Medicine and science in sports and exercise
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Aug 2008
Predictive value of orthopedic evaluation and injury history at the NFL combine.
The National Football League (NFL) holds an annual combine to evaluate college football athletes likely to be drafted for physical skills, to review their medical history, and to perform a physical examination. The athletes receive an orthopedic grade on their ability to participate in the NFL. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that this orthopedic rating at the combine predicts the percent of athletes who play in the NFL and the length of their careers. ⋯ This is the first study to report on the predictive value of a grading system for college athletes before participation in professional sports. Other professional sports may benefit from using a similar grading system for the evaluation of potential players.
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Med Sci Sports Exerc · Aug 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialBeta-glucan, immune function, and upper respiratory tract infections in athletes.
This study investigated the effects of oat beta-glucan (BG) supplementation on chronic resting immunity, exercise-induced changes in immune function, and self-reported upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) incidence in human endurance athletes. ⋯ An 18-d period of BG versus P ingestion did not alter chronic resting or exercise-induced changes in immune function or URTI incidence in cyclists during the 2-wk period after an intensified exercise.
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At present, the risk of myocardial damage by endurance exercise is under debate because of reports on exercise-associated increases in cardiac biomarkers troponin and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP); these markers are typically elevated in patients with acute myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure, respectively. Exercise-associated elevations of cardiac biomarkers can be present in elite and in recreational athletes, especially after prolonged and strenuous endurance exercise bouts (e.g., marathon and ultratriathlon). ⋯ In addition, elevations in cardiac biomarkers in athletes after exercise may generate difficulties for clinicians in terms of differential diagnosis and may result in inappropriate consequences. Therefore, the aim of this article is to provide an overview of exercise-associated alterations of the cardiac biomarkers troponin T and I, ischemia-modified albumin, BNP, and its cleaved inactive fragment N-terminal pro BNP for the athlete, coach, scientist, and clinician.