Revista de medicina deportiva y estudios de dopaje

Objective: Ankle and foot injuries are common in professional soccer players, but the relation between injury severity and time lost from play is not well known. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between diagnosis, injury severity and time lost to play of professional soccer players with severe ankle and foot injuries with reviewing the recent literature.

Design: Prospective evaluation of retrospectively collected data and review of the literature.

Setting: Primary private practice.

Patients: The medical records of two hundred lower extremity injuries of professional soccer players who admitted to our private clinic during the 2003-2004 professional national soccer league season were reviewed. Collected data of sixty-six players with severe ankle and foot injuries were included in the study. Type of injury, diagnosis, treatment, injury severity and finally, time lost from play were evaluated from the medical records. Injury severity (‘severe’ if >28 days, ‘moderate’ if between 8-28 days) and time lost from play were calculated from medical records and by telephone interviews with the players.

Results: Most injuries (n=20, 32%) occurred during player-to-player contact. The most common diagnosis was ankle sprain (30.3%) with anterior talofibular ligament injury. Most (55%) hindfoot injuries were Achilles tendinopathy with or without rupture. Treatment was surgical in 23 patients (35%). The mean time lost from play for players with severe foot and ankle injuries was 61days (range 21-240 days); after Achilles tendon ruptures, the mean time lost was 180 days. Injury severity was severe (>28 days lost from play) in 64% patients and moderate (8-28 days lost from play) in 36% patients.

Conclusion: Time lost to play can dramatically increase by the presence of severe ankle and foot injuries. Serious ankle and foot injuries in this study resulted in players being out of professional competition for about two months

Aim: The America’s Cup challenge involves intense physical stress due to racing sailboats. Therefore different anthropometric parameters and their influence on injury pattern were investigated.

Methods: The setting was the 32 nd America’s Cup hosted in 2007 in Valencia, Spain. Register of anthropometric parameters was obtained from all members of one syndicate (starting 27 in 2004 and 34 in the last 2007 season). Measurements included body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), skinfold thickness, fat, muscle and limb body mass in kg and percentage. The anatomic location, type, number and mechanism of injuries were registered during competition by a medical team.

Results: Mean BMI of the crew (27.14 in 2004 and 27.23 in 2007). Crew members with overuse injuries were older (p<0.01), showed significantly lower skinfold thickness in 2007 season (p<0.01) and also significantly lower muscle mass percentage in 2007 (p<0.05). Athletes suffering more than one injury had lower weight in both 2004 and 2007 seasons (p<0.05 in 2007). Athletes with injuries at the upper extremity had the lowest weight (p<0.05), the lowest skinfold thickness in 2007 (p<0.01), the lowest muscles mass also in 2007 (p<0.01), and the lowest body fat weight (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Anthropometric profile of athletes involved in America’s Cup yachting was dependent on the different onboard physical requirements and had close relationship to injury pattern.

Recent focus has been on combat sports and one of which is taekwondo. Whilst the literature reports on several researches done among taekwondo athletes, nothing has been done to make practical comparisons of anthropometric and physiologic measures. This paper reports on research, which had the objectives of: 1. Establishing both an anthropometric and physiologic profile of elite Filipino taekwondo athletes and 2. Comparing the elite Filipino athletes’ anthropometric and physiologic characteristics with published information on other elite athletes and provides useful information regarding components needed to be improved to enhance athletic performance. Anthropometric and physiologic testing procedures were conducted to elite Filipino taekwondo athletes. A total of twenty Filipino athletes were assessed in this study. The results of these tests were compared with the data obtained from the identified international studies through a systematic search of the literature process. Outcomes available for comparison were extracted from each study. Five studies were obtained for comparison. The Filipino athletes were similar to other international elite athletes in most anthropometric measures. In the physiologic tests, it is worthy to note that the Filipino athletes, both male and female, had significantly better leg power test scores compared with their international counterparts; however, the female Filipino athletes scored less in flexibility and one minute sit up tests. The findings presented in this paper should be considered so that a greater scientific approach can be taken when designing athlete-specific, as well as team-specific training programs. Training programs that address the current physiological shortfalls should lead to improvements in national and international competition.

Background: Cardiorespiratory and hormonal responses were investigated during and after prolonged exercise of constant and alternating exercise intensity. Methods: Ten healthy males underwent two main cycling exercise trials at the same overall power output, lasting one hour each. During the first trial, exercise intensity was constant at 70±5% VO2max, while during the second trial, exercise intensity was alternated between 47±2% VO2max for 40 s and 120% VO2max for 20 s. Results: Oxygen uptake (VO2) and heart rate (HR) were higher in constant compared with alternating intensity exercise (VO2: 32.5±6.6 vs. 29.8±5.9 ml/kg/min, p<0.05; HR: 152 ± 16 vs. 142 ± 15 b/min, p<0.05). Pulmonary ventilation, respiratory exchange ratio and blood lactate were similar in both trials. Plasma adrenaline and growth hormone during and 1 hour after exercise were similar in both trials, while nor-adrenaline was higher during constant intensity exercise (p<0.05). Significant time effects were found for all cardiorespiratory, lactate and hormonal parameters. Conclusions: Constant and alternating intensity exercise of the same mean intensity and duration provoked similar changes in terms of stress and blood- lactate, while VO2 and HR responses and nor-adrenaline concentration were higher when exercise intensity was constant, suggesting that constant exercise impose greater demand on the cardiovascular system.

The purpose of this study was to determine management potential of students. In this case the students are future, not only professionals, but managers as well, both within their professional domains and wider in the society. Social relations are established on the basis of relations between individuals in compliance with their goals and interests. Therefore, the initial survey collected the indicators that showed the degree of individual management potential. After that these indicators were placed in relations, which, after factor analysis, resulted in obtaining the final set of management mechanisms. Four mechanisms were recorded, i.e. four global modes of student’s actions within the area of resource management and identified as: leadership, management, opportunism and delegation. Organizing companies, schools, governing bodies, corporations, etc., in order to achieve efficiency is inevitably followed by some general patterns of structuring and management. It is obvious that the results of this study can significantly improve many aspects of planning, design and implementation of organizational models. Recognition of mechanisms isolated in this study provides us with the option to timely select appropriate experts as regards their positioning in the right jobs and tasks, which is a valuable find as far as sociology is concerned. The existence of latent mechanisms of management potential in students was experimentally proven precisely because of the relevance of the fact that they are the most immediate future managers. The research was carried out in 10 different areas of three states with students from different faculties; however, the research results should be checked after the 10-year period in order to identify any changes caused by the general social processes that will eventually follow.

Aim of this study was to determine the relationship between functional capacities and skills performance among young soccer player. The research was conducted on a sample of 22 players aged U-14, members of the elite junior soccer club. Players were tested for aerobic capacities (Soccer specific endurance tests, Beep test), anaerobic capacities (Sprint test, Repeated sprint test, 300 meter run test) and skill performace in phase of attack and defense. Anaerobic capacity of players explain 37% of the variance (p = 0.03) for defensive tactical elements, while the set of functional aerobic variables (Hoff test, p = 0.18; beep test, p = 0.93) has explained 37% (p = 0.03) of defensive players ability. Set of predictors of functional anaerobic variables (Sprint test, Repeated Sprint Ability, 300 meter run test) explain 32% (p = 0.04) criteria, while the set of predictors of functional aerobic variables (Hoff test, 20m multi-stage shuttle run test) explain 26% (p = 0.03) criteria. On the basis of the research we can conclude that there is a strong correlation between the players’ performance and tactical skill, whether it is a tactical-technical element of the phase of attack or defense. Therefore, coaches need to develop both components to achieve desired results in the competition games.