American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release Apr 13, 2015

South African Sports Medicine Leader Serves as AMSSM International Visiting Fellow

Hollywood, Fla. – April 13, 2015 – As part of the 2015 AMSSM Traveling Fellowship program, the President of the South African Sports Medicine Association Jon Patricios, MBBCh, FFSEM, is serving as this year’s International Visiting Fellow.

Dr. Patricios will be presenting two lectures during this week’s 24th AMSSM Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Fla., followed by visits to sports medicine clinics and facilities in Greensboro, N.C., Atlanta, Ga., and Greenville, S.C.

The purpose of the AMSSM Traveling Fellowship program is to encourage academic interchange, shared research and exploration of common clinical interests among sports medicine leaders throughout the world. The experience includes the opportunity to view live patient encounters, tour sports medicine facilities, share cases and spend time with regional experts in sports medicine.

The second phase of the 2015 Fellowship will be a return visit to South Africa from three U.S. Traveling Fellows. The Traveling Fellowship tour culminates with participation in the SASMA Annual Meeting Oct. 19-22, 2015.

“I view the AMSSM Travel Fellowship as a wonderful opportunity to "lecture, learn and live". To “lecture" at what I regard as the foremost clinical sports medicine meeting in the world, to learn from a knowledgeable cohort of colleagues and to “live” a bit of the American lifestyle,” said Dr. Patricios. “I am looking forward to presenting and sharing cases and experiences, interacting with friends and colleagues and making new acquaintances. Equally, I look forward to hosting the AMSSM fellows in South Africa later this year and thank AMSSM and their sponsors for their commitment to continuing sport medicine education.”

Dr. Patricios will present lectures during the AMSSM meeting on “Diagnostic Algorithm for Groin Pain” and “Rugby Rules! Return to Play the South African Way.”

Dr. Patricios is a sports physician at the Centre for Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics and Director of the Morningside Sports Medicine Unit in Johannesburg, South Africa. Dr. Patricios has been a team physician to school, club, provincial and international sports teams in rugby, cricket, soccer, athletics and basketball. He is a member of the Cricket South Africa and SA Rugby medical committees and the Rockies Comrades Marathon Panel of experts. He is Chief Medical Officer for the MTN Qhubeka Cycling team and the Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, Founder and Director of Sports Concussion South Africa and serves on tribunals for the South African Institute for Drug Free Sport.

This program was made possible by the generous support the AMSSM Foundation received from DJO Global. AMSSM wishes to thank DJO Global for its educational support of this exchange of ideas and knowledge by world leaders in sports medicine.

About the AMSSM Annual Meeting: The 2015 conference, with more than 1,500 sports medicine physicians attending from throughout the United States and around the world, explores current decisions, controversies and best practices related to return-to-play decision making that defines the clinical practice of sports medicine. It features lectures and research addressing the most challenging topics in sports medicine today including issues surrounding FIFA & soccer injuries, ACL injury prevention, cardiovascular disease, degenerative joint disease, the power of physical activity in maintaining a healthy population, baseball injuries, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, sports ultrasound, pediatric sports medicine and groin pain/athletic pubalgia.

About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of 2,700+ sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org