MU “Friday Night Lights” Sports Clinic Opens Aug. 19

Beginning tonight and continuing through Friday, Oct. 28, the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute will offer a late night walk-in clinic for young athletes with sports-related injuries.

The Friday Night Lights sports medicine clinic will be open from 10 to 11:15 p.m. each Friday night during the regular football season. Sports medicine specialists will care for walk-in patients on the second floor of the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute at 1100 Virginia Ave. in Columbia.

“Specialists from our team can evaluate and provide comprehensive care to an athlete the same night an injury occurs,” said Seth Sherman, M.D., an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and fellowship-trained sports medicine specialist at the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute. “Although our focus is on football injuries, we can treat any injured athlete, no matter what sport. Our goal is to help young athletes get back in the game as safely and quickly as possible.”

In addition to the Friday Night Lights clinic, resident physicians from MU Health Care who specialize in sports medicine also provide medical advice and on-field care at area high school football games. Mid-Missouri high schools staffed by MU Health Care sports medicine specialists include:

· Fayette High School

· Fulton High School

· South Callaway R-II High School in Mokane

· Tipton High School

“Football is a high-impact sport, and players may sustain an orthopaedic or soft-tissue injury during the game,” said Kyle Blecha, a certified