Journal of athletic training
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Research is limited regarding the effects of injury or surgery history and sex on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and Y Balance Test (YBT). ⋯ Injury history and sex affected FMS and YBT performance. Researchers should consider adjusting for confounders.
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Recent injury-surveillance data for collegiate-level cross-country athletes are limited. ⋯ Consistent with prior research, injury distributions varied between male and female athletes, and the injury rate among females was higher. Understanding the epidemiology of these cross-country injuries may be important for developing appropriate preventive interventions.
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The Inter-Association Task Force for the Appropriate Care of the Spine-Injured Athlete recommends leaving a football player's helmet in place and removing the face mask from the helmet "as quickly as possible and with as little movement of the head and neck as possible." Although 2 groups have studied face-mask removal from new equipment, to our knowledge no researchers have investigated equipment that has been previously used. A full season of play may have a significant effect on football equipment and its associated hardware. Countless impacts, weather, playing surfaces, sweat, and other unforeseen or unknown variables might make the face-mask removal process more difficult on equipment that has been used. ⋯ Based on our results and previous findings that demonstrated quicker access time and reduced head movement associated with the use of the screwdriver compared with cutting tools, the former may be a good tool for face-mask removal. However, an appropriate cutting tool must be immediately available should the screwdriver fail. Helmet hardware adjacent to ear holes was more vulnerable to failure, perhaps because it is protected by less padding than the top hardware. Possible causes of the higher failure rate at school 1 are the use of hardware materials subject to rust and corrosion and differences in helmet brand; these areas warrant future research and rules consideration.
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To provide certified athletic trainers, team physicians, emergency responders, and other health care professionals with recommendations on how to best manage a catastrophic cervical spine injury in the athlete. ⋯ Recommendations are based on current evidence pertaining to prevention strategies to reduce the incidence of cervical spine injuries in sport; emergency planning and preparation to increase management efficiency; maintaining or creating neutral alignment in the cervical spine; accessing and maintaining the airway; stabilizing and transferring the athlete with a suspected cervical spine injury; managing the athlete participating in an equipment-laden sport, such as football, hockey, or lacrosse; and considerations in the emergency department.
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Comparative Study
Subcutaneous thigh fat assessment: a comparison of skinfold calipers and ultrasound imaging.
Skinfold calipers (SC) typically are used to determine subcutaneous fat thicknesses. Identifying the exact separation of muscle and fat can complicate measurements. Ultrasound imaging (USI) might provide a better technique for analyzing subcutaneous fat thicknesses. ⋯ We found strong correlations between the SC and USI; however, the large limits of agreement and increasing mean differences with larger fat thicknesses were a concern in terms of using this tool. When measuring subcutaneous fat thickness of the thigh, SC tended to overestimate thickness in individuals with higher fat values.