Competitive High School Athletes Research Articles

Youth sport participation, injury history, and current physical activity among young adults

Objective: To examine the interaction between high school (HS) sports participation and injury history with current moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among young adults. Participants: Participants (N = 236) were 18–25 years old, not currently injured, and reported no physical activity limitations. Methods: Participants completed online demographic, injury history, and physical activity surveys. A two-way analysis of covariance was used to test the interaction between HS athlete status and previous injury severity on current self-reported MVPA. Results: Participants were 22.2 ± 2.1 years, primarily White (81.8%) or Asian (6.4%), and female (77.5%). After including body mass index and race as covariates, there was a statistically significant interaction between HS athlete status and previous injury history such that current MVPA was higher among former HS athletes compared to HS recreational/nonathletes when individuals reported no injuries or mild injury severity. MVPA was similar across athlete status groups when participants reported high levels of injury severity. Conclusions: Future studies should examine whether young adults who have experienced multiple and/or severe injuries as competitive HS athletes have unique physical activity barriers.

Return to Sport After Large Single-Surface, Multisurface, or Bipolar Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation in the Knee Using Shell Grafts.

Background:Return to sport (RTS) after osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation for large unipolar femoral condyle defects has been consistent, but many athletes are affected by more severe lesions.Purpose:To examine outcomes for athletes who have undergone large single-surface, multisurface, or bipolar shell OCA transplantation in the knee.Study Design:Case series; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:Data from a prospective OCA transplantation registry were assessed for athletes who underwent knee transplantation for the first time (primary transplant) between June 2015 and March 2018 for injury or overuse-related articular defects. Inclusion criteria were preinjury Tegner level ≥5 and documented type and level of sport (or elite unit active military duty); in addition, patients were required to have a minimum of 1-year follow-up outcomes, including RTS data. Patient characteristics, surgery type, Tegner level, RTS, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), compliance with rehabilitation, revisions, and failures were assessed and compared for statistically significant differences.Results:There were 37 included athletes (mean age, 34 years; range, 15-69 years; mean body mass index, 26.2 kg/m2; range, 18-35 kg/m2) who underwent large single-surface (n = 17), multisurface (n = 4), or bipolar (n = 16) OCA transplantation. The highest preinjury median Tegner level was 9 (mean, 7.9 ± 1.7; range, 5-10). At the final follow-up, 25 patients (68%) had returned to sport; 17 (68%) returned to the same or higher level of sport compared with the highest preinjury level. The median time to RTS was 16 months (range, 7-26 months). Elite unit military, competitive collegiate, and competitive high school athletes returned at a significantly higher proportion (P < .046) than did recreational athletes. For all patients, the Tegner level at the final follow-up (median, 6; mean, 6.1 ± 2.7; range, 1-10) was significantly lower than that at the highest preinjury level (P = .007). PROMs were significantly improved at the final follow-up compared with preoperative levels and reached or exceeded clinically meaningful differences. OCA revisions were performed in 2 patients (5%), and failures requiring total knee arthroplasty occurred in 2 patients (5%), all of whom were recreational athletes. Noncompliance was documented in 4 athletes (11%) and was 15.5 times more likely (P = .049) to be associated with failure or a need for revision than for compliant patients.Conclusion:Large single-surface, multisurface, or bipolar shell OCA knee transplantations in athletes resulted in two-thirds of these patients returning to sport at 16 to 24 months after transplantation. Combined, the revision and failure rates were 10%; thus, 90% of patients were considered to have successful 2- to 4-year outcomes with significant improvements in pain and function, even when patients did not RTS.

Doping in sport: Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of competitive high school athletes in Gauteng Province

Objective . To determine the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of talented young athletes residing in Gauteng regarding prohibited performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and anti-doping rules and regulations. Methods. This was a survey study using a quantitative research approach. South African TuksSport academy athletes at the High Performance Centre, University of Pretoria, and competitive high-school athletes at four private high schools in Gauteng completed the survey. A selfdetermined, structured questionnaire was used to establish the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of the athletes. Results. A total of 346 (208 males, 138 females) athletes, mean (standard deviation) age 16.9 (1.4) years participated in the survey. According to this survey, 3.9% of the athletes in this survey admitted to using a prohibited PED and more than 14.0% of the athletes said they would consider using a prohibited PED if they knew they would not get caught. Ambition (46.0%) and emotional pressure (22.5%) were the primary reasons why the athletes would consider using prohibited PEDs. Even though coaches appeared to be one of the main sources of information (on PEDs and anti-doping rules), only 42.1% of the athletes felt that they were well informed. Conclusion . Controlling doping by means of testing is important. However, it may be necessary to put more emphasis on changing attitudes towards doping and implementing additional educational programmes.

Doping in sport: Attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of competitive high school athletes in Gauteng Province

Objective. To determine the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of talented young athletes residing in Gauteng regarding prohibited performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) and anti-doping rules and regulations.Methods. This was a survey study using a quantitative research approach. South African TuksSport academy athletes at the High Performance Centre, University of Pretoria, and competitive high-school athletes at four private high schools in Gauteng completed the survey. A selfdetermined, structured questionnaire was used to establish the attitudes, beliefs and knowledge of the athletes.Results. A total of 346 (208 males, 138 females) athletes, mean (standard deviation) age 16.9 (1.4) years participated in the survey. According to this survey, 3.9% of the athletes in this survey admitted to using a prohibited PED and more than 14.0% of the athletes said they would consider using a prohibited PED if they knew they would not get caught. Ambition (46.0%) and emotional pressure (22.5%) were the primary reasons why the athletes would consider using prohibited PEDs. Even though coaches appeared to be one of the main sources of information (on PEDs and anti-doping rules), only 42.1% of the athletes felt that they were well informed.Conclusion. Controlling doping by means of testing is important. However, it may be necessary to put more emphasis on changing attitudes towards doping and implementing additional educational programmes.

Abstract 18424: Cardiovascular Death in Student-Athletes and in the General Population: Are Trained Athletes Really at Higher Risk?

Background: Sudden death due to cardiovascular (CV) disease in competitive athletes has become a highly visible concern in the physician and lay communities. Previous studies have reported mortality rates from CV disease in young athletes as 2 to &gt;4/100,000 person-years. However, while CV death rates are believed to be increased for competitive athletes, they have not been placed in the context of normal CV mortality within the general U.S. population. Methods: Using 2002 to 2006 cause of death (COD) data from CDC Division of Vital Statistics and population data from U.S. Census Bureau, CV-associated death rates were calculated by gender for populations ages 15-19 and 20-24 years. Comparisons were made to mortality rates obtained for high school athletes in Minnesota and U.S. college athletes. Results: Within the general population, CV death rates were 1.9 and 3.5/100,000 person-years for ages 15-19 and 20-24, respectively. When compared to death rates of 0.7/100,000 athlete-years in competitive high school athletes, the rate of CV death in the general population is 2.7 fold higher. Similarly, when compared to the reported death rate of 2.3/100,000 athlete-years, in NCAA athletes the rate of CV death in the general population is 1.5-fold higher. General population CV death rates were 1.9-fold higher for males compared to females in both age groups, and similar to competitive athletes for which male deaths predominate 9:1 (Table). Within the general population, African-American males and females, ages 15-19, had CV death rates 2-fold higher than their white counterparts, and for ages 20-24, African-American men/women had rates 2.3 and 2.7-fold higher than white counterparts, respectively. Conclusion: Although high school and college student-athletes are believed to be at increased risk for CV death, comparisons to the general population of similar age suggest otherwise with competitive athletes actually less likely to experience fatal CV events.

Special Issue: New Horizons for Optimal Performance

Special Issue: New Horizons for Optimal Performance

Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes

Letters20 July 2010Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School AthletesJoseph C. Marek, MDJoseph C. Marek, MDFrom Midwest Heart Specialists, Oak Brook Terrace, IL 60181.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-2-201007200-00014 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:I read with interest Maron's recent editorial (1) but take issue with several of his assertions. My arguments are based on my experience with screenings in a multicounty region in suburban Chicago. Since 2006, our program, Young Hearts for Life, has screened more than 45 000 high school students.First, I believe that Maron's efforts to relate the Italian system to the U.S. system are flawed. He contends that the disparity in physician resources between Italy and the United States is dramatic. The absolute number of athletes in the United States is larger than that of Italy, ...

Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes

Letters20 July 2010Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School AthletesBarry J. Maron, MDBarry J. Maron, MDFrom Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, MN 55407.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-2-201007200-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:I read with interest Dr. Marek's reaction to my editorial. Unfortunately, my comments seem to have been largely misunderstood. First, the disparity cited between U.S. and Italian physicians performing screening examinations relates specifically to the unique cadre of sports medicine physicians solely dedicated to this program in Italy—a crucial resource that simply does not exist in the United States, making national mandatory ECG screening exceedingly difficult, if not impractical. Second, the sudden death of any young athlete is tragic, but these events are uncommon (1–3). Third, Dr. Marek's characterization of the Sudden Death in Athletes Registry (1) as ...

Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes

Electrocardiography and Preparticipation Screening of Competitive High School Athletes

Identifying Previous Sports Injury Among High School Athletes

The number of adolescents participating in high school athletics has doubled over the past 30 years, surpassing 7 million participants in 2007–2008.1 With increased participation has come heightened focus on the increasing number of adolescent sports injuries. Previous injury has been identified as a risk factor for sustaining a subsequent sports injury.2–4 We anticipate that many adolescents participating in high school sports have previously sustained a sports-related injury that needs identification prior to future sports participation. Our objectives were to identify previous sports injury among competitive high school athletes entering a new sports season.

Prevalence of sudden cardiac death during competitive sports activities in Minnesota high school athletes.

Reliable prevalence data would be useful in assessing the impact of sudden cardiac death in young competitive athletes on the community and designing effective preparticipation screening strategies. The frequency with which these catastrophes occur is largely unknown. We utilized a circumstance unique to Minnesota in which the precise number of participants and deaths due to cardiovascular disease could be ascertained over a substantial period of time based on a long-standing insurance program for catastrophic injury or death, mandatory for all student athletes engaged in interscholastic sports. Over the 12-year period, 1985/1986 to 1996/1997, inclusive, three sudden deaths due to cardiovascular disease occurred in competitive high school athletes (grades 10-12) during competition or practice. At autopsy, 1 each proved to be due to anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery from the right sinus of Valsalva, congenital aortic valve stenosis (with bicuspid valve) and myocarditis. All three athletes were white and male, 16 or 17 years of age; two competed in cross-country/track and one in basketball. During the study period there were 1,453,280 overall sports participations and 651,695 student athlete participants among the 27 high school sports. The calculated risk for sudden death was 1:500,000 participations and 1:217,400 participants per academic year (or 0.46/100,000, annually). Over a 3-year high school career for a student athlete the estimated risk was 1:72,500. The risk of sudden cardiac death in a population of high school student athletes was small, in the range of one in 200,000 per year, and was higher in male athletes. The rare occurrence of sudden cardiac death in competitive sports underlines the limitations implicit in structuring productive and cost-effective broad-based preparticipation screening strategies for high school athletes.