CONTEXT There is increased growth in sports participation across the globe. Sports specialization patterns, which include year-round training, participation on multiple teams of the same sport, and focused participation in a single sport at a young age, are at high levels. The need for this type of early specialized training in young athletes is currently under debate. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION No...

CONTEXT Low back pain in young athletes is a common complaint and should be taken seriously. It frequently results from a structural injury that requires a high degree of suspicion to diagnose and treat appropriately. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A Medline search was conducted from 1996 to May 2008 using the search terms "low back pain in children" and "low back pain in athletes." Known texts on inju...

Muscle strength is a key component of an athlete's performance and may be influenced by taping. This study examined the possible immediate and delayed effects of Kinesio taping on muscle strength in quadriceps and hamstring when taping is applied to the anterior thigh of healthy young athletes. Fourteen healthy young athletes (seven males and seven females) free of knee problems were enrolled i...

2. The above conclusions are not supported by research performed on older athletes. When healthy regular exercisers 55-70 years old are compared with young adults of similar aerobic fitness, acclimation state, body size, and body composition, both groups respond with similar rates of heat storage and similar body core temperatures during exercise in the heat. Likewise, older athletes and young ...

CONTEXT Clinical trials have demonstrated that preventive neuromuscular training (PNMT) can be effective to reduce ACL injuries in young females. However, the magnitude of the overall effect of PNMT for ACL injury reduction has not reached consensus. In addition, the effects of individual exercises in PNMT that optimise ACL injury reduction are unknown. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this project w...

This study examined the cardiac structure and function of a unique cohort of documented lifelong, competitive endurance veteran athletes (>50 yr). Twelve lifelong veteran male endurance athletes [mean ± SD (range) age: 56 ± 6 yr (50-67)], 20 age-matched veteran controls [60 ± 5 yr; (52-69)], and 17 younger male endurance athletes [31 ± 5 yr (26-40)] without significant comorbidities underwent c...

OBJECTIVE to determine the differences associated with age and endurance exercise training on the baroreflex function of healthy subjects. DESIGN cross-sectional study. SETTING university research department. PARTICIPANTS 26 (10 female) sedentary, healthy, normotensive elderly subjects (mean age 67 years, range 62-81), eight (two female) elderly endurance-trained athletes (66 years, 62-69...