Combat Sport Athletes Receive Safety Boost with Overhaul of Medical Cards
LONDON, March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
MyNextMatch Digital Medical Card gives doctors access to cutting-edge technology
A new Digital Medical Card represents 'a huge step forward' for medical professionals working in combat sports, according to Dr. Mike Loosemore.
Dr. Loosemore, a consultant in sport and exercise medicine at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at UCL, has worked with sports software company MyNextMatch to develop the Digital Medical Card, which he believes is long overdue.
He said: "I've been campaigning for years to get some sort of coordinated, electronic system of collecting data on injuries in boxing bouts in England and I think the MyNextMatch Digital Medical Card system fulfills that wish.
"It will be a huge step forward in our knowledge of boxing injuries and hence our ability to reduce injuries that occur within boxing in England."
Dr. Loosemore has been working in boxing as a doctor for over 25 years, including with the British Olympic boxing team.
He says treatment of injuries has improved significantly in that time, but believes even more could be achieved with greater access to reliable data.
He added: "I think over the last 25 years the management of injuries has improved but what has become clear to me is that before you can prevent injuries you need to know what the most common injuries are.
"At the moment, injury information is collected but it is on pieces of paper all over the country and there isn't the time or the manpower to look at all those results.
"Once there is an electronic medical system where every bout is monitored we will know exactly what is going on in fights. And once we know what is going on, we can change policy to help prevent injuries."
The MyNextMatch Digital Medical Card enables pre-approved doctors to record the outcomes of all medical examinations required by governing bodies onto a secure centrally-held database.
And Loosemore is optimistic that the first-of-its-kind technology will soon become the international standard for all combat sports.
He said: "It is such a positive change I hope people will embrace it and this will become a national and international standard for dealing with combat sports."
Editors' Notes
For information about MyNextMatch, visit: http://www.mynextmatch.com/auth/about
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