Separating the noise from the clinical pearls

We are bombarded with information on a daily basis and clinicians subscribe to multiple information sources; some are more opinion-based and author-biased and others more rooted in hard to understand academia with sometimes unfathomable practical applications. The multiple professions and variety of researchers that form the BJSM community offer a refreshing platform for making some sense of the vast amounts of information on offer.

The multichannel BJSM content helps us focus on what is important and even if it does not always give us the answers we want, it gives us direction and helps us to understand the questions we need to ask. Systematic review hacks for the sports and exercise clinician (see page 447) by Dr Clare Ardern is a ‘go to’ piece for many practitioners, especially those working alone or in small teams. This very practical piece will help us to better critically evaluate the systematic reviews many of us turn to on a regular basis.

What's new in this BASRaT guided issue?

In three cutting edge systematic reviews we cover: consumption of sugar sweetened beverages and type II diabetes (see page 496); effects of exercise and manual therapy on the pain associated with hip osteoarthritis (see page 458); and answer the question, do runners who suffer injuries have higher vertical ground reaction forces than those who remain injury-free (see page 450)? All are thought provoking, providing answers and questions: using behavioural-graded activity versus booster sessions in exercise prescription for hip OA patients; the need to explore functional outcomes in hip OA, and the potential value in gait retraining for our patients who just love to run!

A very common question in sports medicine is when can we return our athlete to play? In the past, the answer to this has relied on, among other things, our knowledge of healing times, in-depth assessment and functional testing. Peter Blanch and Tim Gabbett (see page 444) suggest that accurate measurement of training and match loads can help us answer this question, and give us some objective information to help guide a safe and effective return to play. It is an approach that I am sure will continue to develop in coming years. This BASRaT-guided issue of BJSM also covers a subject that is probably close to many of our hearts, the measurement and promotion of physical activity, with articles covering ends of the lifespan (see pages 464 and 488) and highlighting the use of population appropriate tools to measure physical activity.

BASRaT 2016 National Symposium

Save the date and join us in London on Friday 18 November at our 2016 BASRaT Symposium ‘Pain: Performance, Rehabilitation and Life’.

As always, it promises to be a fantastic day with attendees from a variety of professions. There will be a range of exciting practical workshops with experts from numerous sports disciplines and clinical backgrounds along with engaging and stimulating keynote speakers. We have a very practical and applied focus and we make sure that attendees will leave the day with information and knowledge that they can apply to their day to day practice. The conference is aimed at all healthcare practitioners including sport rehabilitators, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, doctors and strength and conditioning coaches. You'll find updates on the BASRaT website and also on our Twitter (@BARaTorg) and Facebook accounts.

One of the best things about our jobs (excepting the obvious of making a difference to the lives of our patients!) is that we are perpetual students in one of the most fascinating fields of human science, continue to enjoy the journey and making sense of the noise.

About BASRaT

BASRaT is the UK regulator for sport rehabilitators and an advocate of the multidisciplinary healthcare team. BASRaT guides sport rehabilitators on all aspects of their role and responsibilities, ensuring public protection, professional competency and continued professional development.

The BASRaT register of sport rehabilitators has been approved as an accredited register by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. For more detail please visit us at www.basrat.org