Detailed description of Division I ice hockey concussions:Findings from the NCAA and Department of Defense CARE Consortium

Objective:Since concussion is the most common injury in ice hockey,the objective of the current study was to elucidate risk factors,specific mechanisms,and clinical presentations of concussion in men’s and women’s ice hockey.Methods:Ice hockey players from 5 institutions participating in the Concussion Assessment,Research,and Education Consortium were eligible for the current study.Participants who sustained a concussion outside of this sport were excluded.There were 332(250 males,82 females)athletes who participated in ice hockey,and 47(36 males,11 females)who sustained a concussion.Results:Previous concussion(odds ratio(OR)=2.00;95%confidence interval(95%CI):1.02‒3.91)was associated with increased incident concussion odds,while wearing a mouthguard was protective against incident concussion(OR=0.43;95%CI:0.22‒0.85).Overall,concussion mechanisms did not significantly differ between sexes.There were specific differences in how concussions presented clinically across male and female ice hockey players,however.Females(9.09%)were less likely than males(41.67%)to have a delayed symptom onset(p=0.045).Additionally,females took significantly longer to reach asymptomatic(p=0.015)and return-to-play clearance(p=0.005).Within the first 2 weeks post-concussion,86.11%of males reached asymptomatic,while only 45.50%of females reached the same phase of recovery.Most males(91.67%)were cleared for return to play within 3 weeks of their concussion,compared to less than half(45.50%)of females.Conclusion:The current study proposes possible risk factors,mechanisms,and clinical profiles to be validated in future concussions studies with larger female sample sizes.Understanding specific risk factors,concussion mechanisms,and clinical profiles of concussion in collegiate ice hockey may generate ideas for future concussion prevention or intervention studies.

The Reliability of the Prowler in High School Male Football Players

Horizontal plane muscular power output is important in sports such as football especially for down lineman who must engage an opponent and push them for a number of yards. The Prowler resistance sled is a commonly used apparatus that aids in the development of horizontal plane muscular power output. However, there is limited documentation regarding the Prowler＇s role as a strength and conditioning training modality as well as its potential use as an assessment tool for measuring horizontal plane muscular power output. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of the Prowler sled push in High School male football players. High School male football players （n = 16） performed two trials of the Prowler sled push 91 kilograms （200 pounds） for a distance of 9.1 meters （10 yards）. Each trial was timed with a handheld stop watch with a 2-3 minute rest period between trials. The trial 1 and 2 scores were 5.14 ±0.95 and 5.15 ±0.88 seconds respectively. The interclass and intraclass reliability coefficients were r = 0.93 and ICC = 0.93. The standard error of the measure was SEre = 0.25 seconds with 90% confidence limits Of UL： 0.36, LL： 0.20. The mean difference between trials was 0.01 ±0.36 seconds （90% confidence limits Of UL： 0.17, LL： -0.14）. Within the parameters of this study, the Prowler sled push is a highly reliable field test for measuring horizontal plane muscular power output.

Post Activation Potentiation in North American High School Football Players

Post activation potentiation （PAP） is an acute enhancement of muscular power production resulting fi＇om a high intensity potentiating exercise. Practical applications of the PAP phenomena as a warmup strategy are the focus of ongoing research. This study compared the effects of a dynamic and a PAP warm up strategy on speed and horizontal plane muscular power output. High School male football players （n = 16） participated in a repeated measures cross over design study consisting of 3 testing days. Day 1： one repetition maximum （1-RM） back squats were established. Day 2： half of the participants completed a dynamic warmup consisting of dynamic movements （ex. high knees, butt kickers, frog jumps, cherry pickers, lateral slide, karaokes, back pedal） while the other half of the participants performed a PAP warmup consisting of back squats culminating in a set of 4 repetitions at 85% of 1-RM. Following the warmups （4-minutes）, the participants performed 3 trials of a weighted sled push 91 kilograms （200 pounds） over a 9.1 meter （10 yards） linear path. Following the sled pushes, the participants then performed three trials of 18.2 meter （20 yards） sprints. Day 3： participants crossed over with respect to the warmup procedures and again performed the three sled push and sprint trials. Dependent t-tests were used to compare the sled push and sprint times between warm up conditions. Both the 18.2 meter sprint （P 〈 0.01） and the 91 kilogram sled push （P 〈 0.01） showed a significant improvement when PAP was utilized as a warmup, rather than the dynamic warmup. Within the parameters of the study, it is concluded that PAP as a warm up strategy enhances sprint ability and horizontal plane muscular power output.

Investigating the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Depression Symptoms among NCAA Division I Collegiate Athletes

This study aimed to determine an overall prevalence rate for depression symptoms among National Collegiate Athletic Association （NCAA） Division I collegiate athletes while also assessing various risk factors that may increase an athlete＇s vulnerability to depression. Using a sample of 950 NCAA Division I athletes, it was found that 33.2% of athletes experienced symptoms of depression, contradicting findings from previous studies that have suggested a prevalence rate lower than the general college population. Female athletes （P = 0.00）, underclassmen （P = 0.01）, recently injured athletes （P = 0.05）, and in-season athletes （P = 0.05）, were all found to experience higher rates of depression symptoms than other athletes. It was found that 25.7% of athletes did not know how or where to access mental health treatment at their university, and 44.5% had received no mental health education from their athletic department. The results from this study suggest that depression is a more significant issue in college athletics than previously thought, and they highlight the need for continued improvements to be made in both the understanding of mental health issues in college athletics and the services that are provided to athletes.

Alleviating effects of dehydration under no hyperthermia on the immunomodulatory response to the polysaccharide fraction from fu-ling （Poria cocos） in male collegiate wrestlers

Background It is well known that dehydration can impair bodily functions. To evaluate the impact of hydration status under ambient environmental temperature on the immune system, 25 male collegiate wrestlers were recruited to undergo an experimental dehydration program.Methods Thirteen subjects had controlled diets with individual energy requirements to prevent body mass loss and restricted water intake to cause 4.52% dehydration; they formed the dehydrated group （DE）. These subjects developed a urine specific gravity of about 1.030 in 84 hours. Twelve other subjects had no water restriction and maintained their total body weight comprised the euhydrated group （EU）. Peripheral blood monocytes （PBMNC） were isolated after dehydration to perform immune response testing by being incubated with a polysaccharide fraction from fu-ling, Poria cocos （polysaccharide fraction from Poria cocos, PCPS, 1-30 μg/L）, to prepare a conditioned medium termed conditioned medium of PBMNC stimulated by PCPS （PCPS-MNC-CM）. More PCPS （25 μg/L） was needed in the DE group to prepare the PCPS-MNC-CM, which was assayed with a growth inhibitory curve for treated U973 cells.Results The treated U937 cells, incubated together with PCPS-MNC-CM from the DE group, exhibited a much lower nitroblue tetrazolium （NBT） positive value of （63.7±4.7）%. The concentration of interferon-gamma （IFN-Y）, interleukin （IL）-1β and tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α in PCPS-MNC-CM from subjects after dehydration was much lower than in the CM from the EU group.Conclusion The immune response to PCPS in the DE group was lower than in normally hydrated subjects.

Effect of auricular acupuncture on oxygen consumption of boxing athletes

Boxing is an official sport at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the fast development of world-class high strength training and sport science has made a significant impact on scientific training. Boxing needs high cardio-respiratory function, speed, muscle strength, and anaerobic and intensive physical demands including weight control covering the grading of athlete＇s body weight and balancing physical ability and health. Sport training is important even for talented athletes. Weight cycling is a term used to describe rapid weight loss following self food limitation and/or dehydration. Both gradual （seasonal） reduction cycles are used and rapid （weekly） weight by athletes,