Feature Channels: Sports Medicine

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Platelet rich plasma injections are putting the injured back on the field much faster.

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Contradicting what most parents might think, participation in team sports doesn’t necessarily result in teenage boys adopting healthier behaviors. Instead, new research finds that it is actually associated with increased fighting and drinking.

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This partnership is to bring the next generation of sports medicine to U.S. Olympic and paralympic athletes.

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Gifted young athletes are under increasing pressure to play only one sport year round. But a Loyola University Health System study found that such specialization increases the risk of injury in junior tennis players.

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Greater awareness leads to more accurate diagnoses.

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New primary research comparing the signs of metabolic syndrome in professional baseball and football players, reveals that the larger professional athletes - football linemen in particular - may encounter future health problems despite their rigorous exercise routines.

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New study reports on the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment and its use in sports medicine; cautions more investigation needed.

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A study of two collegiate football teams and one professional team found a large percentage of NCAA Division I and NFL athletes start practice while dehydrated, putting them at a variety of health risks.

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Former professional football players with large bodies don’t appear to have the same risk factors for heart disease as their non-athletic counterparts, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found in studying a group of National Football League (NFL) alumni.

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Sustaining a second concussion shortly after a first one can lead to serious problems for young athletes, making it extremely important for players to be correctly diagnosed after being hit in the head.

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A study comparing images of the knees in people who did and didn’t have previous injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament suggests that people who tore their ACLs are more likely to have a smaller ligament than do similarly sized people who have never injured a knee.

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Anatomical Chart Company (ACC) today announced the release of Anatomical Visual Guide to Sports Injuries, a new patient teaching resource to help sports medicine practitioners better explain injury concepts to their clients. ACC is the premier provider of high-quality anatomical wall charts and related products for the human health markets and is a business of Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

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Researchers discovered that moderate-to-severe brain stem trauma stimulates an involuntary rigid-forearm posture, dubbed the fencing response. The presence of a visible, objective symptom of brain injury could be of use to athletic trainers and coaches in making return-to-play decisions.

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High school football and wrestling athletes experienced the highest rate of severe injuries, according to the first study to examine severe injuries – injuries that caused high school athletes to miss more than 21 days of sport participation among a nationally representative sample of high school athletes. Severe injuries accounted for 15 percent of all high school sport-related injuries.

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Every year, there are tragic stories about athletes who suffer life-altering football-related injuries to the brain and spine. According to the AANS, in 2008, football contributed to the second highest number of sports-related head injuries, behind cycling. Of the nearly 41,000 people treated for football-related head injuries at U.S. hospital emergency rooms, 16,900 were age 14 and younger.

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Injuries can occur during a sporting competition at any time. However, new research finds that during football, injuries sustained at the beginning or middle of a game are more severe compared to injuries sustained during the end or in overtime. This finding suggests that the changes of intensity throughout competition influence risk of severe injury.

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Taking dexamathasone prophlyactically may improve exercise capacity in some mountaineers, according to Swiss researchers. Dexamathasone, known popularly to climbers as "dex," has been used for years to treat altitude-related symptoms in mountaineers, but has never been tested for its ability to improve exercise capacity at high altitude.

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Maryland Football Coach Ralph Friedgen is on his way to a healthier future thanks to a weight loss program that has already allowed him to shed 100+ pounds since last October.

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In light of yesterday's Public Health Advisory from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning consumers to immediately stop using all body-building products that claim to contain steroids or steroid-like substances, The Endocrine Society is re-issuing its Position Statement on Steroid Abuse initially launched in 2008.

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New research shows that training your brain may be just as effective as training your muscles in preventing ACL knee injuries, and suggests a shift from performance-based to prevention-based athletic training programs.

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Would the Cochrane review author recommend salicylate creams to consumers? "I wouldn't waste the money. You might as well rub your skin with a bit of spit."

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As soccer continues to grow in popularity, injuries to soccer players are likely to increase as well. Certain injuries fall into gender-based patterns and new research at Hospital for Special Surgery suggests some underlying causes that could help lead to better treatment, or even prevention for present and future soccer stars.

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Sports-related injuries such as bruises, scrapes and broken bones accounted for 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits for children ages 5 to 17.

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As the All-Star game approaches, Saint Louis University director of sports medicine, Scott Kaar, M.D. offers advice to ballplayers of every age to stay healthy.

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The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has released its 26th annual all sports report.

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Is it the cool style or the vibrant colors that should attract you to a shoe? Or is it the fit, function and structure of a shoe? A University of Michigan Athletic Training Clinical Specialist offers some tips to help us choose the right athletic shoe.

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A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O., at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has revealed that young female professional dancers face the same health risks as young female athletes when they don't eat enough to offset the energy they spend, and stop menstruating as a consequence.

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Spring marks baseball season for more than 19 million children and adolescents who play each year as part of a team or in backyards throughout the United States. The good news for these players is that the number of injuries from the sport is on the decline. A new study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital found that the number of children and adolescents treated for baseball-related injuries in hospital emergency departments decreased 25 percent from 1994 through 2006.

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Orthopaedic surgeons offer tips to minimize golf-related injuries.

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Caution from parents and coaches can prevent injuries in young baseball players.

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Baseball season is underway. With the pros, college and high school teams taking to the baseball diamonds and Little Leaguers soon to follow, orthopedic specialists at Rush University Medical Center are cautioning players to be aware of and take precautions against throwing injuries. An analysis of pitching injuries by researchers at Rush is published in the March/April issue of Sports Health.

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Sleep disordered breathing, also known as sleep apnea, is highly prevalent among retired National Football League (NFL) players, and particularly in linemen, according to Mayo Clinic research. This study, involving 167 players, adds to the growing body of research examining the relationship between sleep apnea and heart disease, the investigators say.

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Contrary to common belief, softball pitching subjects the biceps to high forces and torques when the player's arm swings around to release the ball, according to an analysis of muscle firing patterns conducted at Rush University Medical Center.

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A study by researchers at the University of South Carolina's Arnold School of Public Health is believed to be the first to evaluate the association of objectively measured fitness and risk of dying from breast cancer.

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Lance Armstrong broke his collarbone today in a bike race in Spain. Two orthopaedic surgeons at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are available to discuss how this type of injury can be treated and what the road to recovery for Armstrong might look like.

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Pick an option: the prospect of months on crutches and a season on the sidelines, versus taking 10 minutes to do a short, simple, structured warm up. For athletes, particularly school-aged athletes, the choice should be clear.

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UT Houston pediatric dentist provides training to 35 colleagues from around the world at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Sanford Fenton, D.D.S., chair of pediatric dentistry at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, has been a Special Olympics Global Clinical Adviser since 2005.

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Using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) increases the risk of specific types of musculoskeletal injuries, according to an unprecedented survey of retired National Football League players reported in the March issue of the American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

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In light of baseball great Alex Rodriguez's admission that he took performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers during a three-year period beginning in 2001, The Endocrine Society has re-issued its position statement on steroid abuse launched this past summer, 2008.

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Follow these steps to avoid injury"”while getting kicked, punched, and thrown

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Many injuries can occur on Super Bowl Sunday to the casual fan watching the game.

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Although shoulder injuries accounted for just 8 percent of all injuries sustained by high school athletes, shoulder injuries were relatively common in predominately male sports such as baseball (18 percent of all injuries), wrestling (18 percent) and football (12 percent). Moreover, boys experienced higher shoulder injury rates than girls, particularly in soccer and baseball/softball.

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College-age football players who gain weight to add power to their blocks and tackles might also be setting themselves up for diabetes and heart disease later in life, a new study suggests. Nearly half of a sample of collegiate offensive and defensive linemen who underwent a battery of tests for the study had metabolic syndrome.

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Orthopaedic surgeons provide winter sports safety tips.

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Die-hard sports fans may be risking heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer and premature death because of unhealthy lifestyle choices that seem to go along with rooting for favorite sports teams, according to the findings of health sciences professors at UALR.

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EMTs often remove helmets of injured young football players before transporting them to the hospital. UVA researchers found that when a young football player's helmet is removed, his spinal alignment changes, possibly increasing the risk of paralysis or neurological damage. The researchers recommend that EMTs always keep the helmets on when transporting young players.

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Hospital for Special Surgery physicians, surgeons, rehabilitation specialists, sports psychologist and nutritionist are available for comment during Beijing Olympic games.

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Orthopaedic surgeons stress the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

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Mayo Clinic's medical experts offer breadth and depth about health issues and background related to the Olympic Games and Olympians. These are just some of our experts. Call us -- we'll do our best to meet your needs.

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Do the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics have you inspired to get fit? University of Michigan Health System fitness experts say there are many ways you can get off the couch and get moving without hurting yourself "” even during commercial breaks.