Student-athletes around the area are gearing up for fall sports, and with every season comes new friendships, memories and unfortunately for some, injuries.
For the third year, Bothwell Orthopedics & Sports Medicine and Bothwell Peak Sport & Spine are offering a free Saturday morning injury clinic for student-athletes.
Dr. Evan Stout, orthopedic surgeon at Bothwell Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, is the clinic’s attending physician who examines athletes and provides care recommendations. One of four athletic trainers from Smith-Cotton, Warsaw, Cole Camp, and State Fair Community College rotate Saturdays and assist him.
While the team mostly sees football players, Stout said the clinic is for any high school or college athlete with a serious but non-emergency orthopedic injury.
“The goal is to provide immediate evaluation, reassurance and early treatment for student-athletes as soon as possible after an injury on Friday night,” Stout said. “I rotate being on the sidelines at Smith-Cotton, Warsaw and Cole Camp football games, and since I cannot be in three places at once, the clinic provides me a way to evaluate injured athletes from the other games I am unable to attend.”
The clinic is open from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturdays through Oct. 24 and is located at Bothwell Peak Sport & Spine, 3222 W. 16th St. in Sedalia. No appointment is needed and students are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Students under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. If further care is required, the clinic will work with families to get the student to an appropriate provider.
“Most injuries we see at this clinic are acute injuries during a game or competition,” Stout said. “But we also have seen overuse injuries. If something does go wrong and an injury occurs, visiting the injury clinic is a great opportunity to see a specialist and get some peace of mind and early treatment without waiting until Monday.”
