The Knee Injury Prevention Program or KIPP was my introduction to Sports Medicine Research. The goal of this study is test the effects of a specific warm-up routine in reducing injuries in both elementary aged boys and girls.We recruited participants from all over the Chicago Public Schools. This was an eye opening experience. Chicago is a big city with lots of people living in it and this was my first time being exposed to CPS. Although sometimes my experiences were not always positive I got to interact with a diverse group people and make some lasting connections.

My main duties were to go to the specific schools and make sure they were using the warm up correctly, getting the students and their parents to sign our consent forms and make weekly visits out to the schools to check on their progress and make sure everything is okay. This was my favorite part. I got to interact with the children, the coaches and once in awhile a parent.

Having my experience with this study and seeing the positive impact it had on the children and the field of sports medicine has really sparked my interest in this field of research. I have learned so many skills from this study also. This experience taught me how to be comfortable in new environments, I drove all over this city, and most of the time I had no idea where I was. But I can say now, I know this city like the back of my hand. You cannot put somewhere in this city that will scare me. This study has taught me more communication skills, because one of my duties was to help with recruiting. And this experience it has taught me how to manage multiple schedules at once. I was usually working with 8 different schools and managing their schedules against my own school schedule. It was sometimes tasking trying to manage everyone’s different availabilities but it’s a value skill I have now mastered.

The team behind this study is really making a difference and setting out to reduce injuries. Which with my past of having 3 knee surgeries I am totally behind this work, and it was fun to be apart of it!

These are some of the submissions we got back from a school I worked with after they participated in the program. You can really see they took a lot away from it.

The video is of Dr. Labella who is the principal investigator of the study. It talks about her backgroud with sports medicine and her dedication to Injury Prevention.