Dr Bazard to become Bahamas’ first certified sports physician

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

IN an effort to bring sports medicine in line with the development of the business of sports, Dr Kent Bazard is on course to become the country’s first certified sports physician.

Dr Bazard has completed the two-year clinical segment at the University of the West Indies and is now undergoing one year of research study to complete the course.

He called his movement into the field “a natural progression” with his background in both fields.

“I’ve been an athlete all my life and I’ve always had a background in sports and being a physician, I wanted to find a way to marry two of my favourite things. Previously, the options had always been becoming an orthopedic surgeon or working physical medicine and rehabilitation,” he said.

“Those two are usually seen as sport doctors but the focus was not really on sports rather it was an adjunct on what they were doing. This particular course is focused on becoming a sports physician. It is entirely about sport, about the athlete, their diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and general support.”

Sports medicine physicians are responsible for treating musculoskeletal injuries that occur as a result of participation in sports, such as knee and shoulder injuries, ankle sprains, head injuries, tendonitis and fractures.

“What the industry requires is a more specialised approach. There is not a place where an athlete can get guidance for performance, medical, surgical and rehab treatments. It’s currently segmented the way it is now and sometimes an athlete may have to see two-four specialists for one issue whereas that can be consolidated with a sports physician,” Dr Bazard said.

“Sports Physicians can see a range of patients whether recreational or elite athletes. If an athlete wants to increase endurance or performance we can work with them to assess their performance level, see where they are lacking and assess those areas to discover means of improvement. With elite athletes we can do things such as work with how their body manages oxygen. It brings a focus on in an depth level of sport. At the scientific level, it is based on the physics that the particular sport engages so we can have a deep understanding of injuries and rehab, along with working with surgeons and physios to really maximize how effective we can be.”

Dr Bazard also represents the Bahamas Wushu/Sanda Association and is the founder of the BOMAC fight series. He also recently completed a certification in fight medicine to better facilitate the rise in popularity of combat sports.

“Certifications for fight medicine, is quickly going to become a subspecialty in sports medicine. It addresses a lot of the different injuries sustained in combat sports in addition to concussions, the physiology of the aging fighter considerations for the female fighter and having a deeper understanding of the techniques that are done so that when someone explains the injury you can you can better use sports medicine practices for treatment,” he said.

Sports medicine physicians typically work in sports medicine clinics or are contracted by sports teams and organizations. They traditionally work either in solo practices, or multi-disciplinary team clinics with physiotherapists, athletic therapists, sports psychologists, kinesiologists and other professionals.

With a greater emphasis on the business of sport, Dr. Bazard said sports medicine is necessary for the growth of the industry.

“We are going to need more sports physicians in the country. If you look at England, South Africa and other countries that are coming up as sports powerhouses this a major part of their programmes. At the Commonwealth Games that we recently hosted, many of those countries had teams of Sports Physicians,” he said, “At the Jamaican Sports Medicine conference earlier this month, their focus was on the youth athletes ages 5-17. There was emphasis on pre-participation, how they can tolerate the level of sport, to how a sports academy should be organised and ran. Sports tourism has been a big discussion and if we really want to look at having a greater impact with sports tourism or a sports academy then you need a foster a culture of excellence in sports medicine which includes phisyos, orthopedic and sports physicians and an entire group of professionals to build the industry.”