Chicago Doctors Team Up To Deliver Concussion Education Via Text Messaging

An exciting new text messaging program for young athletes, coaches, and parents is launching in the Chicago area. The "be unstoppable football tips campaign" is designed to raise awareness about concussions and other football injuries. The end goal, help kids play safe and stay strong both on and off the field.

“Texting is an effective way to reach teens and adults where they are today, on their mobile phones,” says Dr. Vishal Mehta, a local sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, as well as the medical advisor and co-founder of Healthy TXT, the organization behind the public service venture. “Harvard University and John Hopkins Children's Center studies show that healthy behaviors can be inspired and sustained using cell phone technology.”

How does the football tips campaign work? To sign up, text the phrase “footballtips” to 41411, or go to www.healthy-TXT.com to register for the email program. Educational concussion messages—along with football injury prevention, performance tips, and motivational messages from leading sports medicine physicians, trainers, and professional athletes—will be delivered once or twice a week. 

All subscribers will go through a mini concussion-training course, with a text message and an educational link delivered weekly. Upon completion, participants can take a concussion quiz, and be entered for a chance to win an iPad2. Winners will be announced on Super Bowl Sunday.

The campaign is a highly collaborative team effort. Numerous Chicago-area sports medicine physicians, neurologists, surgeons, and organizations are behind this innovative and timely text messaging campaign, including the national STOP Sports Injuries campaign spearheaded by the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Sports provide important life lessons for youth. But injuries are on the rise, and a concussion is an injury that needs to be taken seriously. To date, twenty-eight states have adopted concussion prevention laws aimed at protecting young athletes from returning to play after suffering an injury.

Early Healthy TXT participating partners include:

• Dr. Arif Ali, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Orthopedic Surgery Specialists
• Dr. James Alpert, orthopedic surgeon, Midwest Bone and Joint Institute
• Dr. Brian Babka, sports medicine and family practice physician, Central DuPage Physician Group
• Dr. Aaron Bare, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, OAD Orthopedics
• Dr. James Bresch, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Orthopedic Surgery Specialists
• Dr. Giri Burra, orthopedic surgeon, Hinsdale Orthopedics
• Dr. Ankur Chhadia, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Suburban Orthopaedics
• Dr. Mike Corcoran, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, OAK Orthopedics
• Dr. Greg Dairyko, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Bone and Joint Physicians
• Dr. Hany El-Rashidy, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon
• Dr. Douglas Evans, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Loyola University Health Systems
• Dr. Dave Garelick, orthopedic surgeon, Illinois Bone Joint Institute
• Dr. Justin Gent, orthopedic surgeon, McHenry Orthopedics
• Dr. Julio Gonzalez, primary care sports medicine, Dupage Medical Group
• Dr. Sherwin Ho, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, University of Chicago
• Dr. Roy Henderson, primary care sports medicine, Dreyer Clinic
• Dr. Mark Hutchinson, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, University of Illinois
• Dr. Neeru Jayanthi, primary care physician specializing in concussions, Loyola University Health System
• Dr. Jason Koh, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Northshore University Healthy System, University of Chicago 
• Dr. Steve Marciniak, orthopedic surgeon, Castle Orthopedics
• Dr. Kevan Ketterling, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Fox Valley Orthopedics
• Dr. Jim Krcik, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Integrity Orthopedics
• Dr. Martin Leland, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, University of Chicago
• Dr. Anthony Levenda, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Lakeshore Bone and Joint
• Dr. Sam Park, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Dupage Medical Group
• Dr. Steve Marciniak, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Castle Orthopedics
• Dr. Vishal Mehta, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Fox Valley Orthopedics
• Dr. Jeffrey Mjaanes, primary care sports medicine, Rush University
• Dr. Ketan R. Mody, primary care sports medicine, Elite Sports Medicine
• Dr. Robert D. Paras, sports medicine surgeon, Castle Orthopedics
• Dr. Jodi Pelegrin, primary care sports medicine, Dreyer Clinic
• Dr. Timothy Petsche, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Fox Valley Orthopedics
• Dr. Ashish Rawal, sports medicine surgeon, Elmhurst Orthopedics
• Dr. Arif Saleem, orthopedic surgeon, Castle Orthopedics
• Dr. Kishore Santwani, neurologist
• Dr. Neena Szuch, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Dreyer Clinic
• Dr. Joshua Seeds, orthopedic surgeon, Midwest Bone and Joint Institute
• Dr. Hythem P. Shadid, orthopedic surgeon, Genesis Orthopedics
• Dr. Jim Sostak, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Fox Valley Orthopedics
• Dr. Michael Terry, orthopedic surgeon, Northwestern University
• Dr. Pietro Tonino, orthopedic sports medicine surgeon, and head of Division of Sports Medicine, Loyola University Health System
• Dr. Nikhil Verma, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University

 Similar injury prevention campaigns for hockey, lacrosse, and baseball are in the design stage. The football campaign plans to expand regionally than nationally. All messages will be developed by physicians and content provided by the STOP Sport Injuries campaign, and the Center for Disease Control.

"Working together, communities can help keep athletes in the game for life," said Mehta.

About Healthy TXT

Founded in Chicago in 2011, Healthy TXT™ is a physician-designed service that delivers healthy text messages to inspire, engage, and empower people to take action for health.  Numerous studies have shown that healthy behaviors are encouraged and sustained using mobile platforms where people live, work, and play. Healthy TXT™ develops public service campaigns, and works with organizations and physician practices to develop customized text packages to reflect specific goals and the Healthy TXT™ mission. For more information go to www.healthy-txt.com.

About the STOP Sports Injuries Campaign

The STOP Sports Injuries campaign was initiated by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) and includes a comprehensive public outreach program focused on the importance of sports safety—specifically relating to overuse and trauma injuries. The initiative not only raises awareness and provides education on injury reduction, but also highlights how playing safe and smart can enhance and extend a child’s athletic career, improve teamwork, reduce obesity rates and create a lifelong love of exercise and healthy activity. The campaign’s message underscores the problems of youth overuse and trauma injuries and emphasizes the expertise of a coalition of experts, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Athletic Trainers’ Association, National Strength and Conditioning Association, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Sports Physical Therapy Section, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and SAFE Kids USA. For more details, visit www.STOPSportsInjuries.org