UofL Health, a fully integrated regional academic health system affiliated with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has been named as the Official Health Care Provider for the Louisville Cardinals.

“This is an exciting day for the University of Louisville,” said Josh Heird, vice president/director of Athletics. “Our number one priority will always the well-being of our student-athletes and whenever we can create a partnership that provides our student-athletes with world-class services, we want to celebrate it. The commitment UofL Health is making to our student-athletes and our department will allow us to be a national leader in the medical and mental health care we provide our student-athletes.”

The new partnership that extends for eight years addresses medical coverage for all 23 UofL sports programs, plus basic training coverage for the Cardinals’ cheer and dance teams. There will be a comprehensive brand presence for UofL Health throughout Louisville Athletics facilities.

“Academic health care offers unique advantages, especially for world-class athletes like those at UofL. Our sports medicine team understands the complexities needed to keep athletes at the top of their game,” said Tom Miller, UofL Health CEO. “We have been taking care of the Cardinal athletes since the 1980s, starting with the innovative sports medicine program developed by Dr. Raymond Shea. There was a brief hiatus from the sidelines for some of our providers, but we never stopped providing care and this agreement formally puts us all back on one team for the benefit of the athletes, our university and our community.”

The level of support for Cardinal student-athletes will significantly increase with added personnel as well as health and performance equipment upgrades.Ěý UofL Health will provide access to its network of sports health physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and primary care providers.

“Maintaining good health is essential for any athlete, especially student-athletes,” said Dr. Jennifer Daily, medical director of UofL Heath Sports Medicine. “We have the expertise, and we have technology, such as DARI which provides movement data analytics to help athletes regain their game. We also have the comprehensive resources to make sure they never lose ground in the classroom.”

Mental health services were a point of emphasis with the new partnership, with at least 10 dedicated mental health and mental performance professionals planned for UofL student-athletes, in addition to other generally available mental health services.Ěý Two dedicated staff members were in that role previously.

Also included are additional services and equipment for injury rehabilitation, medical coverage at athletics events, and supporting UofL’s new sports science department within athletics.

UofL Health is a regional academic health system with six hospitals, four medical centers, 200+ physician practice locations, 700+ providers, Frazier Rehab Institute, Brown Cancer Center and the Eye Institute.
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medical director of the , advises parents, coaches and providers to be aware of the study’s findings. “Clinicians, coaches and parents can use this information to determine secondary positions for pitchers to decrease injury risk,” she said. “The findings suggest that pitchers should not play catcher as their secondary position, in order to allow adequate time for recovery and to decrease their overall throwing load.”

High rates of shoulder and elbow injuries are common among young pitchers. Nationally, pitchers incur 73 percent of injuries among high school baseball players, and about 10 percent of them require surgery, the researchers noted.

According to the study from the University of Alabama and published online recently in theĚýJournal of Athletic Training, pitchers who also catch are at a nearly three times greater risk of injury, because catchers throw significantly more than other field positions. Monitoring pitch counts is not enough, the study authors said.

Throughout the course of the study, pitchers reported 24 throwing-related shoulder or elbow injuries. Five occurred among pitcher-catchers, an injury rate of nearly 16 percent. Nineteen injuries occurred among pitchers who played another position, but not catcher, for an injury rate of about 5 percent.

“Unfortunately, even the strongest and most conditioned athletes are susceptible to suffering ACL tears,” said a University of Louisville sports medicine specialist and sports team physician. “The ACL is an elastic ligamentĚýthat can succumb to injury, not only in the face of trauma, but also during non-contact plays.”

Immediately following ACL tears, athletes usually experience swelling, pain and weakness in the knee. The injury often requires surgery to repair and a formal physical therapy program.

While Wentz will miss the Super Bowl because of the season-ending injury he experienced in December, Pohlgeers advises that lower body exercises can help prevent injury to the stabilizing ligament in the knee by building and maintaining strength and stability in the lower extremities.

Improving balance, following safe running and jumping techniques and incorporating closed chain exercises – which include squats, lunges and leg presses – into an athlete’s training program can dramatically reduce the prevalence of ACL tears, Pohlgeers said.Ěý