Women in Sports Medicine Conference: A Healthy Partnership

Boulder Community Health & the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center recently partnered in a successful, sold-out conference for health care professionals in our community. “Women in Sports Medicine: Dancing Through the Ages” educated attendees, from physicians to physical therapists, about how best to care for women by helping them stay active through every stage of life, from tween years through pregnancy and aging.

The conference featured an impressive panel of local athletes, including Olympic runner and steeplechasers Jenny Simpson and Emma Coburn and Olympic cyclist Mara Abbott (pictured below), talking about their own experiences training and competing as a woman.

Among the several educational presenters was OB/GYN Dr. Brenda Price of Boulder Women’s Care (BWC) who spoke about how to address hormonal changes that may affect women athletes' performance as they age.

BWC certified nurse midwife Paige Swales, along with Kate Kripke, director of the Postpartum Wellness Center of Boulder (pictured at right), talked about postpartum barriers that can delay new moms from returning to pre-baby exercise routines, including pelvic-floor issues, milk supply concerns, and postpartum depression.

BWC and the Postpartum Wellness Center have partnered to provide the clinics' new moms with a free postpartum depression screening visit. As Boulder Valley's independent nonprofit hospital, BCH actively partners with other organizations--such as our joint venture with the CU Center for Sports Medicine and Performance--in order to meet the unique needs of our active, health-minded community.

The conference focused on raising awareness among our medical community of "Exercise as Medicine." This proactive, wellness-focused concept encourages health care professionals to consider recommending exercise as often as they might prescribe medication, in order to prevent disease and keep patients healthy. As research increasingly shows, adopting a lifestyle that includes appropriate, consistent physical activity can help keep us all healthier, and happier, for the long run.