On November 22 and 23, 2024, the congress "SPORTMEDICA - Exercise and Medicine – 20 Years Sports Clinic CHL" took place at d’COQUE in Luxembourg. "SPORTMEDICA" is an international sports medicine congress, organized every Olympic year by the Luxembourg Society for Sports Physiotherapy (Société Luxembourgeoise de kinésithérapie du sport - SLKS) and the Luxembourg Society for Sports Medicine (Société Luxembourgeoise de médecine du sport - SLMS). This marked the 8th iteration of the event. It was held under the patronage of the Training Academy for Sports Medicine, Sports Physiotherapy, and Sports Sciences in collaboration with its partners, including the Luxembourg Institute of Research in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, and Science (LIROMS), the Luxembourg Olympic Medical Center (CMOL) of the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), the Luxembourg Institute for High Performance in Sports (LIHPS), and the Ministry of Sports.
This year’s congress also served as the anniversary celebration for the CHL Sports Clinic, which was established 20 years ago as Luxembourg’s first clinical and research-oriented sports medicine institution. Over two decades, the Sports Clinic has gained extensive experience in patient and athlete care and has spearheaded the Training Academy's organization of over 200 colloquia, sports medicine symposia, congresses, and workshops.
An outstanding feature of this year's congress was the large industry exhibition with a total of 19 sponsors. It provided participants with up-to-date information and enabled valuable networking, strengthening relationships within the sports medicine community.
The organizers once again attracted a host of internationally and nationally renowned experts to present on various current topics in sports medicine. The main themes for 2024 included sports cardiology, the treatment and prevention of sports injuries, mental health, as well as performance physiology and training management.
The congress commenced on Friday afternoon with presentations from Prof. Jürgen Scharhag (Vienna), Prof. Tim Meyer, Dr. Lothar Schwarz (both from Saarbrücken), and Prof. Axel Urhausen (Luxembourg) on current issues in sports cardiology, such as sudden cardiac death, sports medicine challenges in triathlon and overtraining.
This was followed by official welcome addresses by CHL Director General Dr. Martine Goergen and COSL President André Hoffmann.
The next session featured lectures by Dr. Christian Nührenbörger (Luxembourg) on the challenges of injury prevention in sports, Prof. Lars Engebretsen (Oslo/Lausanne) on his 15 years of experience as head of the IOC Medical Commission, Prof. Martin Engelhardt (Osnabrück) on the health consequences of physical inactivity in society, Prof. Stefan Nehrer (Vienna) on the future of sports orthopedics training, and Prof. Romain Seil (Luxembourg) and Camille Tooth (Liège) on the activities of ReFORM, the French-speaking IOC research centers.
The first day concluded with a communal dinner.
The Saturday morning session focused entirely on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Presentations by Prof. Romain Seil, Dr. Caroline Mouton, Jérôme Pauls, and Nina Goedert (all from Luxembourg), as well as Dr. Anouk Urhausen (Oslo) and Dr. Thomas Patt (Deft), highlighted the latest developments in therapy, rehabilitation, return-to-sport, and prevention of this severe sports injury.
This was followed by five theoretical and practical workshops covering leadership in clinical practice (Prof. Nicol van Dyk, Dublin), blood flow restriction training (team led by Ben Moes, Luxembourg), implementation of preventive measures (Aude Aguilaniu, Liège, and Jérôme Pauls), blood lactate analysis in endurance sports (Frédéric Margue and Eric Besenius, Luxembourg), and safeguarding in sports (Dr. Katy Seil, Michelle Tousch, Laura Hoffmann, and Loïc Hoscheit, Luxembourg).
In the final session, updates were provided on cartilage injuries by Prof. Henning Madry (Homburg), optimal rehabilitation of hamstring injuries by Nicol van Dyk, and the pros and cons of carbon running shoes by Priv.-Doz. Dr. Casper Grim (Osnabrück).
The congress concluded with a fascinating and insightful lecture by Dr. Rolf-Michael Krifter (Graz) on his sports medicine experiences supporting the Dakar Rally.
All attendees gained current and practical sports medicine knowledge, which was further deepened through stimulating discussions and workshops.
With more than 225 participants from 8 countries, including physicians, physiotherapists, trainers, sports scientists, athletes, and other members of the Luxembourg sports community, the congress was a great success.
Organisers and speakers
View over the crowded auditorium
Well-visited industry exhibition
Prof Lars Engebretsen giving a lecture on his “15 years of experience as head of the IOC Medical Commission
Workshop on ‘Blood lactate analyses in endurance sports’
Workshop on the topic of ‘Safeguarding in sport’
Workshop on the topic of ‘Blood Flow Restriction Training’
Workshop on “Leadership” by Prof. Nicol van Dyk
Dr Rolf-Michael Krifter giving his presentation on the Dakar Rally