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.