Category: Knee ligaments

The author of an abstract, “The Influence of Return to Sport on Mental Health, Physical Activity and Quality of Life Among Adolescent Athletes During COVID-19,” will present his findings at the AAP 2022 National Conference and Exhibition in Anaheim, CA.

“Organized sports participation has been shown for decades to have significant physical and mental health benefits for adolescents, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made this even clearer,” said author Drew Watson, MD, MS, team physician for athletics from the University of Wisconsin.

“The cessation of sports during the early pandemic was associated with reduced physical activity and quality of life, as well as surprisingly high levels of anxiety and depression. Although the return to sport has been associated with major improvements in physical activity, quality of life and mental health, we are still seeing higher levels of anxiety and depression than before COVID-19, suggesting this will be a crucial priority in the coming years to stay.”

According to the summary, a total of 17,421 teens nationwide completed surveys in May 2020, including information on demographics and sports participation, following cancellations of sporting events related to COVID-19 and following their return to sports in May 2021.

When sports were stopped, adolescent athletes reported low levels of physical activity, poor quality of life, and high rates of anxiety and depression. A year later, the athletes who were able to return to sports reported a significant increase in physical activity and quality of life. The percentage of adolescents reporting moderate to severe anxiety or depression fell by about half.

Dr. Watson suggests that the opportunity to participate in organized sports can have dramatic benefits for adolescents’ quality of life and mental health.

The FIFA 11+ Kids Injury Prevention Program reduces injuries among male football players: a clustered randomized controlled trial.

Al Attar WSA, Bizzini M, Alzahrani H, Alarifi S, Ghulam H, Alyami M, Alzhrani M, Sanders RH. Sports Health. July 28, 2022: 19417381221109224. doi: 10.1177/19417381221109224. E-publishing prior to printing. PMID: 35903029.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35903029/

Take home message

Footballing children who completed the FIFA 11+ Kids program suffered fewer injuries than those who completed the normal warm-up.

Background

Children under the age of 14 sustain almost 44% of all football injuries. Warm-up programs for injury prevention could reduce the number of injuries in this population and future health care costs. However, we know little about the effectiveness of these programs in youth football.

Study aim

The authors evaluated the effect of the FIFA 11+ Kids injury prevention program on reducing the incidence of injuries among male Saudi Arabian football players aged 7 to 13 years.

Methods

The authors conducted a cluster randomized control trial to assess the effect of the 11+ Kids program on reducing injuries in 7- to 13-year-old football players over 1 season (August 2018 – January 2019). The authors sent recruitment letters to 100 male soccer teams (825 athletes) participating in the Saudi Federation of Sports Medicine and Saudi Soccer Federation soccer teams. In response, 88 teams (740 players) agreed and completed the study. The authors randomized 45 soccer teams into the 11+ Kids program (377 athletes). The 11+ Kids program consisted of a 15-20 minute warm-up (7 exercises; 5 levels; focused on balance, core stability and optimization of falling technique) to be performed twice a week instead of a regular warm-up . The control group (43 teams, 363 athletes) performed their regular warm-up regimen, which was defined as basic exercises performed before a match or training to prepare the player for vigorous physical activity. The authors defined an injury as one that prevented a player from fully participating in the next match or training session.

Results

The soccer players who completed the 11+ Kids program had ~57% fewer injuries than players who performed a traditional warm-up. The benefit of the 11+ Kids program appears to apply to contact, non-contact and overuse injuries. The authors provide a detailed overview of the different types of injuries, but in many of them only a few athletes (<5 athletes) had an injury, making it difficult to interpret.

Viewpoints

Overall, athletes who completed the 11+ Kids program suffered 57% fewer injuries than the control group, demonstrating the need for prevention programs such as the FIFA 11+ Kids in youth soccer programs. These findings are consistent with a wealth of research showing that prevention programs work and can be easily implemented in less than 15 minutes. In this study, the coaches used the program just twice a week and saw benefits, suggesting that coaches do not need to completely abolish their existing warm-up programs. While we often focus on high school and college athletes, it’s reassuring to see these programs working for elementary and middle school players.

Clinical implications

Medical professionals should encourage youth coaches to use injury prevention warm-up programs, such as FIFA 11+ Kids, to reduce injuries at this level and promote positive future health outcomes.

Questions for discussion

What is the best way to distribute this information to the youth leagues? Does your youth athlete perform a structured warm-up? Do you think this is easy to implement?

related posts

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2. 11+ Kids program prevents serious injuries
3. FIFA 11…(but actually FIFA 11+) programs are effective in reducing football injuries
4. An ounce of prevention = money saved!
5. FIFA 11+ reduces the risk of injuries for football players
6. FIFA 11+ improves performance and reduces injuries in football

Written by: Jane McDevitt
Review by: Jeffrey Driban

Authors of the abstract “National Trends in Pediatric e-Scooter Injury” found hundreds of e-scooter injuries between 2011 and 2020. Patient hospitalizations have increased from less than 1 in 20 e-scooter injuries in 2011 to 1 in 8 requiring hospitalization for care in 2020.

“The number of annual e-scooter injuries increased between 2011 and 2020, likely in part due to the rising popularity of e-scooter ride-sharing apps,” said lead author Harrison Hayward, MD, Emergency Medicine fellow at Children’s National Hospital. “Our research has characterized the spectrum of injuries that occur in children, allowing emergency physicians to prepare to care for them and parents and families to practice better safety.”

Researchers examined a national database of e-scooter injuries to children seen in the emergency departments of more than 100 U.S. hospitals between 2011 and 2020 to find out what types of injuries children suffered and if there were any trends. More than 10% of all patients had head injuries, including concussion, skull fractures and internal bleeding. The most common injuries were arm fractures (27%), followed by minor abrasions (22%) and cuts requiring stitches (17%). The mean age was 11.1 years and 59% of patients were male. Hospital admissions increased from 4.2% in 2011 to 12.9% in 2020.

“Parents whose children ride e-scooters need to know how best to be safe. That’s why helmets are a must, as more than 10% of reported cases involved head injuries,” said Dr. Hayward. “Children should absolutely wear helmets when riding an e-scooter. Research has broadly shown that helmets save the lives of cyclists, and we should think the same way about e-scooters.”

The authors received no financial support for this research.

Coach training improves adherence to anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention programs: a cluster randomized controlled trial. Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine

Ling, Daphne I; Boyle, Caroline; Schneider, Brandon; Janosky, Joseph; Childservant, James; Marx, Robert G. Clin J Sport Med. July 2022 – Part 32 – Number 4 – p. 348-354. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000936

Free article freely available

Take home message

Coaches who received education about anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention were more likely to include it in their warm-up. Personal training sessions increased the use of proper alignment cues and the incorporation of a complete prevention program.

Background

Neuromuscular training programs can reduce an athlete’s chance of an ACL injury and can be incorporated as a simple warm-up. However, few coaches use warm-up programs for injury prevention.

Study aim

Ling and colleagues completed a cluster randomized controlled trial to investigate whether live educational training for coaches with take-home documents led to better adherence to a neuromuscular training program for their teams than coaches who only received program information via email received.

Methods

The authors recruited coaches via email to athletic directors at high schools with which the authors’ institution had ties. The authors excluded schools that had previously implemented a neuromuscular training warm-up program. High schools interested in participating in the study were randomized to receive live education for coaches with reference documents or educational documents only. Coaches from schools randomized to the intervention attended a live education session and received a reference video and follow-up documents for a series of neuromuscular training warm-up routines (beginner to elite) containing 7-10 exercises. Coaches from schools in the control group only received the documents in an email. Trained data collectors observed all teams 2-3 times per week during both practices and games. They checked that the coaches performed the neuromuscular training exercises, provided instructions on the correct execution and gave the correct instructions for the technique.

Results

The authors randomized 8 high schools, including 21 teams. Over two seasons, the data collectors observed 399 practices or games and 2,579 practices. Coaches in the intervention group used ~7 exercises per session, while coaches in the control group used only ~6 exercises. More coaches in the intervention completed a full neuromuscular training warm-up program and provided prompts to correct incorrect techniques than coaches who only received the documents.

Viewpoints

As I suspect, the findings of this study support training coaches on proper techniques and drills in a live format. The authors used a combination of lectures and practical skills training during a 1-hour teaching session. Completing this educational session allowed coaches to ask questions, gain clarity and better understand the need to implement the program properly throughout the season. Having data collectors on site regularly throughout the seasons may have made coaches more compliant. However, coaches did not know when the data collectors would be present, making the data valid because coaches did not perform the prevention exercises in a performative manner only because they believed they were being watched. It would be interesting to see if this educational session could help coaches in more high schools and if other teachers could effectively deliver this educational session.

Clinical implications

Clinicians should organize educational workshops for coaches to help them implement proven ACL injury prevention programs as part of their warm-up routine. These workshops can be provided by the physician, another local health care professional, or a coach with experience using these programs.

Questions for discussion

Would the implementation of exercises be higher if coaches could choose from a group of useful exercises for their team, thereby increasing “buy-in”?

Would governing bodies that approve programs and recommend training of coaches in these programs specific to their sport increase adherence and appropriate implementation or discourage participation?

Written by Shelly Fetchen DiCesaro
Reviewed by Jeffrey Driban

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The study, published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, examined Division I and II female cross-country runners, who often suffer from bone stress injuries such as stress fractures. The researchers found that athletes who ran at a younger age and participated in sports that require movement in many directions – such as basketball or football – had better bone structure and strength than those who only walked, swam or cycled.

As a result, the study’s findings support recommendations that athletes delay specialization in running and practice multi-directional sports when they are younger, to build a more robust skeleton – and possibly prevent bone stress injuries.

“Our data shows that playing multi-directional sports at a younger age rather than specializing in one sport, such as running, reduces a person’s risk of bone injuries by developing a larger, stronger skeleton,” said Stuart Warden, associate dean for research and Chancellor’s Professor at the IU School. of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI. “There is a common misconception that children need to specialize in a single sport to succeed at the next level. However, recent data indicate that athletes who specialize at a young age are at greater risk of an overuse injury and are less likely to progress to another sport. higher levels of competition.”

Historically, Warden said, researchers have examined bone mass — how much bone a person has — to determine how healthy their skeleton will be throughout life. But in previous studies, Warden and his colleagues found that as a person ages, both mass and size are equally important.

In the current study, the researchers used high-resolution imaging to assess the tibia near the ankle and the bones in the feet, where bone strain injuries are common in runners. They found that the athletes who participated in both running and multi-directional sports at a younger age had 10 to 20 percent more bone strength than athletes who only ran.

“Our research shows that the runners who participated in multi-directional sports at a younger age had stronger bones than collegiate athletes, putting them at lower risk for bone stress injuries, including stress fractures,” Warden said. “We want to ensure that people have better, stronger bones as they grow, become adolescents and go through life. If they specialize in one sport at too young an age, they are more likely to get injured and not make it to collegiate and professional level.”

Warden said anyone supervising a junior athlete or team — whether parents, coaches or trainers — should think twice about forcing them to specialize in one area too early. To allow for proper growth and development, he recommends that young athletes not specialize until their freshman year of high school. For athletes who already play multi-directional sports, he said it’s important that they take time off during the year for rest and recovery, which can improve both bone strength and performance.

Other authors of the study included Austin Sventeckis, Ph.D. student, and Robyn Fuchs, associate professor, from the IU School of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI, and Rachel Surowiec from the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI.

The study, published in the American College of Sports Medicine’s Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, examined Division I and II female cross-country runners, who often suffer from bone stress injuries such as stress fractures. The researchers found that athletes who ran at a younger age and participated in sports that require movement in many directions – such as basketball or football – had better bone structure and strength than those who only walked, swam or cycled.

As a result, the study’s findings support recommendations that athletes delay specialization in running and practice multi-directional sports when they are younger, to build a more robust skeleton – and possibly prevent bone stress injuries.

“Our data shows that playing multi-directional sports at a younger age rather than specializing in one sport, such as running, reduces a person’s risk of bone injuries by developing a larger, stronger skeleton,” said Stuart Warden, associate dean for research and Chancellor’s Professor at the IU School. of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI. “There is a common misconception that children need to specialize in a single sport to succeed at the next level. However, recent data indicate that athletes who specialize at a young age are at greater risk of an overuse injury and are less likely to progress to another sport. higher levels of competition.”

Historically, Warden said, researchers have examined bone mass — how much bone a person has — to determine how healthy their skeleton will be throughout life. But in previous studies, Warden and his colleagues found that as a person ages, both mass and size are equally important.

In the current study, the researchers used high-resolution imaging to assess the tibia near the ankle and the bones in the feet, where bone strain injuries are common in runners. They found that the athletes who participated in both running and multi-directional sports at a younger age had 10 to 20 percent more bone strength than athletes who only ran.

“Our research shows that the runners who participated in multi-directional sports at a young age had stronger bones than collegiate athletes, putting them at lower risk for bone stress injuries, including stress fractures,” Warden said. “We want to ensure that people have better, stronger bones as they grow, become adolescents and go through life. If they specialize in one sport at too young an age, they are more likely to get injured and not make it to collegiate and professional level.”

Warden said anyone supervising a junior athlete or team — whether parents, coaches or trainers — should think twice about forcing them to specialize in one area too early. To allow for proper growth and development, he recommends that young athletes not specialize until their freshman year of high school. For athletes who already play multi-directional sports, he said it’s important that they take time off during the year for rest and recovery, which can improve both bone strength and performance.

Other authors of the study included Austin Sventeckis, Ph.D. student, and Robyn Fuchs, associate professor, from the IU School of Health and Human Sciences at IUPUI, and Rachel Surowiec from the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI.

Running shoes to prevent running injuries to the lower extremities in adults