Doctors Grana, Ferri and Venturini at the 9th UEFA Medical Symposium in Lugano

The ninth UEFA Medical Symposium is currently underway in Lugano (Switzerland), from 4 to 6 February 2025. "Women's football and beyond" is the theme of two days of in-depth analysis and updates aimed at the medical staff of UEFA-affiliated European football associations. Representing the FSGC, Dr Simone Grana, Dr Annamaria Ferri and Dr Roberto Venturini are in attendance in Lugano – long-standing members of the medical department of the San Marino Football Federation and frequently accompanying San Marino clubs and national teams, both at home and abroad. The programme, tailored to provide immediate support for the needs of sports doctors and physiotherapists, is structured into sessions dedicated to two main areas, placing emphasis on the sharing of practical information that each participant will be able to use in their day-to-day work supporting players. In addition to the talks and presentations delivered on stage, the event also features question-and-answer sessions involving the participants, as well as group work designed to foster interaction and the exchange of experiences. As one might expect, a large part of the programme focuses on the women’s game: thus, after the opening remarks and a focus on on-field treatment methods, the participants addressed the issue of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in female players. Two workshops concluded this morning’s programme, focusing respectively on managing communication within a multidisciplinary team and on the presentation of the UEFA fitness course. In the afternoon, the main and emerging challenges facing doctors working within the football system will be examined, before delving into the long-standing issue of muscle injuries. Tomorrow, from 8:00, there will be discussions on concussion and head injuries in general – a topic that has rightly attracted increased attention in recent years. Before the lunch break there will be time to conclude the in-depth look at muscle injuries, as well as to discuss nutrition and, more broadly, athlete health. In the afternoon, attention will return to anterior cruciate ligament injuries, this time from the perspective of their orthopaedic management. This will be followed by a debate on long-term athletic development, before moving into workshops dedicated to anti-doping controls and on-field rehabilitation. A short break will precede the final items on the agenda: infections connected with football activities, return to play after injury, and the wrap-up of the workshops that began in the early afternoon.

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