athlete's assessment

BACKGROUND: Studies involving human fibroblasts and use of human growth hormone (HGH) administration for injury recovery are limited. It is plausible that if the administration of HGH to human cells increased cellular proliferation and differentiation, then HGH might be able to assist in accelerating recovery from injury. HYPOTHESIS: HGH will increase proliferation and differentiation of human tendon and ligament fibroblasts in vitro based on both a single-dose and a sustained-dose model of HGH administration...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of high school sports in spring 2020, a modified resumption of sports in the 2020-2021 academic year, and a return to pre-pandemic sports in 2021-2022. This cancellation had a major impact on the quality of life of adolescent athletes, but it is unknown exactly how these pandemic-driven sports disruptions on athlete baseline (preseason) symptoms affected quality of life. Therefore, the current study retrospectively evaluated symptom inventories from Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) assessments to determine whether the cancellation of sports during the COVID-19 pandemic affected baseline (preseason) self-reported symptoms among adolescent athletes...

Long-term athletic training can result in structural and conduction changes within the heart, leading to Athlete's heart syndrome (AHS). This syndrome is characterized by increased left ventricle (LV) dimensions, thickness, and mass. Dynamic exercise significantly contributes to these alterations, with sinus bradycardia being a common conduction abnormality, often accompanied by first-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. However, higher degrees of AV conduction abnormalities, such as second- and third-degree blocks, though rare, might occur due to parasympathetic hypertonia...

BACKGROUND: Malalignment has been suggested as a predisposing factor for the development of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLTs). PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of realignment surgery in patients with a large cystic OLT of the talar shoulder and concurrent malalignment of the foot and ankle. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: The authors reviewed consecutive patients with large cystic OLTs (diameter, >10 mm) of the talar shoulder and concurrent malalignment of the foot and ankle who underwent realignment surgery between September 2013 and April 2021...

BACKGROUND: The potential intra-articular effects of ≥1 year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with independent suture tape augmentation (STA) are not fully understood. PURPOSE: To investigate whether incorporating suture tape in an all-soft tissue quadriceps tendon autograft (QTA) ACLR leads to satisfactory patient outcomes while having no intra-articular side effects as determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4...

The sport of cycling consists of several individual sporting disciplines. Indeed, the world governing body for cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), oversees the various cycling disciplines, with each of these disciplines having a number of subcategories. While several sports have undertaken prospective injury surveillance studies to understand the risks of their sport, plan event medical support and develop prevention programmes, limited high-quality studies have been undertaken within cycling. Indeed, this is the first prospective study of cycling injuries, particularly when considering the whole sport of cycling together...

INTRODUCTION: The process of bar creation involves improving the texture of the product to increase its palatability, which can be further induced by various physical or chemical changes during storage, such as sugar crystallization and molecular migrations in which Maillard's reaction occurs, forming the N-epsilon- (carboxymethyl) lysine (CML) adduct. In this study, we aimed to assess (the CML) adduct used in commercial bars today as meal substitutes or for athletic or sports purposes...

BACKGROUND: Military recruits and athletes have high occurrence of stress fractures, with very high incidence among military recruits. Symptomatic stress fractures can be disabling in some people. This study aims at identifying pattern and distribution of such fractures in Nepal Police trainee and assess the risk factors and demographics that may help to develop the local guidelines. METHODS: This study analysed 65 police trainees who presented to the orthopaedic Out Patient Department at Nepal Police and Province Police Hospital diagnosed as a case of stress fracture from 29 December, 2020 to 29 December, 2021...

BACKGROUND: Increased training and competition demands of the in-season period may disturb athlete fatigue and recovery balance. The aim of this study was to describe the training load distribution applied in a competitive period and the training adaptations and fatigue/recovery status of elite water polo players. HYPOTHESIS: Effective workload management during tapering (TAP) would restore player recovery and enhance performance. STUDY DESIGN: Case series...

BACKGROUND: The aim was to investigate the effect of the KNEE program on postural control as measured by the modified Star Excursion Balance test (mSEBT) in Australian club level netball players. METHODS: Two netball teams from Netball NSW Premier-League were recruited and randomized to complete either the KNEE program or a traditional warm-up. Cumulative, anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions of the mSEBT were measured for both limbs at baseline, 8-weeks, and 5-months...

PURPOSE: Accurate assessment of the knee joint line is essential for surgeries involving the knee. The knee joint line obliquity (KJLO) is a radiological measurement that evaluates the position of the knee joint relative to the ground and is frequently used in preoperative planning and clinical follow-up. On the other hand, coronal plane alignment of the knee (CPAK) classifications assesses the joint line as the summation of the medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA) and mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA)...

The aim of this systematic review is to comprehensively assess the weight loss (WL) practices in different combat sports (CS). The review protocol was preregistered with PROSPERO [CRD42023487196]. Three databases were searched (Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and PubMed) until 8 December 2023. Eligible studies had to meet five criteria: they must have been (a) written in English, (b) published in a peer-reviewed journal, (c) used a survey design to investigate the WL practices of CS athletes, and (d) reported the WL methods used by athletes using a five-point scale...

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5 methoxytryptamine) is an indolic neurohormone that modulates a variety of physiological functions due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory properties. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to critically review the effects of melatonin supplementation in sports performance and circulating biomarkers related to the health status of highly trained athletes. Data were obtained by performing searches in the following three bibliography databases: Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of eating disorders and attitudes toward one's own body among football players at amateur and professional levels. METHODS: The study included 90 players from football clubs located in the Upper Silesia Metropolitan Area, participating in the 4th and 5th leagues in Poland. A survey questionnaire was used to conduct the study, which consisted of a metric section, an Eating Attitudes Test, and Body Esteem Scale questionnaires...

Background: Skin injuries often affect the sports community. Almost every type of athletic activity is associated with traumatic skin injuries, such as surface wounds, bruising, abrasions, subcutaneous hematomas, blunt trauma, nail injuries, friction burns, and blisters. Methods: The aim of this study was to assess the rates, location sites, and seasons of appearance of skin injuries in beach volleyball athletes in Greece. Seven hundred and eighty-five beach volleyball athletes participated in this study. The average age was 28...

The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive resource for shoulder proprioception assessment and its integration into clinical decision making as well as targeted rehabilitation protocols. Data for this review were acquired from peer-reviewed articles from computerized online databases, namely PubMed and Medline, published between 1906 and 2021. The development of digital/smart phone goniometers can improve shoulder joint range of motion (ROM) measurements and demonstrate comparable measurement accuracy to the universal standard goniometer...

Background: An advanced radiological stage and obesity are predictive of poorer and shorter responses to viscosupplementation in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Very little is known regarding the impact of other factors such as sport practice, comorbidities, or anatomical features of OA. Methods: This study aimed to investigate patients' and OA characteristics associated with the duration of the effectiveness (DE) of viscosupplementation in patients with knee OA. It was a cross-sectional, single-centre clinical trial in patients with knee OA treated with intra-articular (IA) hyaluronic acid (HA) injection(s) within the previous 3 years...

INTRODUCTION: The potential consequences of repeated concussions in sport are well documented. However, it remains unclear whether the cumulative impact of sports-related concussions differs between different contact sports. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the cumulative effects of sports-related concussions on clinical and neurocognitive health in different contact sports. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a prospective multicenter study, we examined 507 (74 females) active professional athletes between 18 and 40 years of age from five different contact sports (soccer, handball, American football, basketball, and ice hockey)...

BACKGROUND: In contrast to other musculoskeletal tissues, the normal pressure behavior of the Achilles tendon is poorly understood. This study aimed to explore the normal intratendinous and perfusion pressures of the Achilles tendon at rest and during exercise, and investigate potential correlations with tendon load and morphology. HYPOTHESIS: Intratendinous and perfusion pressures of the Achilles tendon exhibit similarities to other musculoskeletal tissues and depend on tendon load and morphology...

Pre-participation screening and management of congenital cardiac valvulopathy in competitive athletes can be challenging, particularly within the context of ultra-endurance disciplines. A 55-year-old female athlete without a reported history of cardiac disease exhibited clinical signs of cardiogenic pulmonary edema during a 156 km ultra-trail race. The echocardiographic assessment revealed the presence of a parachute mitral valve, with no evidence of mitral stenosis or regurgitation at rest, but it demonstrated severe dynamic mitral stenosis during exercise...