XXVIII FIMS WORLD CONGRESS AS CONCLUDING HIGHLIGHT OF FIMS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

The XXVIII World Congress of the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) was held in beautiful Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, from January 24 to 28, 2004. It was a culmination of a number of events globally to celebrate the 75th anniversary of FIMS (1928 – 2003), attended by over 600 participants representing over 60 countries.

The Organizing Committee, under the leadership of Dr. Wahid Alkharusi, brought together leading experts in orthopaedics and sports medicine from around the world in presenting a stimulating and comprehensive programme. One of the highlights of the FIMS World Congress was to emphasize on the importance of orthopaedic sports medicine in the overall context of care of the athletes and promotion of exercise for health.

A great variety of programme were staged at the Congress which included practical pre-congress courses, didactic instructional lectures and symposia, keynote lectures, free papers and hands on workshops, on the subjects of osteoporosis, ACL/ PCL injuries, arthroscopy, tendinopathies and so on.

Professor Savio Woo, Professor Paavo Komi, Professor KM Chan, Professor Walter Frontera, Professor Pushpa Bhargava, Professor Roland Jakob and Professor Per Renstrom were invited to present keynote lectures at the meeting, which included the following topics:-

 
Professor Savio Woo (left) and Professor KM Chan (right) presenting the keynote lecture.

First regional ISAKOS Arthroscopy Workshop
The first regional ISAKOS Arthroscopy Workshop, jointly organized with FIMS with the attendance of over 50 participants from various countries was held at the Congress which has received an unprecedented success, aiming at practical training and discussion on controversial subjects on the latest innovations of arthroscopic technology. The Workshop was conducted by experienced faculty including Professor Per Renstrom, Professor Christer Rolf, Professor Paolo Aglietti, Professor Kim Seung-ho, Dr. Barry Tietjens, Professor Roland Jakob, Professor Mohammed Razi and Professor Christer Rolf, presenting the state-of-the-art lectures, sand debate on controversial subjects and hands-on workshop. Topics included ACL/ PCL reconstruction, meniscus repair, shoulder stabilization, cuff repair and impingement syndrome.

 
Professor Per Renstrom demonstrating the arthroscopic techniques to participants. (left) Participants attending the Arthroscopy Workshop. (right)

First Team Physician Advanced Course
For the first time, FIMS and ISAKOS have jointly organized the Team Physician Advanced Course for a group of sports medicine doctors who have accomplished the Team Physician Development Course. More orthopaedic related topics were taught to participants, which included complex shoulder injuries, shoulder instability, low back pain, meniscal injuries, ACL/ PCL/ PLC injuries, OA knee, ankle sprains and so on. This advanced course serves to give the participants the stimulation to continue their professional training. With case discussion, debate on controversial subjects and critique on new techniques and drugs, attendees brought home with the knowledge of recent advances in diagnosis and management and also the practical issues related to the athlete care and return to sports.