Sports Medicine and Injury Prevention

Promoting fitness in your practice is important, whether you're a team physician or you receive requests to evaluate student athletes for team sports. This also gives you the opportunity to educate athletes on injury prevention.

The AAFP’s sports medicine resources help you counsel players on risks, conduct assessments, deliver care and improve fitness safety. Access information on:

• Concussion Awareness, Diagnosis and Treatment
• Preparticipation Physical Evaluation PPE)
• Team Physician Consensus Statement

More on Sports Medicine and Concussions

Preparticipation Physical Evaluation (PPE)

Get the insight needed to help your patients make the necessary preparations to safely and successfully participate in a variety of sports. Download easy-to-use preparticipation physical evaluation (PPE) forms for evaluating student athletes.

PPE Forms

• PPE History Form
• PPE History Form (Spanish)
• PPE Physical Examination Form
• PPE Athlete With Special Needs: Supplemental History Form
• PPE Clearance Form

PPE forms were developed in cooperation with the following medical societies: AAFP, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine.

Team Physician Consensus Statements

Team Physician Consensus Statements reflect the consensus of an expert panel of sports medicine physicians. These statements are the latest sports medicine research and medical care methods for athletes.  

Consensus Statements

• Selected Issues for the Adolescent Athlete and the Team Physician
• Selected Issues in Injury and Illness Prevention and the Team Physician
• Psychological Issues Related to Injury in Athletes and the Team Physician
• Concussion (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and the Team Physician
• Mass Participation Event Management for the Team Physician
• Female Athlete Issues for the Team Physician
• The Team Physician and Return-to-Play Issues
• Sideline Preparedness for the Team Physician
• The Team Physician and Conditioning of Athletes for Sports
• Team Physician Consensus Statement

The American Academy of Family Physicians has developed Team Physician Consensus Statements in collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine.