On Saturday, September 8th, UNC’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and UNC’s Center for Rehabilitation Care hosted the 2018 Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Non-Sports Related Concussion Symposium at the William and Ida Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC. The symposium focused on Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries and Non-Sports Related Concussions and highlighted current innovations in the evaluation and management of mild traumatic brain injury. It was designed to enhance professionals’ understanding of an interdisciplinary approach in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of non-sports related concussions. This event was hosted in collaboration with Greensboro AHEC.
The day’s lectures were as follows:
- Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC (Keynote; presented the “Sam E. Reefe Lectureship in PM&R”): “The State of Sport Concussion: Legitimate Concern vs Paranoia?”
- James Hill, III, MD, MPH: “Sports Related vs Non Sports Related Concussion, Comparing and Contrasting”
- Lee Shuping, MD, MPT: “Medical Assessment and Management of Concussion”
- Karen McCulloch, PT, PhD, NCS: “Physical Therapy: Vestibular, Exertion and Cervical Impairments Following a Concussive Event”
- Marie Curtis MS, OTR/L and Bethany Blanchard MS, OTR/L: “The Role of Occupational Therapy for Individuals with Concussion or Mild Traumatic Brain Injury”
- Brett Miller, FCOVD: “Concussion Management: The Visual Component”
- Matt Harris, PhD, ABPP(CN) and Amber Corbin, SLP: “Evaluation and Treatment of Cognitive, Behavioral and Emotional Manifestations”
- Lee Shuping, MD, MPT: “Medical Management and Pharmacology”
- William Filer, MD: “Case Presentations”
The symposium was hugely successful and reached full capacity at 100 attendees. Several exhibitors also participated:
- Allergan (Gold)
- Merz (Silver)
- Learning Services
- Neuro Community Care
- Unmasking Brain Injury
The Chair of UNC Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Joshua Alexander, MD, had these comments to share after the symposium: “It was a great pleasure to attend such a well-crafted and well-run conference! Our world-renowned keynote speaker and our top-notch clinicians provided a wonderful program to a sold-out audience, further demonstrating the high level of knowledge and compassion one can find here at UNC. I am proud of and thankful for the strong collaborative work performed by members of our department and UNC Rehab Services and I look forward to many (even) more successful conferences in the future!”
Pictured Above from Left to Right: Drs. Alexander, Shuping, Hill, Filer, and Guskiewicz
Our department would like to extend a special thank you to the symposium’s Planning Committee Members listed below. Thanks for all of your hard work!
- Tricia Agnoli, PT, MS, NCS
- Amy Alexander, RN, MSN
- Danielle Baker
- William Filer, MD (Co-Director
- Matthew Harris, PhD, ABPP(CN)
- James Hill, MD, MPH (Co-Director)
- Diane Meyer, PT, MSCS
- Akash Patel, DO
- Lee Shuping, MD, MPT (Director)
- Karla Thompson, PhD
- Stefanie Veno, MS, CCC-SLP