SLSMA holds Inaugural Scientific session

In another pioneering venture, with the participation of over 170, local and foreign experts in the field of sports medicine, medical officers and medical students, the Inaugural Scientific Session of the Sri Lanka Sports Medicine Association (SLSMA) was held at the Lionel Auditorium of the Sri Lanka Medical Association recently. Prof. H. Sheriffdeen, Emeritus Professor of Surgery and President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association was the chief Guest at the inaugural ceremony.

The Sri Lanka Sports Medicine Association, formed in 1992 is making a bold attempt through its educational and scientific programmes to elevate the status of the specialty of sports medicine in Sri Lanka.

With Prof. Rohan Jayasekara at the helm of the Association, it recently hosted the Sixth Asian Congress of Sports Medicine in Sri Lanka, which gave an excellent opportunity to Sri Lankan as well as Asian doctors to understand and discuss the common endemic needs in sports medicine in the Asian region.

It is also to the credit of the association that it has conducted two Team Physician Development Courses, which resulted in 199 doctors being trained and accredited by the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) in the field of sports medicine.

Professor Rohan Jayasekara, the President of the SLSMA during his welcome address at the sessions, commended the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm displayed by these trained team physicians. He said that it was this fact that encouraged the Association to organize this session, in order to give them an opportunity, to sharpen their clinical skills and hone their research capabilities. Prof. Jayasekara revealed at the sessions, that a launching of a postgraduate course in sports medicine is in the pipeline and that he is working towards achieving this objective.

Lectures were conducted by a panel of experts consisting of two Australian experts on sports medicine, along with Sri Lankan resource persons, Dr. B. J. C. Perera, Dr. Narendra Pinto, Dr. H. J. Suraweera, Major General Dr. C. Thurairaja, and Dr. S. Illangasinghe.

An interesting feature of the session was a Symposium on Sports Injuries, focusing on the shoulder, which was conducted under the Chairmanship of Dr. Lalith Wijayaratne. This involved the visiting australian team of Doctors who specialized in shoulder injuries headed by Dr. Siri Kannangara. Dr. David Sonnabend, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Ms. Lisa Gridley, Specialist Physiotherapist, clinically demonstrated the various aspects of examination and diagnosis and followed up with a discussion on the treatment of shoulder injuries.

This was followed by a presentation of research papers by young doctors, which brought the successful two-day session to a close.