Under this innovative theme, participants tackled the concept of sports pharmacotherapy, constructed an optimised pharmacy practice model, identified essential knowledge and skills, and shared their insights on how to advance sports pharmacy practices, benefiting from Aspetar’s contributions to the global research in this regard to support the capabilities of healthcare professionals.

Commenting on the conference, Aspetar’s pharmacy director Dr Manal Al Zaidan, said:

“This is to our knowledge the first sports pharmacy conference of its kind. It provided an ideal opportunity for Aspetar experts and researchers to join hands with healthcare professionals in sharing insights about the sports pharmacy concepts which encompasses the use of drugs in athletics, whether for therapeutics or for performance enhancement, and how to apply enhanced inter-professional collaboration to improve athlete care. We attach great importance to the development of our profession. The conference served as a great opportunity for us to promote the role of pharmacology in sports medicine and increase awareness about prohibited medications and doping related issues by engaging experts from World Anti-Doping Agency, Qatar Olympic Committee, Qatar Anti-doping lab and Aspetar to support and deliver our objectives.”

The one-day conference addressed several topics through five sessions. The first session covered some of the most current topics relevant to exercise and sports pharmacology, the medical management of common conditions in athletes, the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotic, and the pharmacology of pain.

The second session saw Aspetar experts discuss nutrition and supplements. They explained the management of iron and vitamin D deficiency, from which 83% of local athletes suffer, and discussed the effect of nutritional supplements in sports and Aspetar’s global leadership in sports nutrition research. There was a dedicated session about prohibited drugs in sport and the global fight against doping. They illustrated the depth of Qatar’s commitment to tackle doping, as well as the use of cortisone amongst athletes, therapeutic use exemptions, and the use of supplements in doping.

In the fourth session, Aspetar consultants revealed novel therapies in sports medicine, including plasma therapy, mesotherapy, placebo interventions and the influence of homeopathy.

At the end of the day, participants engaged in discussions about what pharmacotherapy can teach the sporting world, the vital role of pharmacists in sports medical teams, and what community pharmacists should know about drugs in sports. The final session covered the medication management process for traveling teams and discussed the challenges involved in major events.

The conference is further evidence of Aspetar’s continued efforts to remain at the forefront of the latest developments in sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery and highlight the emerging roles for pharmacists in assisting athletes to achieve maximum performance and realise their full potential. It constitutes another step on Aspetar’s path to achieving its vision of becoming a global leader in sports medicine and exercise sciences.