Member May 2026: You Don't See What They Don't See: Sports Medicine in Athletes with Visual Impairment-Session Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The session focused on sports medicine for athletes with visual impairment, especially in adaptive sports like beep baseball and skiing. After housekeeping notes, Dr. Yohan Latorre introduced Alex Hamel, a fourth-year medical student involved in adaptive sports coaching and instruction.<br /><br />Alex’s talk, “You Don’t See What They Don’t See: Sports Medicine and Athletes with Visual Impairment,” outlined common injury patterns, practical evaluation strategies, return-to-sport considerations, and injury prevention approaches. He emphasized that visually impaired athletes often compete with limited medical coverage, making PM&R physicians especially important in their care.<br /><br />Using case examples from beep baseball, he showed how injuries can be difficult to assess because the athlete may not have seen the mechanism and may describe only what they heard or felt. He highlighted common risks such as collisions, falls, overuse injuries, and unclear injury mechanisms. He also discussed how transition into blindfolded competition is a particularly high-risk period, often requiring gradual ramp-up, orientation training, and communication practice.<br /><br />A major theme was that communication failures between athletes, guides, and coaches are a key modifiable risk factor. He recommended a “sensory-first” history, adapted physical exams, coordinated return-to-play decisions, and environmental safety checks. He also addressed ethical questions around clearance for athletes with complex medical histories, stressing documentation, informed consent, and individualized decision-making.<br /><br />The talk ended with practical prevention ideas, including structured training, protective equipment, and advocacy for better coverage and injury tracking in adaptive sports. A brief Q&A followed, then Dr. Roberts introduced a nonprofit called “Let’s Move US,” which aims to map adaptive recreation opportunities nationwide and recruit volunteers.

Keywords

sports medicine

visual impairment

adaptive sports

beep baseball

skiing

injury prevention

return-to-sport

PM&R

communication

injury assessment