Protect3D joins medicine and technology to help Athletes return to the sport safer and maybe faster. Kevin Gehsmann joins me to share their story and how Athletic Trainers can get their athletes braced.

Where did the idea come from?

Engineering student

Liked 3D printing

Daniel Jones, the quarterback at Duke, went down with a clavicle fracture. They decided their engineering project would help Daniel and other elite athletes needing protection.

Customized for his unique needs and ROM

What has been the most difficult hurdle for Protect3d?

In the early days, we were recognized by the NFL and won $50,000 and Superbowl tickets.

The pandemic caused a lot of challenges.

Every device we make has a positive impact on the athlete and their performance

Share a success story you enjoy.

Clavicle pads reduce the risk of re-injury and increase the confidence of the player and health care team.

It is also the original pad or brace that birthed the idea.

Outside of your own clinics where have you had doctors adapting this style of bracing?

We started with elite athletes and have worked with orthopedic surgeons and athletic trainers.

An ankle/foot orthotic is a new brace to help with foot drop.

We had a D1 athlete participate in games with a Protect3D brace for foot drop.

What do you see as a hurdle for secondary setting adoption of Protect3d braces?

The cost of the product is one hurdle.

Setting up a system for billing on demand can be an obstacle as well.

Are these braces something that could be printed on your everyday, at-home printer?

Due to the material, printer, and the need to control different variables as a medical device, they are not currently printed at home devices.

There may be options in the future as we grow and develop.

Want to test out Protect3D?

Have an athlete needing a brace?

Willing to give me your honest feedback on the podcast?

Send me an email and maybe follow it up with a social media post.

Give me the story (protect patient privacy)

If it works out then we will collaborate to get you a custom 3D-printed brace for your athlete.

Contact Protect3D

Casey and Kim share Emerging Technology in Sports Medicine

Emerging Tech in Sports Medicine

Rehab

Xothrm smart pad

Blazepods

Firefly recovery

Healthy roster, RankOne and EMRs

GameReady

BFR Owens/Delfi, SujiBFR

Virtual Reality

Sidelines

Sway Medical App

Avive

Perry weather

Emerging tech for At Home

Medbrige

Evaluation

InFlow Hydration monitor

Spark Motion

Dartfish

Sway Medical App

Force plates

Mind Mirror

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Casey Paulk

Kim Wyand

Jeremy Jackson

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Backboarding the injured athlete is an ever-evolving skill. Dr. Matt Camarillo discusses it live at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Update

How common are spinal cord injuries?

-9-10% of injuries are spinal. About 12,000 nationally.

Looking at physicals I have a couple of athletes with previous spinal cord injuries. What are some of the things that I should be more aware of when taking care of these athletes?

-Usually due to trauma or born with cervical stenosis.

-Should have a spine surgeon associated with the athletic population

We talk about spinal cord injuries, and the first thing we think about is football. We think that it is equipment-heavy and collision-based and talk about equipment removal for that. But what is the instance in other sports?

-Happens in lacrosse, gymnastics, hockey, soccer, baseball, and basketball.

-Helmet and shoulder pads keep them in alignment then leave it on.

-If only a helmet probably needs to come off.

These spinal cord injuries, I believe you mentioned there are about 12,000 injuries per year. Are these spinal injuries with awareness in education are we increasing these or decreasing these?

-Since 1975 they have gone down.

-A lot of spinal injuries come from automobile accidents.

Is there a reason for that?

-Awareness, and if it goes away the numbers will go up again.

Moving back into narrowing down into more of an athletic training setting when working with sport athletes for example what would be our initial assessment and what would be some red flags to actually move the person onto a spine board?

-Big trauma like a head-on hit you want to be careful.

-Clinical judgment.

-numbness bilaterally

The athlete just has a lot of pain.

-Trust your gut

So once you decide to stabilize someone, I know you talked about two methods to stabilize, but what is your preferred method?

-6 man lift

-If you don’t have enough hands, nobody will fault you for doing a log roll.

When is it appropriate to move the neck into neutral?

-It is always ok as long as you do the head or trap squeeze.

-You want to make sure you have access to the airway.

Can you talk a little bit about the difference between a head or trap squeeze?

– head squeeze is more about putting you hands around the athletes head or helmet

-trap squeeze where you are putting your thumbs and finger around someone’s traps and gives you more stability because you also have to add in the fatigue factor.

-Trap squeeze is more stable

Be aware that clothing could cause you to slip while holding a helmet.

I think it comes down to practice and figuring out how everything works. Because once you get it down, then when all that emotion going, if you practice over and over again it just becomes a routine.

What are some tips you have for someone who is working with an equipment-intensive sport, like hockey, that they are not familiar with the equipment?

-Practice

-Use equipment managers to become familiar with equipment.

What does it look like once they are at the hospital?

-equipment removal and go into a cervical collar.

-Then straight to a CT scan is #1.

-Transport to a level 1 hospital because you don’t want to have to move to multiple locations.

Can you talk about differences between places that have stopped using spine boarding techniques like in motorcycle accidents?

-Two different mechanisms and two different thoughts.

-Make sure everyone is on the same page

-You can always ask to talk to a supervisor because these are generally big EMS areas and you can’t control what everyone does.

Can you talk about the order you take the piece off of the helmet?

-Side pieces off first. Allows to flip and gives access to the airway

CPR with shoulder pads. With a spinal cord injury and you are having to do CPR and you are removing the equipment, you would leave the shoulder pads in place as long as you open them up?

-Open them

-If getting into CPR take them off because it has become life-threatening.

Do you have any recommendations for an AT who does not have a lot of volunteers or staff and might be working alone?

You have coaches. Train the coaches. ...

Turf Toe is ever-changing. Dr. Paul Shupe and Joseph Eberhardt discuss some of the facts and history of turf toe at the Memorial Hermann sports medicine update.

What can I do to benefit my athlete since turf is here to stay?

Making sure the field is well maintained, and proper personal protective equipment is significantly important. A lot of football players like to wear narrow cleats which can contribute to lower extremity injuries based on the cleat pattern, length, and width of the shoe. The time of day we practice is important as well.

Is there any data or research done about laces and appropriately tying the shoe with appropriate arch support?

Great question, I’d have to look into that. I’m sure there are studies – I didn’t delve into that. These are very important questions, I think that core strengthening is a very pertinent point as well.

You spoke about an increase in PCL injuries. From my education, the mechanism of injury for PCL is that dashboard injury, coming from direct force on the anterior tibia. Is there any research, or from your background and knowledge, why is it that we’re seeing more prominence from that mechanism on that turf?

When it’s not a dashboard injury, the common mechanism is that you onto your knee bent at 90 degrees, your toe has interacted and your cleat is stuck in the turf so it’s not giving away.

Your foot is in this dorsiflexed position and you land on that knee with all of the force going back through, as opposed to if the shoe gives out allowing you to land on less of a 90-degree angle.

Is there any correlation to gastrocnemius weakness regarding those Turf Toe injuries?

I think that’s a valid argument, I don’t have enough science or background to say but I do think that would be an interesting thing to study.

We talked about the history of turf in your presentation, would you say we’ve moved in a safer direction? Are we moving to a safer surface?

I think we are, I think we’re moving to a safer surface for our lower-level athletes. I think our higher-level athletes have different muscle builds and different muscle types that may lead to some of those injury at a higher level.

I do think the technology that’s going into it is moving towards a safer playing surface, I don’t think there’s much we can do about the heat and some of the other things, and they are looking into that. I think we are moving there, the important thing here is that turf isn’t going away, I don’t think that we’ll ever go back to grass.

With technology moving forward, I do think it’s becoming safer. I don’t think it’ll ever be 100% safe but with education, and proper maintenance, I think we can make it as safe as we can.

You mentioned the coconut or the cork, those things are natural materials that would rot, and putting turf in is a lengthy and expensive process. How does it make sense for a high school field to put something that might rot underneath there?

So part of it is just the turnover of it, so it’s got to be properly maintained. So when we use the proper equipment and the proper rakes just to shift it around that’s a valid question, especially in a wet and humid environment like it is here. It’s not being used a ton yet, and I think that’s yet to come. We may determine years from now that it’s a bad idea.

Rice uses wood instead of rubber on their field, I found that interesting when we played there last year.

Did you notice any difference?

Thinking back, I think your point about feet being sore on these fields; is a major problem. Your feet hurt at the end of the day on the rubber. There’s less of that impact.

We did have in our Rice game, but I don’t think it makes a difference in injury, we had an ankle fracture that game, we had a significant hamstring rupture, and a couple of other things so I don’t think it makes a difference as far as the interaction of the cleat but it may make it as far as the softness.

You mentioned your time in the military where you would sweep and make sure there was no foreign debris as part of the turfing. Can you speak briefly about your time serving our country?

I served in the Navy for 12 years and loved it. I trained as an intern, and then I was 3 years as a flight surgeon with the Marines, serving in an F-18 squadron. I had the opportunity to go all over the world with that, then finished my ortho training in San Diego.

Then I spent 4 years as an orthopedic surgeon in Japan and Florida, and loved it.

They were not allowing me to ...