Journal of athletic training
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To compare sex differences regarding the incidence of concussions among collegiate athletes during the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000 seasons. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cohort study of collegiate athletes using the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance System; certified athletic trainers recorded data during the 1997-2000 academic years. SUBJECTS: Collegiate athletes participating in men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, basketball, softball, baseball, and gymnastics. MEASUREMENTS: Certified athletic trainers from participating NCAA institutions recorded weekly injury and athlete-exposure data from the first day of preseason practice to the final postseason game. Injury rates and incidence density ratios were computed. Incidence density ratio is an estimate of the relative risk based on injury rates per 1000 athlete-exposures. ⋯ Female athletes sustained a higher percentage of concussions during games than male athletes. Of all the sports, women's soccer and men's lacrosse were found to have the highest injury rate of concussions. Incidence density ratio was greatest for male and female soccer players.
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To compare the log-roll (LR) maneuver and the lift-and-slide (LS) technique and to investigate the effect of training on the performance of these transfer techniques. DESIGN AND SETTING: A repeated-measures design involving certified athletic trainers and athletic training students from a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college. SUBJECTS: Certified athletic trainers and athletic training students were required to transfer healthy individuals onto a spine board. Testing was performed on 2 men of average size, whereas training sessions were performed on both men and women of different heights and weights. ⋯ The LS technique was more effective in restricting motion of the head. To truly establish the safety of spine-board transfer techniques, researchers need to assess how individual segments move within the structurally unstable cervical spine.
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To quantify the amount of helmet movement, time for task completion, tool satisfaction, and overall efficiency for various face-mask removal tools during football helmet face-mask removal. DESIGN AND SETTING: Each subject performed one trial with the anvil pruner (AP), Face Mask Extractor (FME), PVC pipe cutter (PVC), and Trainer's Angel (TA). Each subject cut through 4 loop straps and removed the face mask while kneeling behind the athlete's head. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine certified athletic trainers (age = 29.5 +/- 6.2 years, athletic training experience = 6.3 +/- 5.0 years). MEASUREMENTS: Time to complete the task was recorded. Total range of motion and total movement of the helmet were assessed using a 6-camera, 3-dimensional motion-capture system. Satisfaction scores were measured for each subject for each tool. Efficiency scores were calculated using time and total helmet-movement data. ⋯ In general, subjects using the FME were superior in all variables except the movement variables. Future researchers should assess the removal task using specific protocols to determine whether the tools truly differ in terms of the movement created.
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To examine age-related differences in pain, catastrophizing, and affective distress (depression and anxiety) after athletic injury and knee surgery. DESIGN AND SETTING: Participants were assessed with measures of pain intensity, pain-related catastrophizing, depression, and anxiety symptoms at 24 hours after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. SUBJECTS: Twenty patients (10 adolescents, 10 adults) with an acute complete tear of the ACL. MEASUREMENTS: Pain was assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), catastrophizing with the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), depressive symptoms with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and anxiety with the state form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S). ⋯ After ACL surgery, athletic adolescents and adults differed significantly in pain, catastrophizing, and anxiety. Catastrophizing seemed to be a particularly strong factor in postoperative pain differences between adolescents and adults, with clinical-management implications. These data indicate the need for continued research into specific pain- and age-related factors during the acute postoperative period for athletes undergoing ACL surgery.
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To provide an overview of the limited amount of peer-reviewed literature on athletic training education that has been published in athletic training journals. Publications that related specifically to the development of evaluation tools or specific addenda to the required athletic training curriculum were not included. ⋯ As education reform continues to unfold in athletic training, it is important for all certified athletic trainers to understand the research that undergirds the educational practices in athletic training. Many of the profession's educational practices have been taken from standards and methods developed by the discipline of education, with very little validation for applicability to the discipline of athletic training. A very limited number of comprehensive scientific investigations of the educational standards and practices in athletic training education have been carried out; however, for more research to be conducted, it is essential that the currently available research be reviewed. DESCRIPTION: The summaries of athletic training educational research in this article include the topics of learning styles, facilitation of learning and professional development, instructional methods, clinical instruction and supervision, predictors of success on the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board of Certification certification examination, program administration, and continuing education. The amount of research in athletic training education is limited when compared with the amount and quality of educational research available in other professions, such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In this article, I attempt to describe the existing literature and identify what is needed to expand the breadth and depth of research in athletic training education. CLINICAL ADVANTAGES: This article is intended to help educators identify areas within athletic training education that require further validation and to provide both educators and clinicians with insight into the current validated educational practices that may be appropriate to incorporate into educational settings or practice.