NFL athletic training

BACKGROUND: "Research-ready" evidence platforms that link sports data with anonymized electronic health records (EHRs) or other data are important tools for evaluating injury occurrence in response to changes in games, training, rules, and other factors. While there is agreement that high-quality data are essential, there is little evidence to guide data curation. HYPOTHESIS/PURPOSE: We hypothesized that an EHR used in the course of clinical care and curated for research readiness can provide a robust evidence platform...

Background: Despite the increased attention to sports-related concussion, the literature lacks information about the environmental factors that contribute to concussion incidence. Previous investigators have noted a decreased rate of concussion in football games played at higher altitude. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the protective effects of altitude on concussion rate, as described by previous investigators, were due to acute effects of altitude exposure or chronic adaptations to training at altitude...

Hedlund, DP. Performance of future elite players at the NFL scouting combine. J Strength Cond Res 32(11): 3112-3118, 2018-The purpose of this study is to examine players' physical and performance measures taken at the National Football League (NFL) Scouting Combine and compare these with their future performance in the NFL. From 2002 to 2016, 3 types of player data (N = 5,506) were collected from secondary data sources. Results of players earned on various NFL Scouting Combine drills and measurements (e.g., height, body mass, 40-yard dash time, vertical jump, bench press repetitions, shuttle run time, and 3-cone drill time), the position players play on the field (e...

Background: Labral tears confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are a relatively common injury among collegiate athletes and can influence a player's ability to compete at the professional level. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of MRI-confirmed shoulder labral injuries in collegiate football players entering the National Football League (NFL) Combine and to further describe these injuries by tear location, player position, history of surgical intervention, and associated concomitant shoulder injuries...

The purpose of this study is to examine players' physical and performance measures taken at the NFL Scouting Combine and compare these to their future performance in the NFL. From 2002-2016, three types of player data (N=5,506) were collected from secondary data sources. Results players earned on various NFL Scouting Combine drills and measurements (e.g., height, weight, 40-yard dash time, vertical jump, bench press repetitions, shuttle run time, and 3-cone drill time), the position players play on the field (e...

This investigation analyzed the sprint velocity profiles for athletes who completed the 40-yard (36.6m) dash at the 2016 NFL Combine. The purpose was to evaluate the relationship between maximum velocity and sprint performance, and to compare acceleration patterns for fast and slow athletes. Using freely available online sources, data were collected for body mass and sprint performance (36.6m time with split intervals at 9.1 and 18.3m). For each athlete, split times were utilized to generate modeled curves of distance vs...

The purpose of this study was to test reports that size and arrangement manipulations of weight plates (i.e., inducing a size-weight illusion [SWI]) effect athletic weightlifting performance. The participants were 72 experienced, weight-trained collegiate American football players. Across three weeks, each athlete performed three different repetitions-to-fatigue bench press tests (NFL-225, SWI-225, and SWI-215). A multiple regression revealed a positive association between participants' strength relative to the test load and repetitions for NFL-225 and SWI-215, but no association with SWI-225...

We report six cases of a novel syndrome of acute, exertional low back pain in football players, five in college and one in the National Football League. All six are African Americans with sickle cell trait (SCT). The acute low back pain is severe and can be disabling, and the condition can be confused with muscle strain, discogenic pain, stress fracture, or other problems in athletes. Our evidence shows that this syndrome is caused by lumbar paraspinal myonecrosis (LPSMN), which likely often contributes to the lumbar paraspinal compartment syndrome...

Many strength and conditioning professionals have included the use of foam rolling devices within a warm-up routine prior to both training and competition. Multiple studies have investigated foam rolling in regards to performance, flexibility, and rehabilitation; however, additional research is necessary in supporting the topic. Furthermore, as multiple foam rolling progressions exist, researching differences that may result from each is required. To investigate differences in foam rolling progressions, 16 athletically trained males underwent a 2-condition within-subjects protocol comparing the differences of 2 common foam rolling progressions in regards to performance testing...

Although hamstring strains are common among professional football players, proximal tendon avulsions are relatively rare. Surgical repair is recommended, but there is no evidence on professional football players return to play (RTP). We hypothesized that surgical reattachment of complete proximal hamstring ruptures in these athletes would enable successful RTP. Ten proximal hamstring avulsions were identified in 10 National Football League (NFL) players between 1990 and 2008. Participating team physicians retrospectively reviewed each player's training room and clinical records, operative notes, and imaging studies...

BACKGROUND: Distal quadriceps tendon tears are uncommon injuries that typically occur in patients older than 40 years of age, and they have a guarded prognosis. Predisposing factors, prodromal findings, mechanisms of injury, treatment guidelines, and recovery expectations are not well described in high-level athletes. HYPOTHESIS: Professional American football players with an isolated tear of the quadriceps tendon treated with timely surgical repair will return to their sport...

The National Football League (NFL)-225 test has gained popularity for assessing muscular performance among college football programs. Although the test is a measure of absolute muscular endurance, it was reputed to be highly correlated with maximum muscular strength. The purposes of this study were to assess the predictive potential of the NFL-225 test for estimating 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press performance in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college football players and to evaluate the accuracy of previous NFL-225 prediction equations...

BACKGROUND: Syndesmotic sprains may be a significant source of missed playing time, especially in football players. Advanced imaging is frequently used to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Our purpose was to evaluate the prognostic ability of MRI in predicting time of disability. METHODS: Training room records from 1993 to 2007 for three National Football League teams were reviewed. Forty-three players were diagnosed with syndesmotic ankle injuries and underwent radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging...

The purpose of this study was to describe stance foot and ankle kinematics and the associated ground reaction forces at the upper end of human performance in professional football players during commonly performed football-specific tasks. Nine participants were recruited from the spring training squad of a professional football team. In a motion analysis laboratory setting, participants performed three activities used at the NFL Scouting Combine to assess player speed and agility: the 3-cone drill, the shuttle run, and the standing high jump...

BACKGROUND: Although knee injuries are common among professional football players, ruptures of the patellar tendon are relatively rare. Predisposing factors, mechanisms of injury, treatment guidelines, and recovery expectations are not well established in high-level athletes. HYPOTHESIS: Professional football players with isolated rupture of the patellar tendon treated with timely surgical repair will return to their sport. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4...

The objective of this study was to investigate the predictive ability of National Football League (NFL) combine physical test data to predict draft order over the years 2005-2009. The NFL combine provides a setting in which NFL personnel can evaluate top draft prospects. The predictive ability of combine data in its raw form and when normalized in both a ratio and allometric manner was examined for 17 positions. Data from 8 combine physical performance tests were correlated with draft order to determine the direction and strength of relationship between the various combine measures and draft order...

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Prior studies have suggested that the prevalence of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) among players in the National Football League (NFL) is disproportionately high. SDB can increase cardiovascular disease risk and is correlated with hypertension. NFL players have a higher prevalence of hypertension, and we sought to determine the prevalence of SDB among players the NFL and the associations of SDB with anthropometric measures and cardiovascular risk factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort study...

AIMS: We characterized the size of active National Football League (NFL) players by multiple criteria and analyzed their relation to traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors with the objective of further clarifying the occurrence of cardiovascular risk factors in different player positions. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in professional athletic training facilities. The participants were 504 active veteran players from a convenience sample of 12 NFL teams, grouped as interior linemen (IL) or all others (AO)...

CONTEXT: Considerable controversy regarding fluid replacement during exercise currently exists. OBJECTIVE: To compare fluid turnover between National Football League (NFL) players who have constant fluid access and collegiate football players who replace fluids during water breaks in practices. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Respective preseason training camps of 1 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II (DII) football team and 1 NFL football team...

CONTEXT: Concern exists about the cardiovascular health implications of large size among professional football players and those players who aspire to professional status. OBJECTIVES: To assess cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in active National Football League (NFL) players and to compare these findings with data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional study of 504 active, veteran football players from a convenience sample of 12 NFL teams at professional athletic training facilities between April and July 2007...