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

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The session focused on sports medicine for athletes with visual impairment, especially those participating in adaptive sports like beep baseball and adaptive skiing. After housekeeping notes from AAPM&R staff, Alex Hamel, a fourth-year medical student and adaptive sports coach, presented practical guidance for evaluating, treating, and returning visually impaired athletes to sport.<br /><br />He explained that adaptive and Paralympic sports are growing rapidly, but many athletes have limited medical coverage, making PM&R physicians especially important. Because injury mechanisms often cannot be visually observed, clinicians need a “sensory-first” approach: ask what the athlete heard, felt, and experienced, and gather collateral information from coaches and teammates. He emphasized that communication failure is one of the biggest modifiable injury risks.<br /><br />Through cases from beep baseball, he highlighted common injury patterns such as collisions, falls, overuse/compensation injuries, and unclear mechanisms. He also discussed the high-risk transition period when athletes first compete blindfolded, recommending gradual ramp-up, orientation training, and sport-specific rehab. Return-to-play decisions should include not only pain-free function and strength, but also spatial orientation, response to auditory cues, and confidence in the sport environment.<br /><br />The talk also addressed ethics and clearance challenges for athletes with pre-existing conditions, stressing documentation, shared decision-making, and specialist collaboration. Prevention strategies included communication training, protective equipment, technique modification, environmental safety, and advocacy for medical coverage and injury tracking in adaptive sports.<br /><br />The session ended with a Q&A and a brief discussion of a new nonprofit, Let's Move US, aimed at mapping adaptive recreation opportunities nationwide.

Keywords

sports medicine

visual impairment

adaptive sports

beep baseball

adaptive skiing

return to play

PM&R

communication training

injury prevention

Paralympic sports