A delegation from Aspetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, recently travelled to London to participate in the Sport Performance Summit, a renowned industry event dedicated to shaping the future of sport.
Over the two days, more than 600 performance practitioners from 37 countries, representing more than 30 sports took part in the summit. The event provided a unique platform for leaders from a wide variety of backgrounds to meet and learn from professionals who otherwise might not cross paths. The overall objective was to create relationships and exchange ideas designed to contribute towards making the field of play an even more competitive space.
Taking place at London, the Sports Performance Summit uniquely brought together sports experts with those from the worlds of performing arts, academia, politics, technology and business to explore and share best practice in delivering elite performance.
In a highlight of the summit, Aspetar experts explored hamstring injuries – one of the greatest challenges for elite athletes, performance, coaching and medical staff. The cost of this most common sports injury is estimated at more than €1 million per season for UEFA Champions League football teams.
Their session covered state-of-the-art imaging technology, innovations in non-surgical (accelerated rehabilitation and growth factors) therapies and emerging surgical interventions.
Former England footballer Michael Owen participated in Aspetar’s session to provide insight from an elite athlete perspective. Owen played for many clubs, including Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Stoke City, apart from the England national team. In his prime, Owen was highly regarded for his great pace, opportunism and agility, as well as his technical ability and his eye for goal, which enabled him to be considered as one of the greatest English and Premier League strikers of his generation.
Struck down by a hamstring injury at the age of just 19, Owen said that his career as a professional footballer was compromised as a result.
Commenting on the event, Michael Owen said: “I think it’s a brilliant partnership. Leaders is right at the high end of what we do here a lot of the time in Britain. We have the best speakers from all over the world coming to Leaders. I think it is fascinating here that you have experts from different fields and you listen to what they have to say, listen to the new technologies. It is always good to come down to Leaders in association with Aspetar.”
Aspetar’s involvement in the summit is further evidence of the hospital’s progress in staying at the forefront of the latest developments in sports medicine, helping the hospital assist athletes achieve their maximum performance and full potential.