
BJSM Podcast
The British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) podcast offers the latest insights in sport and exercise medicine (SEM). Committed to advancing innovation, enhancing education, and translating knowledge into practice and policy, our podcast features dynamic debates on clinically relevant topics in the SEM field.
Stay informed with expert discussions and cutting-edge information by subscribing or listening in your favourite podcast platform. Improve your understanding of sports medicine with the BJSM podcast, and visit the BMJ Group’s British Journal of Sports Medicine website - bjsm.bmj.com.
BJSM podcast editing and production managed by: Jimmy Walsh.
Latest episodes

Jun 4, 2021 • 22min
Beyond biology: a gendered approach to injury with Joanne Parsons and Stephanie Coen. Ep #478
Dr Joanne Parsons (@J_ParsonsUofM) is a physical therapist and an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. Dr Stephanie Coen (@steph_coen) is a health geographer and assistant professor at the University of Nottingham in the UK.
To date, ACL injury prevention and management has been approached from a sex-based biological point of view. In this episode, Dr Brooke Patterson (@Knee_Howells) discusses with Joanne and Stephanie how the traditional sex-based approach does not take into account the growing recognition of how sex and gender (a social construct) are ‘entangled’ and influence each other. They discuss their recent review (co-authored with Sheree Bekker), (https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/09/bjsports-2020-103173) and how clinicians can take a gendered approach to inform more effective approaches to injury prevention and management.

May 28, 2021 • 26min
How do we manage rowing-related low back pain? With Dr Fiona Wilson and Kellie Wilkie Ep# 477
In this podcast, Dr. Jane Thornton hosts Dr. Fiona Wilson and Kellie Wilkie to discuss their 2021 consensus statement for preventing and managing low back pain in elite and subelite adult rowers.
Dr. Fiona Wilson is an associate professor and physiotherapist in the School of Medicine Trinity College Dublin where she is head of the physiotherapy programme. She was lead physiotherapist for Rowing Ireland for 10 years and still practices clinically focusing on managing low back pain.
Kellie Wilkie is a Sport & Exercise Physiotherapist with her own private practice in Hobart, Tasmania. She was an Australian Rowing Team Physiotherapist from 2008-2016 and the Lead Physiotherapist in the Rio Olympic cycle.
We cover:
· What is rowing-related low back pain and how prevalent is it?
· What causes rowing-related low back pain, and can it be prevented?
· How should rowing-related low back pain be managed?
· What this means for rowers, coaches and medical staff
Links:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/03/11/bjsports-2020-103385.abstract
World Rowing site: https://worldrowing.com/2021/05/11/guide-for-managing-low-back-pain-in-rowers/

May 21, 2021 • 25min
What can SEM learn from the International Space Station w/ Leigh Gabel and Kathryn Ackerman Ep #476
Did you know that being on the International Space Station for a few months can have the same effect on bone density loss as a decade or more of aging here on earth? In this episode, Dr. Erin Macri asks Drs. Leigh Gabel and Kate Ackerman about a recent publication about predictors of bone loss on long-duration space flights – it’s not what you might think! – and how this new information might change how we approach bone health in sports medicine here on earth.
Links and resources:
https://twitter.com/AstroVicGlover/status/1337434468244746240
Gabel L, Liphardt AM, Hulme PA, Heer M, Zwart SR, Sibonga JD, Smith SM, Boyd S. Pre-flight exercise and bone metabolism predict unloading-induced bone loss due to spaceflight. British Journal of Sports Medicine. Published Online First: 17 February 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2020-103602
Ackerman KE, Popp KL, Bouxsein ML. Rocket science: what spaceflight can tell us about skeletal health on Earth. British Journal of Sports Medicine Published Online First: 21 April 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104164

May 14, 2021 • 23min
Don’t get hung up on telehealth and sports medicine, Dr Crystal Wong gives us a clear line. Ep #475
Dr. Crystal Wong, a family medicine physician, discusses benefits and challenges of telemedicine, adapting physical exams virtually, administering across state lines, and future implications of telehealth services. She provides advice for sports medicine providers on integrating telemedicine into practice workflows.

May 7, 2021 • 34min
Heads up! Prof Vicki Anderson on the latest evidence in concussion management for the young. Ep #474
Professor Vicki Anderson is a paediatric neuropsychologist in Melbourne, Australia, with over 25 years of experience across clinical, research and academic sectors. She is the Director of Psychology at The Royal Children's Hospital, and Director of Clinical Sciences Research at Murdoch Children's Research Institute. Her research aims to better diagnose, manage and treat child concussion. In this episode, Brooke Patterson asks Vicki about who is most at risk of persistent symptoms after concussion, evidence-based intervention strategies, and digital health tools for monitoring child with post-concussion symptoms.
Twitter:
@bivianoanders
Website
https://www.mcri.edu.au/users/professor-vicki-anderson
Resources:
Raising Children Network - https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides/a-z-health-reference/concussion
HeadCheck App - https://www.headcheck.com.au/

Apr 29, 2021 • 22min
The Black Biomechanists Association: a movement for diversity and representation in SEM. Ep #473
The Black Biomechanists Association (BBA) was recently cofounded by Associate Professor Matthew McCullough from North Carolina A&T State University, Kayla Seymore, PhD student at the University of Delaware, and Dr. Erica Bell, Postdoctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic. In this episode, Dr. Erin Macri inquires about the need for organizations like this in our global scientific communities, and learns more about how the BBA is positioned to lead the charge in changing how we think about diversity, representation and anti-racism in biomechanics research.
Twitter:
@BlackBiomechs
@Erin_Macri
Links to articles and references:
Become a member (allies welcome): bit.ly/BBA-member
Contact us: blackbiomechanics@gmail.com
Follow us: @BlackBiomechs on Twitter/Instagram
Dr. Karl Zelik, Vanderbilt University:
https://theconversation.com/chadwick-bosemans-black-panther-gives-a-boost-to-diversity-in-stem-a-black-engineers-take-on-personal-and-professional-inspiration-151983
Dr. Cherice Hill, Clemson University/Medical University of South Carolina:
Hill CN, Reed W, Schmitt D, Sands LP, Queen RM. Racial differences in gait mechanics. Journal of biomechanics. 2020;112:110070
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.110070

Apr 23, 2021 • 20min
Concussion in Para-Sport, what should every SEM clinician know? With Dr Richard Weiler. Ep #472
Are concussions in para-sport a big issue? What are some of the challenges in this setting? Where do you start, when it comes to assessing para-athletes?
In this 20-minute podcast with SEM consultant Dr Richard Weiler, you will learn the answers to all of the above, and know where to find some practical tips & tricks.
Links:
Link to paper https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/04/08/bjsports-2020-103696

Apr 16, 2021 • 16min
A salivary test to diagnose concussion? We talk with Dr Simon Kemp and Dr Patrick O’Halloran Ep #471
Dr Simon Kemp is a Sport and Exercise Medicine consultant, and Medical Services Director at the Rugby Football Union. He is a leading researcher in Rugby Medicine, with a wide and high-impact research portfolio. Dr Patrick O’Halloran is a Sport and Exercise Medicine Registrar in the UK who is undertaking a PhD at the University of Birmingham. He also works as a senior medical advisor to Marker. They both join us in this podcast to talk about their recently published paper on the diagnostic signatures of concussion in the saliva of male athletes.
In this 15-minute chat, we talk about the importance of developing objective measures in diagnosing concussions, how they went about their ground-breaking trial and much more.
You can find their paper ‘Unique diagnostic signatures of concussion in the saliva of male athletes: the Study of Concussion in Rugby Union through MicroRNAs (SCRUM)’, via the link below: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2021/02/09/bjsports-2020-103274

Apr 9, 2021 • 11min
Raising the bar for SEM: the AMSSM Collaborative Research Summit with Dr. Irfan Asif. Ep #470
The benefits of physical activity are unquestioned, but many health care providers still do a poor job of activity counseling and prescription. Frequently cited reasons for this apparent disconnect include a lack of time, poor reimbursement, and lack of training on how to incorporate exercise prescription into clinical practice. The AMSSM has assembled a team of international experts to help address these gaps and share best practices for incorporating exercise medicine into both clinical practice and academic medicine.
On this episode of the AMSSM Sports Medcast (T: @TheAMSSM) host Dr. Devin McFadden, MD is joined by Dr. Irfan Asif, MD is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine. He also serves on the AMSSM board of directors and is an associate editor for both the BJSM and Sports Health.
In this 10-minute conversation Dr. Asif addresses the following topics:
What is the focus of the upcoming AMSSM Collaborative Research Summit?
What are the aims and anticipated outputs of the summit?
Is this summit relevant to a clinician not currently engaged in multi-site research?
The Virtual AMSSM Annual Meeting takes place from April 13-18, 2021. Registration is still open for both the main meeting and CRN Research Summit. More information can be found at https://annualmeeting.amssm.org/
Exercise is Medicine connects physical activity to healthcare: https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/
Joy E (L), Blair SN, McBride P, et al. Physical activity counseling in sports medicine: a call to action. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47:49-53. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/47/1/49.full.pdf
Hebert ET, Caughy MO, Shuval K. Primary care providers’ perceptions of physical activity counseling in a clinical setting: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2012;46:625-31. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/bjsports/46/9/625.full.pdf

Mar 19, 2021 • 17min
Taking the social and contextual seriously in sports medicine with Linda Truong. Ep #469
Linda Truong is a physical therapist and PhD trainee at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. Her research aims to understand how social support can improve recovery outcomes and delay post-traumatic osteoarthritis after a traumatic knee injury. In this episode, Brooke Patterson asks Linda about her recent scoping review and editorial regarding the need to embrace non-physical factors in the treatment of sports-related injury. Linda provides practical suggestions as to how to assess and treat social and contextual factors after sports-related knee injury.
Twitter:
@LKTphysio
Resources:
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311534896_Multidimensional_Scale_of_Perceived_Social_Support_MSPSS_-_Scale_Items_and_Scoring_Information
The PASS-Q: The Perceived Available Support in Sport Questionnaire - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50936606_The_PASS-Q_The_Perceived_Available_Support_in_Sport_Questionnaire
The ARSQ: The Athletes' Received Support Questionnaire - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261256629_The_ARSQ_The_Athletes%27_Received_Support_Questionnaire
Truong LK, Bekker S, Whittaker JL, Removing the training wheels: embracing the social, contextual and psychological in sports medicine, BJSM, Published Online First: 12 November 2020. - https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2020/11/11/bjsports-2020-102679.abstract
Truong LK, Mosewich AD, Holt CJ, Le CY, Miciak M, Whittaker JL. Psychological, social and contextual factors across recovery stages following a sport-related knee injury: a scoping review. BJSM, 2020. - https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/54/19/1149