Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport Monitoring for Road Cyclists preparing for the Tour de France

How should the multi-disciplinary performance team monitor road cyclists in the build up to the Tour de France to detect relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S) and reduce potential negative impacts on performance?    Authors: Ms Niamh McIntosh [1] and Dr Neil Heron [1,2] (MRCGP, F.FSEM (UK), PhD) Email address: N.Heron@qub.ac.uk [1] Centre for Public Health Research, Queen’s […]

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Do former professional American-style football players experience early ageing?

Author: Rachel Grashow (rgrashow@hsph.harvard.edu) Blog based on a recently published study.  Background Anecdotally, former professional American-style football (ASF) players commonly report feeling older than their chronological age. At the same time, medical providers who treat former players have seen clinical signs of aging earlier than expected. To explore whether former players were aging faster than […]

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Healing of anterior cruciate ligament rupture as seen on MRI is associated with better patient-reported outcomes

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction; anterior cruciate ligament healing; rehabilitation Why is this study important? Current treatment options for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture often result in unsatisfactory outcomes such as sport and activity limitations, instability and additional knee injuries, persistent pain, early onset of knee osteoarthritis, and reduced long-term quality of life. Treatments for […]

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Football’s burden – hamstring injuries in professional men’s football

Keywords: football, injury, Europe This blog outlines research involving  3,909 professional male football players across 54 Champions League teams in Europe over 21 consecutive seasons. The main aim was to evaluate the time trends of hamstring muscle injuries. Our report from the Elite Club Injury Study (ECIS), recently published in BJSM, was initiated, and funded by […]

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Does cardiovascular preparticipation screening cause psychological distress in athletes?

Keywords: Cardiovascular, psychology, athlete screening Cardiovascular preparticipation screening (PPS) is routinely practiced across the globe and supported by numerous international medical societies. Despite its widespread use, the connection between cardiovascular and psychological health, and more specifically, the mental toll that screening has on athletes, is rarely considered by health care professionals involved in the cardiovascular […]

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Suffering a concussion increases injury risk in male Rugby Union

Key words: concussion, hamstring, ankle, shoulder, rugby Rugby Union has one of the highest injury rates of any team sport, with concussion and lower limb injuries particularly common (1,2). Players also sustain multiple injuries during their career, which may impact their risk of future injuries (3). This blog summarises our recent original research into injury […]

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Karate After Arthroscopic Hip Surgery

Keywords: Karate, arthroscopic surgery, rehab Managing injuries in high-risk contact or multi-movement sport requires a diverse set of skills and an excellent understanding of the sport by the treating clinician. Literature including Karate athletes is widespread, however, these focus on epidemiology, rather than the rehabilitation of injuries.  The Gap At the time of my hip […]

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‘Step’ into Christmas: physical activity messaging for the festive period and beyond

By Chloë Williamson and Jennifer Duncan  Busy schedules, family commitments, fatigue, dark evenings and slippy pavements are just some of the various factors that can make convincing the general public to be physically active even more challenging. One way we can influence attitudes, motivation and intention to be active is through physical activity messaging and […]

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The overlooked role of intratendinous pressure in tendinopathy: A new perspective

Keywords: tendinopathy, intratendinous pressure In this blog, we will explain the findings of our recent review published in BJSM on the potential role of intratendinous pressure in the pathogenesis of tendon pathology.  Why is this study important? Tendinopathy is a major problem for athletes, accounting for about 30% of all overuse injuries. Despite strong advances […]

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