British journal of sports medicine
-
Football is the most popular sport on earth. When a young, fit popular player suddenly collapses and dies during play, the tragic event is frequently screened and publicised worldwide. The reported incidence of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) varies from 1:65,000 to 1:200,000 athletes. ⋯ Immediate defibrillation of a pulseless ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, within 1 to 2 min of onset, has a successful cardioversion rate exceeding 90%. Medical responders should be well trained and rehearsed in the recognition of SCA, including distractors such as seizures, myoclonic jerks and agonal (gasping) breathing. Prompt initiation of chest compressions on the field, together with early defibrillation, will result in many athletes' lives being saved by immediate implementation of these simple recommendations.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
The effectiveness of a neuromuscular prevention strategy to reduce injuries in youth soccer: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.
Soccer is a leading sport for participation and injury in youth. ⋯ A neuromuscular training programme is protective of all injuries and acute onset injury in youth soccer players.
-
Cooling strategies improve intermittent sprint performance in the heat of athletes with tetraplegia.
Precooling has been shown to enhance performance in repeated sprint exercise in able-bodied subjects in a hot environment. Spinal cord injury causes thermoregulatory impairment with a detrimental effect on performance. This study assessed whether cooling strategies before and during exercise in the heat enhances sprint performance in athletes with tetraplegia. ⋯ Athletes with tetraplegia should use a precooling or during-exercise cooling strategy specific to the characteristics of their sport when exercising in hot conditions.
-
In this study the effectiveness of prolotherapy in the treatment of deficient load transfer of the sacroiliac joint (SIJ) was determined. ⋯ This descriptive study of prolotherapy in private practice has shown positive clinical outcomes for the 76% of patients who attended the 3-month follow-up visit (76% at 12 months and 32% at 24 months). Similar results were found in the questionnaires (Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale, Roland-Morris 24 and Roland-Morris 24 Multiform questionnaires) at 3, 12 and 24 months.
-
There has been a decrease in the overall injury rate, particularly the rate of lower-extremity injuries, for alpine skiing, with a resultant increase in the ratio of upper-extremity to lower-extremity injuries. The upper extremity is injured nearly twice as often during snowboarding than alpine skiing, with approximately half of all snowboarding injuries involving the upper extremity. Shoulder injuries are likely under-reported, as many patients seek evaluation for minor shoulder injuries with their local physicians, and not at the ski medical clinic, where most epidemiology studies obtain their data. ⋯ According to recent epidemiological data, only clavicle and humerus fractures have shown increased rates of incidence among alpine skiers. Over the past 30 years, there has been a general decrease in both upper- and lower-extremity injuries which can be attributed to improved designs of protective equipment, increased awareness of injury patterns and emphasis on prevention. In the future, physicians and therapists who treat this population must be comfortable and confident in their treatment algorithms to help keep skiers and snowboarders conditioned and ready for the slopes and develop strategies for the prevention of upper-extremity injuries associated with these activities.