The First-Ever Student-Led Sports Placement Symposium

This year marked a significant milestone as the chiropractic students of the Sports Placement proudly hosted the first-ever Sports Placement Symposium—an event that was entirely student-led from concept to delivery. The symposium offered a vibrant platform to showcase the clinical depth, creativity, and collaboration that define the Sports Placement experience.

Staff and students from both the final year and preclinical cohorts were invited to attend and discover exactly what all the fuss is about on Sports Placement. And it did not disappoint.

A unique opportunity to observe the types of patients who attend the chiropractic sports injury clinic. Every 8 weeks, a new rotation of students begins their placement, with the challenge of leaving the placement stronger than when they arrived.

As part of this process, students present to their peers the knowledge they have gained—effectively passing the baton to the next group. This initiative is known as the “Raise the Bar” initiative, reflecting the ongoing commitment to reflective learning, peer learning and teaching, and clinical excellence.

The symposium featured a packed schedule of insightful student-led presentations on key clinical topics, including:

• Spinal Bone Stress Injuries
• Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis in Athletes
• Inguinal Related Groin Pain
• Lower Limb Apophysitis and Tendinopathy
• Subacromial Impingement: Outdated Diagnosis or Ongoing Reality?
• Psychosocial Factors of a Patient and the Impact on the Practitioner
• Inflammatory Arthropathies in Children
• Manual Muscle Testing and Its Importance
• IASTM in Practice: Principles, Benefits, and Live Demonstration
• Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS): Clinical Insights and Evidence-Based Management

Alongside the presentations, attendees engaged in hands-on workshops, diving into:

• Myofascial release techniques of the upper cervical spine
• Vestibular-ocular motor screening for concussion
• Post-surgical ACL rehabilitation
• Biofeedback and lumbosacral stabilisation
• IASTM (Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation) techniques
• Foot and ankle taping strategies

Furthermore, a Specialist Placement student presented a poster on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, highlighting the clinical diversity explored whilst on smaller placements.

And just when minds were stretched, it was time to test the nerves. Enter the Sports Placement Escape Room—a one-of-a-kind challenge built around clinical problem-solving using our Simulation Lab equipment, guided by the Practice and Simulation Learning Team. The contents of the room remain strictly classified (for obvious reasons), but suffice it to say all students managed to escape—just—with their grey and white matter thoroughly exercised.