End Of Career Research Articles

Soldier Peer Mentoring Care and Support: Bringing Psychological Awareness to the Front

Since the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991, the operational tempo for soldiers has steadily increased, whereas the numbers of soldiers available to fulfill these missions has decreased. As a result, soldiers and their families are experiencing increased levels of stress that continue to manifest in ways that can often be destructive for the soldiers, their families, and the Army community. Current mitigation and identification support systems such as the Chain of Command, noncommissioned officer leadership, chaplains, and family support systems have all provided critical services, but may not be expected to optimally perform necessary early risk management assessment. Behavioral health care as a self-referral system is often still perceived as career ending, shameful, or even culturally unacceptable. Our allies have also experienced similar family, operational, and combat concerns. In 1996, at the direction of their Commandant General, the British Royal Marines developed and instituted a peer-driven risk management and support system that has experienced a high degree of success and acceptance among its forces-enough so that the Royal Navy is now in the process of implementing a similar program. The Soldier Peer Mentoring and Support program, as part of the proposed deployment Cycle Support Program, is a model for peer group assessment based on the British Royal Marines psychological risk management and support system. This article presents and describes this project, which has been considered for use within the U.S. Army, as a potential augmenter of existing behavioral health support assets as a culturally acceptable, company-level support program in deployment and home stations.

Sports-Related Knee Injuries in Female Athletes

Knee injuries occur commonly in sports, limiting field and practice time and performance level. Although injury etiology relates primarily to sports specific activity, female athletes are at higher risk of knee injury than their male counterparts in jumping and cutting sports. Particular pain syndromes such as anterior knee pain and injuries such as noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur at a higher rate in female than male athletes at a similar level of competition. Anterior cruciate ligament injuries can be season or career ending, at times requiring costly surgery and rehabilitation. Beyond real-time pain and functional limitations, previous injury is implicated in knee osteoarthritis occurring later in life. Although anatomical parameters differ between and within the sexes, it is not likely this is the single reason for knee injury rate disparities. Clinicians and researchers have also studied the role of sex hormones and dynamic neuromuscular imbalances in female compared with male athletes in hopes of finding the causes for the increased rate of ACL injury. Understanding gender differences in knee injuries will lead to more effective prevention strategies for women athletes who currently suffer thousands of ACL tears annually. To meet the goal in sports medicine of safely returning an athlete to her sport, our evaluation, assessment, treatments and prevention strategies must reflect not only our knowledge of the structure and innervations of the knee but neuromuscular control in multiple planes and with multiple forces while at play.

Premature athletic disengagement of elite Greek gymnasts

The methodologies used in the earlier phase of quantitative research carried out on the disengagement from sport (Mihovilovic, 1968; Sands, 1978; Brown, 1983; Greendorfer, 1983; Kleiber & Greendorfer, 1983; Greendorfer & Blinde, 1985) were found to have weaknesses. In this present study it is argued that disengagement from sport can best be examined from a phenomenological perspective. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 elite gymnasts. Gymnastics was chosen since it is a unique sport in that disengagement takes place at a very young age. For the analysis of interviews, the cognitive mapping method (Jones, 1985) was used. The disengagement process is multi-dimensional. There is not a single factor responsible for dropping out. Coaches are, in fact, all too frequently responsible for elite gymnasts giving up their sport. Former athletes also critized heavily: a) the ad-ministrators of the clubs, b) the administrators of the Federation, and c) the judges. Ending a career in the sport might be the outcome of severe physical and mental exhaustion of gymnasts resulting from heavy training at an early age. There are many gymnasts who terminated their careers after injuries that forced them to stay away from training at a crucial age. Athletic failure in gymnastics does not appear to be an important factor for the disengagement process. Disengagement from gymnastics is a source of serious social, psy-chological and medical adjustment problems for former gymnasts. After the end of a competitive career, there is a drastic reduction in social contact between coaches and former gymnasts. The behaviour of administrators towards the gymnasts is negative after the end of a career in the sport. Sports management in Greece is characterized by lack of structure and policy. All former gymnasts interviewed agree that an improvement in the organizational structure of gymnastics in Greece is required. According to gymnasts, the transition out of sport could be facilitated in a number of ways and suggestions are made in this paper. The enforcement of child labour laws in the domain of gymnastics is essential today.

For the Good of the Country: World War II Baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues (review)

Reviewed by: For the Good of the Country: World War II Baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues Thomas R. Mueller (bio) David Finoli. For the Good of the Country: World War II Baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues. Jefferson NC: McFarland, 2002. 380 pp. Paper, $29.95. World War II affected every aspect of American life, from politics to economics and even baseball. In fact, many people discussed, before and after Ted Williams died, the effects of World War II on his career. For those who are curious about the overall impact of the war on the game, there is a new book that covers this unique time period. For the Good of the Country: World War II Baseball in the Major and Minor Leagues, by David Finoli, is an excellent reference of this period, analyzing the Major Leagues on a year-by-year basis. To a lesser extent, Finoli also examines the effect on the Negro and Minor leagues. In the last section of the book, he tries to answer questions on two particular issues: the war's effect on certain Hall of Famers and a SABRmetric analysis of the play during those years. Finally, the book describes the "military teams," which were formed by Major Leaguers in military training establishments. The book begins with four chapters on baseball during the period of war, 1942-1945, with a chapter dedicated to each year. Each chapter opens with a concise history of that year's baseball events, including decisions that were made by the owners. For example, in the 1942 chapter, the author discusses the issue of baseball continuing after the beginning of America's involvement in World War II. It is revealed that President Roosevelt "asked" the owners to continue playing baseball. After the owners agreed, many other discussions were needed, including how many night games would be played and what other ways could MLB help the country in this time of war. Each chapter also provides the reader with rare and detailed information on the starting lineups for each position from 1941 through the war years, with a small write-up on that team's year. The author then lists those players who left for war and what happened to them. The "Aftermath" chapter summarizes the previous chapters with a review of the starting lineups from 1941, 1942, 1945, and 1946. Later in the chapter, there is a short summary of players who lost their starting positions when Major Leaguers came back from the war. Some played for other teams, while others saw their Major League careers end. The next two chapters examine the Negro League and Minor League players who served and perished in World War II. One of the most interesting chapters deals with the effect the war had on the careers of six Hall of Fame players: Joe Cronin, Ernie Lombardi, Mel Ott, Joe Medwick, Lou Boudreau, and Hal Newhouser (who played all of the years [End Page 137] 1941-1945). Some of these players—for example, Cronin and Medwick—had their best years before the war, so there is little question about their Hall eligibility. Consequently, Finoli dissects the careers of Boudreau and Newhouser. For example, he compares Boudreau with other shortstops in the league before, during, and after the war. After this analysis he concludes that Boudreau belongs in the Hall of Fame. The next chapter examines the war years by using SABR metrics. According to Finoli, this chapter "is meant to give a long overdue celebration of players such as Etten and Sanders and their long- forgotten efforts to help pick up the nation in a time when it so desperately needed something to pick it up" (p.321). The author ranks hitting and pitching statistics by using many different categories. For example, some of the hitting categories he includes are home runs, hits, batting average, slugging percentage, doubles, triples, total bases, and stolen bases. Finally, the last chapter discusses the great "military teams" that were created due to the World War II draft. The chapter does provide some general information on these teams; however, a more in-depth look at a few of the teams individually would have allowed...

Anxiety as an Aggravating Factor During Onset of Focal Dystonia in Musicians

Focal dystonia in musicians is a task-specific movement disorder that in many cases leads to the end of musical careers. In a recent study, perfectionism and anxious traits were found to be elevated in musicians with dystonia. Dynamics of different anxiety disorders and their possible role during the development of musician’s dystonia still are unclear. Dystonic musicians (n = 20) were investigated by means of self-estimation and compared with healthy musicians (n = 30) and musicians with chronic pain syndromes (n = 20). Participants completed a questionnaire focusing on different anxiety disorders, particularly with regard to their dynamics. Musicians with focal dystonia more often reported social phobia and specific phobias than healthy musicians. In the retrospective analysis, these differences already were present before onset of dystonia. Musicians who later developed focal dystonia more often suffered from specific phobias than musicians who later developed chronic pain. Musicians with chronic pain more often reported free-floating anxiety compared with healthy musicians. In the subscale stage fright, no significant differences were observed between the groups. The pattern of specific phobias and social phobia were reported to have been preexisting before the onset of dystonia. Anxiety and perfectionism may be aggravating factors during the development of musician’s dystonia.

Preparticipation assessment for head injury.

To determine the evidence base for recommendations regarding the pre-participation screening for head injury. The relevant literature was searched through the use of Medline (1966 to 2004), Google and Sport Discus (1975 to 2004) searches, hand searches of journals and reference lists and discussions with experts and sporting organisations worldwide. Consensus recommendations are summarized. No formal statistical analysis is presented Although pre-participation examinations are widely performed, there are no evidence-based guidelines to direct physicians as to the minimum requirements for the baseline assessment of head injury. Expert consensus would suggest that a baseline neuropsychological examination, preferably using a computerised test battery, should be performed in order to guide return to play following subsequent concussive injuries. In addition, there are important medicolegal considerations in regard to the value of a documented assessment both at the start and end of an athlete's career with any team.

When police should say “no!” to gratuities

The law enforcement officer, representing government, bears the heavy responsibility of maintaining, in his own conduct, the honor and integrity of all government institutions. He shall, therefore, guard against placing himself in position in which any person can expect special consideration or in which the public can reasonably assume that special consideration is being given. Thus, he should be firm in refusing gifts, favors, or large or small, which can, in the public mind, be interpreted as capable of influencing his judgment in the discharge of his duties. (1) ********** The issue of police acceptance of gratuities has long been source of contention. Many writers on police corruption see the acceptance of even the smallest gift or benefit as the beginning of the end of an honest officer's career. Others suggest that the acceptance of gratuities does little harm, and that there may in fact be positive benefits in the practice, not just for the officer involved, but for society as whole. In this paper I examine the practice of accepting gratuities in order to highlight some particular situations in which their acceptance will always cause problems, and thus to draw attention to those situations in which police ought to say No! It is not my intention to provide an exhaustive investigation of the practice of accepting or to describe every situation in which gratuities ought to be refused. My intention, rather, is to draw attention to those types of situations in which the acceptance of gratuities will inevitably lead to problems of one sort or another. I also recognize that in an ideal world there would be no need to question what sorts of gratuities ought to be refused, and what sorts accepted, for an ideal world would have no need of such transactions. But given that we live in world in which such transactions are valued by both giver and receiver, it seems to me that it is necessary to seek some solution to this problem--a solution that recognizes that value, while at the same time avoids the problems that the acceptance of gratuities can cause. In order to clarify the issues and problems involved, I begin with an overview of the main theoretical positions on the acceptance of gratuities canvassing the main arguments opposing the acceptance of and the arguments in favor of their acceptance. It should be noted though that wherever I speak of gratuities, this term can also be taken to include other discounts, gifts, and benefits offered to police. I Why Police Should Not Accept Gratuities (1) The slope to corruption Police corruption is undeniably serious problem. Some police departments have become so riddled with corruption that the public comes to see every police officer as bent. Many writers have suggested that the first step toward police officer becoming corrupt is the acceptance of gratuities. (2) Lawrence Sherman, for example, suggests that there is a continuum of graft stages (3) from the acceptance of to the acceptance of bribes in relation to such things as bar-closing hours, to the acceptance of payoffs from gamblers and prostitutes, to eventual involvement in narcotics. He sees both the police officer who accepts free cup of coffee and the police officer who is involved in drug dealing as corrupt--it is only matter of the degree of corruption involved. This slide into serious corruption is seen by Sherman and many others as slippery slope. Once an officer is on the slope, the slide into serious corruption is, if not inevitable, at the very least difficult to stop. John Kleinig points out that there are at least two different types of slope arguments used when asserting that the acceptance of gratuities will lead to corruption, and both of these types of arguments can be employed in variety of different ways. (4) The two main types are the logical slope, and the psychological slope, and it is worth taking the time to distinguish the two. …

Academic attainments of children with Down's syndrome: a longitudinal study.

Studies of the academic progress of schoolchildren with Down's syndrome have given only limited indication of attainments at different ages. Such normative data, it is argued, could guide professionals and parents in respect to reasonable expectations and typical achievement. The aim of the paper is to provide a descriptive account of levels and range of academic attainments reached by a representative sample of children with Down's syndrome over time. Data relate to 106 children from three studies with the same cohort of families. Mean age was 9.1 years at the first study (1986), 13.7 at the second (1991), and 21.1 at the third (2000). Mean IQ was 40.29. The Academic Attainments Index (AAI) covers reading, writing and numeracy, and was designed for teacher completion. In order to compare attainments to wider norms, scores were compiled by age group, and related to age-specific National Curriculum attainment levels, which are similar to US school grades. AAI scores were obtained for 102 individuals in 1986, 101 in 1991 and 79 in 2000. Comparisons across age groups indicate that higher scores were achieved by each successive age group up to age 20, and that this pattern held for both more and less able children. Once adjusted for differences in IQ scores between age groups, however, there was some evidence of a levelling off towards the end of the school career. By school-leaving age, the more able children reached at least some National Curriculum Key Stage 2 targets in reading and writing, and some Key Stage 3 targets in number work. Results provide a detailed picture of attainments across ability and age

Challenging geographies of ableness: celebrating how far we’ve come and what's left to be done

As we write this introduction, it is 'Canada Day', a collective celebration of our country's history and accomplishments. It is a brief moment of coming together, to celebrate the good things this country has done and what many of us believe in and stand for. It is a brief respite, also, from acknowledging the many things we could have done better and indeed have to do better in the future. In a time of neo-liberal rule, globalisation, and the devaluing of so many human lives in so many ways, it is an interlude which we badly need. It seems a fitting tribute to the geographers' whose work is included in this collection, and to the many disabled children, women and men still excluded from Canadian society and space, and from societies world-wide, to seize this moment to also celebrate how far social geographies of disablement have come, and to consider where we go from here. Thirteen years have passed since one of us, at the time still pretty new to academia, lost her able body and all the privileges and 'normalcy' that pertains to such ways of being embodied in our world. Biomedically, this resulted from an immune system failure (manifest in rheumatoid arthritis). While the causes of such biomedical failures in women's bodies are not yet scientifically known, it has always seemed pretty reasonable to hypothesise that this was an outcome of the severe stresses associated with being a lone female faculty member in a department, working in radical and feminist geographies of urban change, subject to prolonged harassment and the intolerance of certain colleagues toward cutting edge geographic research informed by critical social theories of power and oppression. What is sad is that although disablement and a hostile work environment were certainly connected, few colleagues in leadership positions provided any form of support or encouragement. Instead, being a disabled woman became yet another reason to oppress and exclude: allowing colleagues who did so to affirm their own ableness, superiority and importance. Clearly in this, as in so many other cases, there is a lot of work to be done in unsettling the smug arrogance, privilege and indifference of ableness in academia. It is encouraging to see that the scholars whose work appears in this issue have taken this challenge seriously and politically; not just the means to the end of an academic career but as a systemic issue of discrimination that those of us privileged enough to work in academia have a responsibility to bring to the forefront of social debate. Too often, as disabled people throughout the world will readily confirm, disability research has oppressed and exploited them: researching their lives but excluding them in how the results gathered are translated into knowledge and applied. Slogans such as 'nothing about us without us' capture this reality from disabled peoples' perspectives quite well. The wide-ranging substantive topics covered in the papers in this collection capture the increasing breadth and sophistication of research concerned with issues pertaining to disability in society and space. They also crosscut a range of geographic scales: from the intimately personal scale of an individual female academic body disabled through repetitive strain syndrome (Guelke 2003) and that of a young man dying of HIV/Aids in Vancouver (Dyck and O'Brien 2003) through to sites within local communities such as schools, homes and support networks, where for instance young D/deaf youth struggle for affirmation of their differenced (from the hearing) selves (Skelton and Valentine 2003), to national and international scales at which state regulation of disability issues and processes of disablement unfold (e.g. England 2003; Lemon and Lemon 2003). Papers such as Gold's (2003) challenge us to rethink what constitutes 'the field' and fieldwork in research; conceptions which typically presume an able-bodiedness which not all can attain or, over the life course, maintain. …

The Retirement Syndrome:: The Psychology of Letting Go

This article analyzes a problem that can be described as the retirement syndrome. In exploring the difficulties many leaders face in letting go at the end of a full career, it reviews a number of the barriers to exit: financial, social, and psychological. It looks at the physical and psychological effects of aging, in the context of retirement; examines the experience of nothingness that single-minded careerists often feel after retirement; describes the talion principle, a subliminal fear of reprisals; and discusses the ‘edifice complex,’ the wish to leave behind a legacy. The article concludes with suggestions as to how individuals and organizations can develop more effective and humane disengagement strategies.

Concluding Remarks: Company Practices and Public Policies Regarding Age: Lessons Drawn from Comparisons

Through the seven country articles presented in this issue, we observe a trend, which has lasted for two decades now, towards a reduction in economic activity after the age of 55. However, the scope of this trend is not the same everywhere. It has remained relatively limited in Japan and Switzerland as compared with France and Germany, where this age group’s employment activity rate fell by 40 per cent from 1971 to 2001. Furthermore, this early retirement trend has not come out of the same patterns of public policy or company practices in all countries. On the basis of the lessons that can be drawn from these international comparisons, an attempt will be made to answer two questions. First of all, how to explain the diversity, among countries, in companies’ practices for managing ageing work forces and thus account for the differences observed in labour force participation patterns at the end of careers? Secondly, what remedies to apply to reverse this early exit trend and convince firms to keep older wageearners in employment instead of ‘‘externalizing’’ them?

The Art of Decision-Making

As important as sound decision-making is, many executives neglect to utilize any formal decisionmaking process. As many executives know, making the wrong decision can be disastrous, if not career ending. In today's high-pressure, complex, and challenging healthcare environment, it makes sense to follow a tried and true process for making decisions. The author examines the traditional method of problem identification, setting objectives, listing alternatives and consequences, and selecting the best solution in the decision-making process as well as new research in this field.

Lord Hunt: having a nasty put-down on your political gravestone

There is nothing so unpleasant as having an honourable and distinguished political and professional career end in a thuggish put-down. And yet this has been the fate of Philip, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, who resigned his post as Under-Secretary of State for Health in March rather than support participation in the invasion of Iraq without UN endorsement. Before becoming a Minister, he was a long-time director of the National Association of Health Authorities.

Focal Dystonia in Woodwind Instrumentalists: Long-term Outcome

This study was conducted to describe the clinical characteristics and long-term outcome in woodwind instrumentalists with focal dystonia. Occupational cramp in musicians has been recognized for 150 years, but only in the past two decades has there been a resurgence of interest in this problem. Despite its overall rarity, the diagnosis of focal dystonia is made in a substantial number of instrumental musicians seeking care for playing-related problems, ranging from 5% to 14% in three larger series. The authors present the clinical characteristics and the results of a follow-up survey of 24 woodwind instrumentalists with focal dystonia seen at their institution between 1987 and 2001. Of the 24 musicians, 15 were male, 9 female. Mean age at onset was 34 years (range 18 to 56 years). Duration of symptoms on presentation averaged 3.5 years. Of the 24, 20 were professional musicians, three music students, and one amateur. Fifteen musicians (63%) responded to the written questionnaire, another five were assessed on subsequent visits, and four were lost to follow-up. The questionnaire was administered on average 7.1 years after initial presentation. Long-term information was available on average 8.5 years after the initial onset of symptoms. The main complaint was “impaired control” of movements, in 18 (75%) affecting the limb and in six (25%) the muscles of embouchure. Four patients (22%) with limb and two (33%) with embouchure dystonia had spreading of the dystonia to other activities. In 77% of the patients abnormal involuntary movement and posturing were noted during playing the instrument. Three patients with limb dystonia experienced moderate benefit from anticholinergic treatment, in two combined with botulinum toxin injections. Another four patients indicated benefit from splinting or incidental casting of their limb. Two patients with embouchure dystonia benefited from rebuilding their embouchure. Overall, half of the patients were unable to pursue their careers as professional musicians, in equal proportions in the two groups. Focal dystonia may affect the limb or muscles of embouchure in woodwind instrumentalists. Available treatment is often of little value, and in half of the patients the dystonia leads to the end of the musical career. More effective approaches are badly needed.

Life events and contact behaviour in drug-related death

The purpose of the study was to analyse influencing factors on drug-related death. Contact behaviour and life events in the forefield of drug-related death were of special interest. During a period of 5 years 189 drug-related deaths were investigated in the German town Essen (inhabitants about 600,000). 53.4 % of 189 people with drug-related death had contact to specialised institutes for drug addicts during lifetime. However, only about 15 % of this group contacted these institutes over the period of the last three months. Additionally, 26 of the 189 persons had a psychiatric comorbid diagnosis, and this subgroup also demonstrated a restricted contact behaviour. Life events during lifetime and especially during the last 3 months seemed to be of influence upon the circumstances of drug-related death. According to this study, there seems to exist a turning away from professional institutions towards the end of the drug career which makes the documentation of influencing factors on drug-related death more difficult. Turning away from the help system is not the reason for drug-related death, but an important attendant circumstance.

Bloody Mary in the mirror: essays in psychoanalytic folkloristics

Bloody Mary in the Mirror: Essays in Psychoanalytic Folkloristics. By Alan Bundes. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2002. Pp. xx + 141, preface, acknowledgments, index. $40.00 cloth); Shabbat Elevator and Other Sabbath Subterfuges: An Unorthodox Essay on Circumventing Custom and Jewish Character. By Alan Dundes. (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2002. Pp. xiii + 201, acknowledgments, preface, bibliography, index. $60.00 cloth, $21.95 paper) Psychoanalytic folkloristics has (one might suggest charitably) an uncertain history and dubious future. More closely linked to psychoanalysis than to academic folklore, the approach demands training in two distinct intellectual arenas-both, sadly, in distress at the turn of the Millennium. Its leading proponent is Alan Dundes, who quotes colleague as describing his position as that of a leader in the field without any followers! (Mirror, p. xi); asserting that his colleagues feel extreme prejudice towards his approach. For years, Alan Dundes appeared to enjoy his role as Grand Contrarian. His zest in attacking orthodoxy was palpable, even as he felt wronged by the scorn of his audiences. As he nears the end of long and distinguished career, his intellectual isolation-an absence of scholarly offspring-has begun to grate, and his two latest works are filled with plaints against folklorists and psychoanalysts, including claim that family members have wondered about my longstanding devotion to psychoanalysis. Was Freud the best life-partner? Perhaps it is comforting that fellow folklorists have so little interest in psychodynamics that Dundes' concern with his own seminal barrenness will pass unnoticed. Both Bloody Mary in the Mirror and Shabbat Elevator are characteristic of Dundes' writings over the decades. former is collection of seven essays on different topics and of varying depth and persuasiveness, the latter an extended essay dealing with Jewish ethnic character through the lens of Sabbath observations. Each essay in Mirror is self-contained. Missing is an overall statement of psychoanalytic folklore theory, an extended argument constructed for folklorists in general rather than for specialists on any of several narrow topics. opening chapter of Mirror, The Psychoanalytic Study of Religious Custom and Belief, comes closest-it is brief essay, but one in which Dundes begins to lay out theory of religion as transformative mirror of family dynamics. Clues of this theoretical approach are evident elsewhere, as in his analysis of projective inversion in the Egyptian Two Brothers folktale (Chapter 3). (Projection theory seems to serve folklore theory well, for unlike purely textual interpretations, it potentially connects to the performance and to audience response.) Dundes' greatest strength as scholar is his vast erudition. number of different references in his corpus is awe-inspiring. Unlike many scholars whose bibliographies largely overlap, Dundes provides us with new literature in support of each analysis. In Mirror (p. xi), he reveals that when he was child, his father offered him dollar for every hundred books he read-a not-unacceptably stingy reward for so voracious reader. Whether his compulsive consumption of volumes should be treated as phallo-genital conquest, anal compulsion, or neo-classical economic rational choice I leave to others to decide, but we readers are the better for it. Dundes has, moreover, powerfully rich and organized imagination, which gives him the rare ability to create consistent and, in its detail, plausible psychoanalytic theory for each case he discusses: anal compulsion (Jewish religious custom), infantilization (fraternity initiation), menstrual anxiety (preadolescent girls' ritual), male Electra imagery (Disney's Little Mermaid), breast-feeding fantasies (vampire beliefs). interpretive punchline for each analysis, considered by itself, may occasion scoffing, but the mass of data within, usually consistent, can be persuasive. …

Apophyseal damage in adolescent athlete

The increasing demands on the adolescent athlete in high performance sports puts high biomechanical stress on the growing structures of the active and passive locomotor system. The "growing factor" itself increases stretching forces on tendon insertions, which are often overloaded when a physical demanding sport is performed additionally. The apophysis is an ossification nucleus near the tendon insertion, which appears before the growing age resumes and these apophysis finally fuses with the adjacent bone. The tensile forces from vigorous sports activity leads to a chronic or acute avulsion of the ossifying tendon insertion. The radiological appearance of this apophyseal damage with ossification and osteolytic processes is sometimes difficult with respect to differential diagnoses. Apophyseal impairment is associated with pain, tenderness to palpation and decreased muscle function. If it is not diagnosed and treated properly it can lead to end of career in many adolescent athletes.

Latex allergy

In 1933, latex allergy was characterized by a Massachusetts dermatologist. Since that time, the information that we have has become more specific, but the disease has not really changed and seems to be occurring with increasing frequency. The use of latex in medical care has increased after the adoption of “universal precautions.” It has been estimated that in the United States, we use about 7 billion pairs of latex gloves, with about 8 to 12% of health care workers demonstrating some form of latex allergy. At its most extreme, latex allergy might be potentially career ending for anywhere from 2 to 54% of these affected individuals. The identification and management of the three types of latex allergy are discussed.

Benefits and risks of using local anaesthetic for pain relief to allow early return to play in professional football

Objective: To investigate the risks and benefits of the use of local anaesthetic in a descriptive case series from three professional football (rugby league and Australian football) teams. Methods: Cases...

Drug Use and Cognitions About Drug Use Amongst Students: Changes Over the University Career

This study examined the hypothesis that students would exhibit changes in their levels of, and cognitions about, drug use throughout their university career. Three hundred and eighty undergraduates from Years 1, 2, and 3 (174 male, 206 female) initially participated in the study (response rate 63%). Questionnaires were distributed at 6-month intervals over a period of 2 years, resulting in 4 time points. The questionnaires contained items relating to the use of, and cognitions about the use of, alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, ecstasy, LSD, and tobacco. No evidence was found to suggest an increase in the percentage of respondents using drugs over their university career. However, a significant increase in the frequency of ecstasy use between Years 1 and 2 was found. Various cognitive measures also exhibited changes between Years 1 and 2, associated with increasingly “liberal” views toward drug use. No evidence was found to suggest that drug use tailed off toward the end of the university career. The findings point to the need for increased drugs education for students, and the need for more research to aid in the understanding of how university life affects drug use levels.