OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate ethnic differences in left ventricular (LV) remodeling between highly-trained athletes of African/Afro-Caribbean (black) and Caucasian (white) athletes. BACKGROUND The upper limits of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are established in white athletes and aid the differentiation of physiologic LVH from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Ho...

Stephen M. Weiss* Sherri L. Loubier Gambling behaviors in current athletes, former athletes and non-athletes were examined. Gambling tendencies were determined from participants' responses on the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS). A delayed competitive effect among athletes that might surface in the form of pathological gambling was investigated. To test this novel theory, participants were div...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the spectrum of electrocardiographic (ECG) changes in 1000 junior (18 or under) elite athletes. METHODS A total of 1000 (73% male) junior elite athletes (mean (SD) age 15.7 (1.4) years (range 14-18); mean (SD) body surface area 1.73 (0.17) m2 (range 1.09-2.25)) and 300 non-athletic controls matched for gender, age, and body surface area had a 12 lead ECG examination. ...

To prospectively evaluate the effect of neuromuscular training on the incidence of knee injury in female athletes, we monitored two groups of female athletes, one trained before sports participation and the other not trained, and a group of untrained male athletes throughout the high school soccer, volleyball, and basketball seasons. Weekly reports included the number of practice and competitio...

The study aimed to investigate the differences in the effects of 7-month training on aerobic and anaerobic capacity in tandem cycling athletes with and without visual impairment. In this study, Polish elite (n=13) and sub-elite (n=13) visually impaired (VI) (n=13; 40.8 ±12.8 years) and properly sighted (PS) (n=13; 36.7 ±12.2 years) tandem-cycling athletes participated voluntarily in 7-month rou...

For sea level based endurance athletes who compete at low and moderate altitudes, adequate time for acclimatization to altitude can mitigate performance declines. We asked whether it is better for the acclimatizing athlete to live at the specific altitude of competition or at a higher altitude, perhaps for an increased rate of physiological adaptation. After 4 wk of supervised sea level trainin...

Childhood and adolescence are critical periods for the skeleton. Mechanical load has then been shown to be one of the best stimuli to enhance not only bone mass, but also structural skeletal adaptations, as both contributing to bone strength. Exercise prescription also includes a window of opportunity to improve bone strength in the late pre- and early peri-pubertal period. There is some eviden...

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most devastating chronic conditions that affect people around the world. Although the usual population associated with the condition is the elderly, who are mostly inactive, athletes and younger individuals are also susceptible. Depending on the population, the etiology may differ; injuries, occupational activities, and obesity appear to be the most common caus...

Two groups (n = 86) of university athletes (contact, no contact) and two matched groups (n = 86) of non-athletes completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968). Extraversion did not vary significantly between athletes and non-athletes or between contact and no contact athletes, but it was higher for athletes compared to American college norms. For neuroticism, athletes sc...

BACKGROUND Youth participation in organized sports in the United States is rising, with many athletes focusing on a single sport at an increasingly younger age. PURPOSE To retrospectively compare single-sport specialization in current high school (HS), collegiate, and professional athletes with regard to the rate and age of specialization, the number of months per year of single-sport trainin...