The Sunshine State Games have been a tradition in Florida for 35 years. Held over several months, the games offer several events featuring 30 different sports.  This year, interns from National University’s Florida DC program treated athletes in the Ultimate Frisbee State Championship.

Clinician Dr. Carlo Guadagno, NUHS alumnus Dr. Jake LeVere (’14), along with adjunct clinicians Dr. Joanne Fava and Dr. Valli Gambina, accompanied interns Bobby Koser, Angela Bott, Brian Farkas and Jessica Hiipakka and several lower trimester students at the event. The NUHS team worked with over 50 athletes.

“Injuries would arise from more than 20 concurrent fields of play,” says Dr. Guadagno.  “We evaluated several players for traumatic brain injury, and saw numerous extremity injuries including elbows, wrists, ankles and knees. The injuries we evaluated ran the gamut from contusions and strains to fractures and derangements.”

National University’s participation in the games provides interns with unique experience in using their medical skills. “The interns receive valuable training on how to triage, evaluate and manage on-field acute sports injuries,” says Dr. Guadagno.

Outreach events such as the Sunshine State Games, also give NUHS students experience in chiropractic sports medicine. In fact, most students who participated in the event are members of the NUHS Sports Council, one of several on-campus organizations. The Sunshine State Games are one of the many community outreach activities that Florida DC interns and the Sport Council participate in each year.