The collegiate spring football season, which currently consists of five noncontact and ten contact practices, has been associated with a high incidence of injury. This study uses NCAA Injury Surveillance System (ISS) data to compare injury patterns in collegiate fall (FF) and spring (SF) football over the past four seasons. A reportable injury was defined as restricting the athlete's participating for at least one day. An athlete-exposure (A-E) was recorded for each individual participating in each practice or game. Results showed that the four-year practice injury rate for SF (9.0 injuries/1000 A-E) was more than double that of FF (4.0 injuries/1000 A-E). The top three types of injuries (knee, ankle, and shoulder) were identical in SF and FF with similar percentages of all reported injuries. Specific analysis of injury severity (time loss and required surgery), concussions, and new injuries also showed a higher rate in spring practice. There was little difference in the types of injuries that occurred in SF and FF: the SF injury incidence was just greater. Variables such as training, intensity, and recovery time may be factors in the increased SF injury rates. Reducing the number of contact practices in the spring may be one way of normalizing injury rates.

“This book gives a nice summary of the current state of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of bone stress injuries. It is particularly useful for sports medicine fellows and residents with an interest in athletes and active patients." ---Doody's Review Service, 3 stars Bone stress injuries are commonly seen in athletes and active individuals across a full spectrum of physical activity, age, and gender. While most overuse injuries can be addressed through non-operative care, injuries may progress to full fractures that require surgery if misdiagnosed or not correctly managed. Written by leaders in sports medicine including physical medicine and rehabilitation, orthopaedics, endocrinology and allied health professionals of biomechanics, physical therapy and dietetics, Bone Stress Injuries offers state-of-the-art guidelines and up-to-date science and terminology to practitioners. Using a holistic approach to understand the management of bone stress injuries, this book highlights specific considerations by injury, gender, and risk factor to ensure that a comprehensive treatment plan can be developed to optimize bone health, neuromuscular re-education, gait mechanics, and injury prevention. Organized into four parts, opening chapters cover the general need-to-know topics, including clinical history, imaging, and risk factors including biological and biomechanical factors. The book proceeds anatomically through the body from upper extremity to foot and ankle injuries, with each chapter underscoring diagnostic and treatment strategies specific to that region. Chapters dedicated to special populations discuss the differences in injury evaluation and management according to age, gender, and military background. Final chapters review the prevention of injuries and examine both common and novel treatment strategies, such as medications, nutrition, gait retraining, orthobiologics, and other interventions. Invaluable in its scope and approach, Bone Stress Injuries is the go-to resource for sports medicine physicians, physiatrists, and primary care providers who manage the care of athletes and individuals leading active lifestyles. Key Features: Promotes evidence-based practice for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of bone stress injuries Covers specific anatomy that is prone to bone stress injuries with dedicated chapters on upper and lower extremities, pelvis and hip, spine, and foot and ankle Considers evaluation and management differences according to specific populations of pediatric, male, female, and military personnel Discusses emerging strategies to treat bone stress injuries, such as gait retraining, orthobiologics, and other non-pharmacological treatments

Shoulder and elbow injuries in baseball players have been on the rise for the past three decades. Knowledge of important risk factors for these throwing-related injuries is incomplete. Purpose:To investigate neck mobility and postural measures as risk factors for shoulder and elbow injury in college baseball pitchers and assess variability in these measures during the season. Methods:Forty-nine college baseball pitchers were enrolled. Posture, neck mobility, and glenohumeral motion were measured at preseason and mid-season. Time-loss and pitch counts were recorded, and pitchers completed the Functional Arm Scale for Throwers Pitcher Module (FAST-PM) at baseline and throughout the season. Pitchers were dichotomized into injured and uninjured groups based on time-loss >7 days and FAST-PM >10. ROC curves, diagnostic values and risk ratios (RR) were calculated. Repeated-measures-MANCOVA and one-way ANOVA were performed to evaluate change and group differences. Results: Dominant Cervical Flexion Rotation Test of 86.9 kg were associated with increased risk of injury on the FAST-PM (RR=4.05, RR=8.90, RR=10.42). Three pitchers withdrew from mid-season testing. There were significant decreases in Cervical Sidebending motion (p=.000; p=.009), Cervical Flexion motion (p=.023), and Cued IKM (p=.001), but there were no group differences in variability. Conclusions: College baseball pitchers with less preseason neck mobility had increased risk of shoulder and elbow injury. Neck mobility decreased during the season, and injured pitchers tended to display less cervical mobility.

This book is a comprehensive guide to the epidemiology and methodology involved in sports injury research, including detailed background on epidemiological methods employed in research on sports injuries and discussions on key methodological issues.

Thorough and concise, this practical reference provides a unique, on-field management approach to all athletic injuries to the shoulder and elbow, as well as nonoperative and operative treatment options, including arthroscopy and open surgery. Focusing on high-performance athletes, leading authorities in the field demonstrate how to provide pain relief, restore function, and return the athlete to sport and to prior level of performance in a safe and timely fashion. Showcases the knowledge and expertise of an international group of editors and authors who have served as president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and the Arthroscopy Association of North America, are physicians or consultants for professional and collegiate sports teams, have won awards for research in the field of shoulder surgery, are editors and reviewers for peer-reviewed journals, and much more. Contains rehabilitation guidelines and critical return-to-sport protocols – essential information for nonsurgical healthcare providers -- primarily on athletes under the age of 40, with some consideration of the older athlete (professional golf, for example). Contains a section in each chapter covering "On-the-Field Management and Early Post-Injury Assessment and Treatment" – a must-read for immediate care of the injured athlete and ensuring the safe return to play. Covers the most recent advances in the management of tendon tears in elite and overhead athletes, including prevention in youth sports, early sports specialization, and changing standards of care regarding shoulder and elbow instability. Provides a thorough review of current ulnar collateral ligament injury diagnosis, imaging, non-operative management, and surgery, as well as acromioclavicular and sternoclavicular joint injuries, clavicle and olecranon fractures, and OCD of the capitellum.

In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal.