Going to extremes
Passion drives Dr. Stephen Augustine to the track—as a national leader in medical care for motorized extreme sports

By Stephen McKean
Photos provided by Dr. Stephen Augustine
 

Augustine co-founded the non-profit Action Sports Medicine Foundation (ASMF) in 2004 to raise awareness about the unique medical needs of these non-traditional athletes. While “stick and ball sports” usually employ both an athletic trainer and a physician at games, Augustine says that action sports events typically provide little more than paramedics, who may or may not be familiar with the participants’ particular needs.

“The number one goal [of the foundation] is to improve on-site medical care for action sports athletes at their events—all levels, professional and amateur,” he says.

Augustine has a wealth of firsthand experience in this area, having served as an event physician for American Motorcycle Association (AMA) supercross and motocross events since 2001—as well as countless other action sports events around the country. He also serves as chief of the sports medicine division for the Asterisk Mobile Medical Unit and as the medical director of the Road 2 Recovery Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists AMA-licensed professional motocross and supercross riders who sustain career-ending injuries.

So far, Augustine is pleased with the ASMF’s progress. “We have a team of volunteers—athletic trainers, physicians’ assistants, physical therapists, doctors—who cover the events on-site. We were able to raise money to buy uniforms, and we now have our own mobile medical center.”  continue

[1] [2] [3]