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The Integumentary System in Sports

Presented by Todd Arnold

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How should sports therapists manage and provide care for athletes with integumentary conditions? In this course, Dr. Todd Arnold introduces the integumentary system for sports therapists, covering basic anatomy and physiology as well as the most important skin conditions for athletes. Among these, infectious diseases such as MRSA are on the rise in athletic populations. Dr. Arnold explains how best to prevent these conditions from spreading and how to treat the most common infectious diseases. He further covers the essential skin lesions, environmental exposure, and contact dermatitis present in athletic populations. Finally, Dr. Arnold gives special mention to MRSA due to its increasing prevalence in athletes and the severity of the disease itself. Throughout this course and each of the many skin conditions presented, Dr. Arnold includes information on prevention, treatment, and return to play to effectively protect your athletes.

Meet your instructor

Todd Arnold

Dr. Todd Arnold is a sports medicine physician with more than two decades of experience caring for athletes of all levels. He has been on the sidelines caring for those competing in high school sports, multiple levels of collegiate sports, NCAA Championships, and World Championships. He serves as the medical officer for elite…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Anatomy and Physiology, Skin Lesions

1. Anatomy and Physiology, Skin Lesions

This chapter covers important information on basic anatomy and physiology of the skin, preparing the sports therapist to understand skin lesions and other damage to the integumentary system. Examples of this are provided, including skin lesions, blisters, corns, intertrigo, nail bed injuries, and others.

Infectious Diseases

2. Infectious Diseases

What causes impetigo, cellulitis, and erysipelas? This chapter answers this question and provides information on the cause of many other bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious skin diseases.

Environmental Exposure and Contact Dermatitis

3. Environmental Exposure and Contact Dermatitis

Vital information regarding a variety of environmental exposures and contact dermatitis are explored with great detail in this chapter. Information on both temperature related environmental exposures and bites and stings provides a thorough basis from which to make judgments for treatment and return to play.

MRSA

4. MRSA

One special topic of particular interest in this course is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. This skin infection is potentially a life threatening disease. Thus, it is essential that the sports medicine professional understand this condition including the return to play guidelines provided here.