Sports Medicine – Page 2 – The Sport Journal

Comparison of Four Stretching Protocols on Short-Term Power

Authors: Joni M. Boyd, PhD, CSCS*D; Janet R. Wojcik, PhD; Alice J. McLaine, PhD; Zachary Hartman, MS, ATC; and Malik McGill

Corresponding Author:
Joni M. Boyd, PhD, CSCS*D
216 L West Center
Rock Hill, SC 29732
boydj@winthrop.edu
803-323-4936

Joni M. Boyd is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science & Coaching at Winthrop University.
Janet R. Wojcik is a Professor and Coordinator of Exercise Science at Winthrop University.
Alice J. McLaine is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Athletic Training at Winthrop University.
Zachary Hartman is an athletic trainer in Rock Hill, SC.
Malik McGill is a physical therapy student in Charleston, SC.

Comparison of Four Stretching Protocols on Short-Term Power

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to compare different stretching protocols on vertical jump and long jump. Participants included 22 females and 16 males that completed four different stretching protocols in a randomized, cross-over treatment design. Protocols were performed on separate days, with at least 48 hours of rest in between. Each session began with a 5-minute self-paced jog, followed by one of the four stretching protocols: static-only stretch, dynamic-only stretch, ballistic-only stretch, and dynamic-plus-ballistic stretch. Each stretching protocol lasted for about five minutes. Either participants performed a vertical jump or long jump directly after finishing the stretching protocol, then switched testing conditions. There were no significant differences in vertical jump or long jump performance across the four conditions. Consequently, this study did not support previous research showing performance improvement after dynamic stretching.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-07-15T11:52:42-05:00October 9th, 2020|Research, Sports Medicine|Comments Off

Assessment of Disinfection Techniques for Decontaminating Athletic Mats

Authors: Max Greisberg
maxgreisberg@gmail.com

Justin Greisberg, MD
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Columbia University
Chief of Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma
622 W 168^th St
PH 11^th floor
New York, NY 10032
(212) 305-5604
Fax (212) 305-4024
Jkg2101@cumc.columbia.edu

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

No funding was received for this research.

Assessment of Disinfection Techniques for Decontaminating Athletic Mats

ABSTRACT

Skin infections are a hazard in close contact sports. Disinfection of wrestling mats is widely recommended to reduce the incidence of infection, but there is little to no evidence how best to clean the mats. In this study, microorganism levels from the wrestling mats of two schools were quantified to determine if disinfection reduces the bacterial load from the surface of the mats and in the seams between mat sections; and to determine if using a flat mop is more effective than a string mop. This study found that both techniques were effective in reducing the bacterial load of the mats. However, neither method was effective at reducing bacterial counts in the grooves between mat sections. There was a trend favoring the use of a flat mop over a traditional string mop, but the trend did not meet statistical significance. Future research may focus on whether widespread adoption of these techniques leads to a lower incidence of skin infection in athletes.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-06-01T11:43:26-05:00August 7th, 2020|Research, Sports Medicine|Comments Off

Decreasing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Wrestlers

Authors: Ashley Spires BSN, RN-BC

Corresponding Author:
Ashley Spires BSN, RN-BC
7985 Lancaster Circleville Rd
Lancaster, OH 43130
Ashley.spires@va.gov
614-257-5388

Ashley Spires is Care Manager and Registered Nurse for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, an Ohio University Doctor of Nursing Practice candidate and a youth and middle school wrestling coach at a central Ohio public school system.

Decreasing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Wrestlers: Educating Coaches, Protecting Teams

ABSTRACT

Lack of coach education, standardized disinfection protocols, and standardized return to play procedures amongst wrestling programs have led to a high incidence of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections (SSTI) in the school age and adolescent athletic community. An educational intervention was performed with coaching staff in a pre/post intervention study. SSTI rates were calculated both pre and post intervention to assess for effective intervention in reducing SSTI incidence in the youth athletes. Pre-intervention review of aggregate infection data revealed a 22.6% SSTI occurrence rate. Post-intervention the SSTI occurrence rate was reduced to 3.5%. A McNemar chi-square test was run and the results were statistically significant at X 2 (1) = 54.721, p < 0.001. The intervention had a significant impact in lowering the SSTI rate in wrestlers. Future directions include improved education of youth wrestling coaches to include recognition of SSTI as well as best practice disinfection and infection control protocols.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-05-06T09:25:50-05:00June 26th, 2020|Sports Medicine|Comments Off

High School Competitive Diving Injuries: National Athletic Treatment Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION)

Authors: Susan M Braid & Eric Schussler

Corresponding Author:
Susan Braid
1881 University Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23453
sbraid@odu.edu
757-683-4563

Susan Braid is an assistant professor at the School of Nursing at Old Dominion University. She is an epidemiologist, nurse, and USA diving judge who has judged at local, national, and international competitions.

Eric Schussler is an assistant professor at the School of Rehabilitation Sciences at Old Dominion University. He is a physical therapist and athletic trainer.

High School Competitive Diving Injuries: National Athletic Treatment Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION)

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Elite diving coaches and USA diving officials have become increasingly concerned about injury prevention among adolescent divers. However, little is known about such injuries. The purpose of this study was to describe the injuries among high school students who participated on high school diving teams.

Subjects: High school students who participated on the diving teams of high schools that were included in the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION) for 2011–2014.

Methods: Descriptive epidemiology using injury exposure data on 56 boys’ Swimming and Diving teams and 55 girls’ Swimming and Diving teams from the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION) for 2011–2014.

Results: Only 12 injuries were reported, and 8 (67%) were concussions. The incidence of concussions was the same between boys and girls.

Conclusion: Concussions are the highest reported injury among high school divers in the NATION data. Student athletes who had minor injuries may not have been evaluated by an athletic trainer. Researchers need better injury surveillance data for high school divers.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-04-20T14:23:07-05:00May 22nd, 2020|Research, Sports Medicine|Comments Off

Survey Return Rates for Athletic Trainers

Authors: Robert Bradley, Scott Bruce

Corresponding Author:
Robert Bradley, EdD, LAT, ATC
PO Box 910
State University, AR. 72467
rbradley@astate.edu
870-972-3766

Robert Bradley is the program director of the master of athletic training program at Arkansas State University. He is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the curriculum coordinator for the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association.

Scott Bruce is a research faculty member for the master of athletic training program at Arkansas State University. He is an associate professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions.

Survey Return Rates for Athletic Trainers

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To determine which method of survey distribution produces higher return rates. Researchers ask athletic trainers to complete surveys to gather data using electronic and non-electronic means. There are no publications looking at the return rates and the method of distribution of survey instruments. This article seeks to determine which method of survey distribution produces higher return rates

Methods: The writer searched research articles published between January 2008 and December 2017 within the Journal of Athletic Training and the Athletic Training Education Journal with the term “survey”. Eligible studies included only those surveys where the intended audience were certified athletic trainers and found within the natajouranls.org website. The writer excluded articles that did not indicate how they distributed the survey, did not report their return rates or failed to provide the number of participants in their sample.

Results: Between 2008 and 2017, 81 publications included data obtained using a survey. 87.65% of surveys were sent via email or electronic form and 13.2% with a mailed survey. Electronically send surveys (e-mails) were exceedingly popular, the return rates for electronic surveys was 34.21% while non-electronically (mailed) surveys had a return rate of 66.9%.

Conclusions: When researchers send surveys to certified athletic trainers, those athletic trainers tend to respond in larger numbers (increased return rate) if those surveys were sent through the mail, than with emails.

Application in sport: Any attempt to garner information from athletic trainers either for research or marketing purposes will find that athletic trainers respond at higher rates with mailed surveys, than with electronically sent surveys.

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U.S. Sports Academy2020-03-31T10:24:41-05:00May 1st, 2020|Sports Medicine|Comments Off