Sports neurology as a multidisciplinary field

Handb Clin Neurol. 2018:158:11-18. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-63954-7.00002-1.

Abstract

A multidisciplinary approach within sports neurology fills a critical role in the management of athletes with neurologic injury. This model promotes streamlined access to sports medicine providers who can offer high-quality multispecialty care in a collaborative manner, to provide optimal outcomes for athletes. This chapter highlights the rise of the multidisciplinary care approach in nonathletic healthcare settings and introduces the concept of the interdisciplinary sports medicine care model. Next, we review the roles of medical providers who are integral in effective management of sport-related concussion, followed by a discussion of the athletic healthcare teams that treat other sport-related neurologic injuries and athletes with pre-existing neurologic conditions. Finally, we note important educational, legal, and independent medical care issues in athletic healthcare settings, and summarize the applicability of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary care models to the subspecialty of sports neurology.

Keywords: healthcare; interdisciplinary; multidisciplinary; sport-related concussion; sports neurology.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Athletic Injuries / complications
  • Brain Concussion / etiology
  • Brain Concussion / therapy*
  • Humans
  • Interdisciplinary Research
  • Neurologists*
  • Neurology*
  • Sports Medicine*