was in Nancy for the congress of the French Society of Sports Traumatology and the French Society of Exercise and Sports Medicine – SFMES and presented a session about “News in Sports Medicine”.

The presentation of the activities and projects of the network by Camille Tooth (Project Manager ReFORM) was able to emphasize the mutual benefits generated by this collaboration, officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Many collaborative works have been initiated with a direct benefit for health professionals and sports stakeholders, such as the translation and synthesis of the IOC consensus statements. For patients, the projects initiated by ReFORM have, in particular, led to the establishment of specialized structures for the management of concussions in sport in each of the 5 centers.

Dr. Katy Seil-Moreels, representing LIROMS, gave a well-received presentation on abuse in sport, a problem that remains taboo in many countries despite its very high prevalence. Moreover, the speaker’s final words about the fact that the question wasn’t to know if a next revelation of abuse would be made but when it would be made, were confirmed with another scandal revealed on same day in the French press, this time in football.

Tom Chassard (INSEP, Paris) then presented the EMPOW’HER project, and more particularly the impact of menstrual cycles and pregnancy on the performance of female athletes. First of all, it has been shown that it is important to take menstrual cycles into account in training planification because they have a real impact on performance as well as on the internal load reported by the athlete. Finally, the speaker presented the factors that influence the return to performance after pregnancy, the main one being the age at which the pregnancy occurs.

The session then continued with a round table devoted to the ethical issues of arthroplasty surgeries in athletes, moderated by Profs. Romain Seil (LIROMS) and Patricia Thoreux (INSEP). Prof. Seil first introduced the context, mentioning that there are currently more and more high-level athletes who want to come back to a high-level sports career with a prosthesis (see on this topic our latest editorial published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine). Dr. Alexis Nogier (Paris), hip surgeon specialist, presented the prosthetic indications as well as the different techniques used in athletes. The various complications related to the implantation of joint prostheses were discussed by Prof. François Sirveaux, holder of the chair in orthopedic surgery at the University of Nancy and the ethical aspects by Prof. Mike McNamee (KU Leuven), holder of the only chair in sports integrity in the world. Finally, various stories from elite French athletes (skiing, table tennis, taekwondo or judo) were presented by Dr Camille Rose (Paris), Dr Alain Frey (Paris), Dr Sébastien Le Garrec (Director of the INSEP Medical Department, Paris) and Dr Jean-Marie Fayard (Lyon). The various interventions and stories collected open up many debates on this theme, which is more actual than ever!

Watch Prof. Mike McNamee’s interview 

Besides the ReFORM session, Dr. Anne Charlotte Dupont (doctor attached to the Sports Medicine Department within the Luxembourg Ministry of Sports and collaborating with ReFORM and LIROMS for research) made 3 remarkable presentations on the impact of long-distance triathlon on cardiac and vascular remodeling studied in MRI but also on the topic of postpartum and sport.

Thank you to the organizers and speakers for their confidence and the work done.

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