Risk factors for injuries and other health problems sustained in a marathon. (1/1485)

OBJECTIVES: To identify risk factors for injuries and other health problems occurring during or immediately after participation in a marathon. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was undertaken of participants in the 1993 Auckland Citibank marathon. Demographic data, information on running experience, training and injuries, and information on other lifestyle factors were obtained from participants before the race using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Information on injuries and other health problems sustained during or immediately after the marathon were obtained by a self administered questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses were undertaken to identify significant risk factors for health problems. RESULTS: This study, one of only a few controlled epidemiological studies that have been undertaken of running injuries, has identified a number of risk factors for injuries and other health problems sustained in a marathon. Men were at increased risk of hamstring and calf problems, whereas women were at increased risk of hip problems. Participation in a marathon for the first time, participation in other sports, illness in the two weeks before the marathon, current use of medication, and drinking alcohol once a month or more, were associated with increased self reported risks of problems. While increased training seemed to increase the risk of front thigh and hamstring problems, it may decrease the risk of knee problems. There are significant but complex relations between age and risk of injury or health problem. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified certain high risk subjects and risk factors for injuries and other health problems sustained in a marathon. In particular, subjects who have recently been unwell or are taking medication should weigh up carefully the pros and cons of participating.  (+info)

Factors influencing tackle injuries in rugby union football. (2/1485)

OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of selected aspects of lifestyle, personality, and other player related factors on injuries in the tackle. To describe the detailed circumstances in which these tackles occurred. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was undertaken in which the tackling and tackled players ("the cases") involved in a tackle injury were each matched with "control" players who held the same respective playing positions in the opposing teams. A total of 964 rugby matches involving 71 senior clubs drawn from all districts of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) were observed by nominated linkmen who administered self report questionnaires to the players identified as cases and controls. Information on lifestyle habits, match preparation, training, and coaching experience was obtained. A validated battery of psychological tests assessed players' trait anger and responses to anger and hostility. The circumstances of the tackles in which injury occurred were recorded by experienced SRU coaching staff in interviews with involved players after the match. RESULTS: A total of 71 tackle injury episodes with correct matching of cases and controls were studied. The following player related factors did not contribute significantly to tackle injuries: alcohol consumption before the match, feeling "below par" through minor illness, the extent of match preparation, previous coaching, or practising tackling. Injured and non-injured players in the tackle did not differ in their disposition toward, or expression of, anger or hostility. Some 85% of tackling players who were injured were three quarters, and 52% of injuries occurred when the tackle came in behind the tackled player or within his peripheral vision. Either the tackling or tackled player was sprinting or running in all of these injury episodes. One third of injuries occurred in differential speed tackles--that is, when one player was travelling much faster than the other at impact. The player with the lower momentum was injured in 80% of these cases. Forceful or crunching tackles resulting in injury mostly occurred head on or within the tackled player's side vision. CONCLUSIONS: Attention should be focused on high speed tackles going in behind the tackled player's line of vision. Comparative information on the circumstances of the vast majority of tackles in which no injury occurs is required before any changes are considered to reduce injuries in the tackle.  (+info)

Rider injury rates and emergency medical services at equestrian events. (3/1485)

BACKGROUND: Horse riding is a hazardous pastime, with a number of studies documenting high rates of injury and death among horse riders in general. This study focuses on the injury experience of cross country event riders, a high risk subset of horse riders. METHOD: Injury data were collected at a series of 35 equestrian events in South Australia from 1990 to 1998. RESULTS: Injury rates were found to be especially high among event riders, with frequent falls, injuries, and even deaths. The highest injury rates were among the riders competing at the highest levels. CONCLUSION: There is a need for skilled emergency medical services at equestrian events.  (+info)

Penetrating sledding injuries to the lower torso--2 case reports. (4/1485)

Sledding accidents are frequent and vary in severity. Penetrating sledding injuries are uncommon but may be devastating. Snow-racers--sleds with both steering and braking devices--may be associated with an increased rate of injury. The authors present 2 cases of lower-torso penetrating trauma associated with the use of snow-racers. Both cases involved penetration--of the perineum in one case and the inguinal area in the other--by wooden sticks. Both patients recovered fully after prompt surgical intervention. The authors suggest that the absence of a protective panel at the front of the snow-racer may result in the sledder's lower torso being more exposed to objects encountered while sledding. The injuries reported raise concerns about the safety of modern sleds and the possibility that design changes are needed.  (+info)

Modified Bankart procedure for recurrent anterior dislocation and subluxation of the shoulder in athletes. (5/1485)

Thirty-four athletes (34 shoulders) with recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability were treated with a modified Bankart procedure, using a T-shaped capsular incision in the anterior capsule. The inferior flap was advanced medially and/or superiorly and rigidly fixed at the point of the Bankart lesion by a small cancellous screw and a spike-washer. The superior flap was advanced inferiority and sutured over the inferior flap. Twenty-five athletes (median age: 22) were evaluated over a mean period of follow-up of 65 months. The clinical results were graded, according to Rowe, as 22 (88%) excellent, 3 (12%) good, and none as fair or poor. The mean postoperative range of movement was 92 degrees of external rotation in 90 degrees of abduction. Elevation and internal rotation was symmetrical with the opposite side. Twenty-four patients returned to active sport, 22 at their previous level. This modified Bankart procedure is an effective treatment for athletes with recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability.  (+info)

Incidence and causes of tenosynovitis of the wrist extensors in long distance paddle canoeists. (6/1485)

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence and causes of acute tenosynovitis of the forearm of long distance canoeists. METHOD: A systematic sample of canoeists competing in four canoe marathons were interviewed. The interview included questions about the presence and severity of pain in the forearm and average training distances. Features of the paddles and canoes were determined. RESULTS: An average of 23% of the competitors in each race developed this condition. The incidence was significantly higher in the dominant than the nondominant hand but was unrelated to the type of canoe and the angle of the paddle blades. Canoeists who covered more than 100 km a week for eight weeks preceding the race had a significantly lower incidence of tenosynovitis than those who trained less. Environmental conditions during racing, including fast flowing water, high winds, and choppy waters, and the paddling techniques, especially hyperextension of the wrist during the pushing phase of the stroke, were both related to the incidence of tenosynovitis. CONCLUSION: Tenosynovitis is a common injury in long distance canoeists. The study suggests that development of tenosynovitis is not related to the equipment used, but is probably caused by difficult paddling conditions, in particular uneven surface conditions, which may cause an altered paddling style. However, a number of factors can affect canoeing style. Level of fitness and the ability to balance even a less stable canoe, thereby maintaining optimum paddling style without repeated eccentric loading of the forearm tendons to limit hyperextension of the wrist, would seem to be important.  (+info)

Sonographic incidence of tendon microtears in athletes with chronic Achilles tendinosis. (7/1485)

OBJECTIVE: To assess the number and distribution of tendon microtears in asymptomatic controls and athletes with chronic Achilles tendinitis or partial thickness tears using high resolution ultrasound. METHODS: The mean number of microtears in three random tendon cross sections were recorded per tendon third in 19 asymptomatic volunteers, 16 athletes with symptomatic chronic Achilles tendinitis, and eight athletes with partial Achilles tendon rupture. RESULTS: Microtears were most numerous in the middle third section of the Achilles tendon. Some 67% of tendons in the control group had no microtears, and 28% showed a single microtear. Only 18% of the athletes with chronic Achilles tendinitis and none of the athletes with partial tendon rupture were without microtears in the middle third of their Achilles tendon. Of the tendons with chronic tendinitis, 13% had more than three microtears per section which increased to 87% in tendons exhibiting partial rupture. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be an association between microtear formation and Achilles tendon rupture.  (+info)

Safe relief of rest pain that eases with activity in achillodynia by intrabursal or peritendinous steroid injection: the rupture rate was not increased by these steroid injections. (8/1485)

A history of morning and rest pain that eases with activity was found to improve after anti-inflammatory injections around the paratenon or within the Achilles bursae. The reduction in pain morbidity was significant, and the peritendinous steroid injections did not increase the rupture rate.  (+info)

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