Presentation will focus on brain injuries resulting from combat sports
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2017) – Dr. Tad Seifert, chairman of the Medical Advisory Panel for the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission (KBWC) and Commission board member, has accepted an invitation from the Scientific Committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to present at the World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport.
The triennial conference takes place March 16-18, 2017, in Monaco. Billed as the premier conference for those in sports and exercise medicine, the event brings together internationally renowned experts in the area of sports injury prevention.
“I am thrilled to present at this important conference that allows the sports medicine community to share ideas about how to keep athletes safe,” said Dr. Seifert. “It is an honor to share what I’ve learned through my research and experience.”
Dr. Seifert will present alongside Dr. Charles Bernick of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health based in Las Vegas. Their presentation is entitled, “Determining Brain Fitness to Fight: What We’ve Learned from Combat Sports.”
Dr. Bernick and Dr. Seifert are investigators for the Professional Fighters Brain Health Study, the largest study of its kind to examine active and retired professional fighters (boxers and mixed martial arts participants) for subtle changes in brain health due to repeated head injuries.
“Chronic traumatic brain injury encompasses a spectrum of disorders associated with long-term consequences and remains the most difficult safety challenge in modern day boxing and mixed martial arts,” said Dr. Seifert. “In order to protect the health of fighters and maintain the long-term viability of a sporting genre associated with repetitive head trauma, continued due diligence in the neurologic evaluation of active fighters is imperative.”
Dr. Seifert currently serves as director of Norton Healthcare’s Sports Concussion Program and also serves as head of the NCAA Headache Task Force, where he oversees clinical research related to headaches in college athletes. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, completing his internal medicine internship at the University of Louisville and his residency in neurology at the University of Texas at Houston. He then completed a fellowship in headache and facial pain at the renowned Houston Headache Clinic.
The Boxing and Wrestling Commission oversees all professional boxing, wrestling, and full-contact competitive bouts and exhibitions held in Kentucky. Governor Matt Bevin reorganized the Commission last May, creating the new Medical Advisory Panel to focus on the health and well-being of event participants.
For more information on boxing and wrestling in Kentucky, visit the KBWC’s website at http://kbwa.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx
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