CASEM Para & Adaptive Sport Medicine Conference 2026
Location: Rogers Centre Ottawa, Room 102
Time: 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM
This year the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships takes place in our nation’s capital, Ottawa, where athletes with disabilities will be participating from around the world. As with all types of athletes, sports injuries are common among athletes with disabilities. Athletes with disabilities are predisposed to medical conditions and have a higher prevalence than that of a nondisabled individual. Understanding these conditions are vital to the proper prevention, care, and return to activity for these athletes. The goal of the course is to prepare physicians to provide medical care to athletes with physical impairments.
This one day course is led by Canadian sport medicine leaders in the para & adaptive sport medicine world. Planning committee chair, Dr. Lindsay Bradley, has worked with a number of national para-sport teams and has led medical teams at Paralympic Games throughout her career.
Onsite registrations are welcome!
For questions please email cpd@casem-acmse.org.
Accreditation
This activity has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 6.25 Mainpro+® Certified Activity credits.
Schedule
Please note that 25% of the presentations will be dedicated to a Q&A session, which will immediately follow the presentation.
7:30 am – Continental Breakfast available
8:15 – 8:20 am – Welcome and Introductions
8:20 – 9:00 am – Athlete Experience / Keynote Lecture – Tara Llanes & Cindy Ouellet, Wheelchair Basketball Paralympians
9:00 – 10:00 am – Concurrent Workshops (The two workshops are repeated and delegates will rotate through the workshops)
Session 1: Examination of an Athlete with Spinal Cord Injury – Dr. Steve Macaluso
Session 2: Emergency Situations – Drs. Lindsay Bradley & Andrew Marshall
10:00 – 10:30 am – Morning Break
10:30 – 11:30 am – Workshops Repeated
11:30 – 12:30 pm – Hodge Podge
- 11:30 – 11:50 am – Wheelchair Hand Trauma – Dr. Andrew Marshall
- 11:50 – 12:10 pm – Top 5 Common Injuries – Dr. Lindsay Bradley
- 12:10 – 12:30 pm – Para SCAT Updates – Dr. Katie Mitchell
12:30 – 1:30 pm – LUNCH BREAK
1:30 – 2:15 pm – Lessons learned from the Field – Danielle de Laat & Paul Murata, Wheelchair Basketball Canada
2:15 – 3:00 pm – Training modifications for para athlete or training load monitoring (shoulder load monitoring) – Hana Parkin & Isaac Seabrook, Wheelchair Basketball Canada
3:00 – 3:15 pm – Afternoon Break
3:15 – 3:45 pm – Return to Play Panel – Drs. Lindsay Bradley, Andrew Marshall, Steve Macaluso
3:45 – 4:15 pm – Post competition complications for the Para Athlete
4:15-4:20pm – Closing Remarks and Final Questions
Overall Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognize and assess the unique medical, functional, and sport-specific considerations affecting athletes with physical impairments, including spinal cord injury and other common disability classifications.
- Apply evidence-informed strategies for the prevention, acute management, rehabilitation, and return-to-sport of injuries and medical conditions commonly encountered in para and adaptive athletes.
- Integrate principles of classification, training modification, emergency preparedness, and interdisciplinary care into the delivery of safe, athlete-centered medical support for para sport
Session Learning Objectives
Scientific Planning Committee
- Dr. Lindsay Bradley (Chair)
Dr. Bradley is the team physician for the National Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team, National Women’s Para Hockey Team, National Goalball teams, Ottawa Rapid FC and the Carleton University Varsity Women’s Rugby and Basketball teams. She is on the medical staff for the Ottawa 67s and Ottawa Redblacks.
Dr. Bradley has covered many local, provincial, national and international sporting competitions including the Paralympics, Para PanAm Games and has travelled with Hockey Canada, Rugby Canada and Canada Soccer. She is chair of the Para and Adaptive Physical Activity committee at the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM).
Dr. Bradley is interested in teaching and research and is involved in both of these endeavours as an assistant professor with the University of Ottawa Department of Family Medicine. She is the Program Director for the Sport and Exercise Medicine Fellowship at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Bradley has a particular interest in the mental health of athletes at the varsity and National level and was part of the expert group that created the Mental Health Strategy for High Performance Sport in Canada.
- Dr. Andrew Marshall
Dr. Andrew Marshall is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and knee surgery. He serves as the Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hôpital Montfort in Ottawa. Dr. Marshall began his medical career in the military as a general practitioner and trained in orthopedics during his service. After retiring from the military, he integrated sports medicine into his practice, providing comprehensive care to athletes. He has been actively involved in the Olympic and Paralympic movements for nearly 15 years, including serving as Chief Medical Officer for the Canadian Paralympic Committee at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Games.
- Dr. Steven Macaluso
Dr. Steven Macaluso, MD, FRCPC is a physiatrist and Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. He practices at Parkwood Institute and the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, with clinical interests in physical medicine and rehabilitation, sports medicine, musculoskeletal care, and physical activity for individuals with impairments and disabilities. Dr. Macaluso has extensive experience in Para sport and high-performance sport, including eight years as Team Physician for Canada’s National Wheelchair Curling Team and serving with the team at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
- Dr. Erika Persson (CASEM CPD Chair)