Dr. Emily Sweeney publishes new research in collegiate gymnastics.

Dr. Emily Sweeney has participated in a long list of gymnastics related research. This year, with her colleagues, Dr. Sweeney published an article in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation journal titled “Intersection of surgical injuries and pain interference among former female collegiate gymnasts.” In it, the authors surveyed former collegiate gymnasts and discovered that 58% of participants experienced an injury that required surgery during their gymnastics career. In addition, for every year younger a gymnast started the sport, her odds of sustaining an injury requiring surgery increased by 11%.

Dr. Sweeney presented these findings regarding former collegiate gymnasts at the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine (PRiSM) annual meeting, the American Academy of Physiatry Annual Meeting and at the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) annual meeting. You can find details of this research paper here: Collegiate gymnastics paper

Dr. Sweeney has also recently wrapped up a randomized, prospective trial comparing the X-brace and Cheetah heel cups in barefoot athletes with Sever’s disease. Both braces were shown to improve function and pain in gymnasts. She is now reviewing the data so that she can get it published soon!

Along with her research commitments, Dr. Sweeney treats numerous gymnasts in her clinic at Children’s Hospital, Colorado. Although she never likes to see gymnasts getting injured, it has been rewarding for her to help them recover from their injury and get back to their sport. Dr. Sweeney regularly shares her knowledge by giving webinars to athletic trainers and sports medicine fellows on gymnastics injuries. She is also the editor of a very comprehensive Gymnastics Medicine textbook: ‘Gymnastics Medicine – Evaluation, Management and Rehabilitation’.

We can’t wait to see what Dr. Sweeney brings to the Gymnastics Medicine community in 2022!

Learn more about the Gymnastics Medicine textbook