Two days before the start of the Amsterdam 2016 European Athletics Championships, the first-ever European Athletics Medical Seminar was held from 3-4 July on the sidelines of the big event.
The seminar was opened by European Athletics CEO Christian Milz who welcome the 54 participants from 29 countries.
Chairman of the European Athletics Medical and Anti-Doping Commission Pedro Branco, lauded the initiative as a much-needed platform to share knowledge and ideas between countries.
He hopes the seminar will become a regular fixture in the immediate build-up to continental championships in the future.
'We all kind of know each other in coming to these championships year after year,' he told insidethegames.
'Most of these doctors have been working in their federations for ten to twenty years and they really know the elite athletes, and what’s happening in sports medicine and athletics specifically.
'But we don’t communicate much and we’re a small group inside all the sport medicine specialists - there’s a lot of different sports.
'So to a point, it was our thought - the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission of European Athletics, which I lead - that it would be of an advantage to build-up a bit more communication.'
A range of topics were discussed including nutrition, medical treatment and injury treatment. Participants were also asked to fill in a questionnaire which will be looked at by European Athletics to determine how they can further ensure and promote health and safety in the sport.
European Athletics is also keen to know how different countries' medical services operate and whether athletes could benefit from a pre-season medical screening prior to the season or prior to international competition.
Since 2010, European Athletics has conducted injury and illness surveillance studies as a means to determine the nature and frequency of injury and illness during major championships.