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High school athletes have higher rates of injuries and sudden death than their college counterparts. Medical care for these athletes should include access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Disparities in medical care access provided by high schools for their athletes may be due to school characteristics or socioeconomic or racial factors. This study investigated relationships between these factors and access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Medical care access is negatively related to the percentage of low-income students and positively related to the number of sports offered. Relationships between race and access to a team physician became nonsignificant when the percentage of low-income students was considered. Physicians who treat high school athletes should consider the medical care access provided by their schools when they educate these patients about preventing and treating sports injuries.

Biological-based therapies are rapidly expanding for different musculoskeletal conditions because of their potential benefits including their minimal invasiveness, capacity for unprecedented healing, and potential for rapid recovery. In this regard, although several approaches have been reported in the literature, most of the body of the literature is increasingly based on platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, and cell-based therapy studies. Although further basic science and clinical research is needed to elucidate the long-term outcome of these therapies in the treatment of several injuries, there is compelling evidence for their use for certain indications. The purpose of this article was to review the main aspects of bone marrow aspirate concentrate, which is one of the few forms of stem cell delivery approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and, furthermore, to critically assess the current evidence-based recommendations and identify potential avenues for development.

The throwing athlete’s shoulder is a unique, complex entity with challenges in diagnosis and management. The shoulders in these athletes possess unique biomechanics and pathologic conditions. Unfortunately, return to play outcomes are often poor when specifically evaluating overhead athletes, especially with regard to SLAP repair. It is imperative for the surgeon to be cautious when indicating these athletes for surgery, because although they may demonstrate improvements in pain and general function, subtle changes in accuracy or velocity as a result of surgery can significantly affect the success of an overhead throwing athlete at the competitive level.