Group Of Elite Athletes Research Articles

A preliminary study on infrared thermal imaging of cross-country skiers and swimmers subjected to endurance exercise

This study was focused on the thermal mapping of skin over the selected muscle zones in two groups of elite athletes fully engaged in completely other sports performing about an hour running effort at individual AT intensity. Two groups of elite male athletes, a group of cross-country skiers (CS; N = 6) and a group of elite endurance swimmers (SW; N = 4), were investigated. Thermal images of sportsmen’ body at front and from the rear were recorded before and about 1–2 min after exercise test using camera Flir Systems E60. Functional (heart rate, oxygen uptake, workload) as well as biochemical markers (activities of creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase, concentration of lactate and haemoglobin) were also assessed. The marked differentiation in skin temperature distribution in cross-country skiers and endurance swimmers subjected to the same endurance exercise on treadmill was observed. There was significant decrease in temperature in upper body temperature in CS group, while SW group revealed a significant increase in temperature of the lower limbs. The calculated total body skin temperature was also influenced by practicing training of elite athletes. Some significant correlations of physiological, biochemical and morphological parameters (% fat) with average temperature after exercise test were found for different muscle zones in swimmers and cross-country skiers. Statistical analysis showed that workload had the most impact on skin temperature changes, especially in swimmers. The results provide additional information on the muscle work in the different sport disciplines and may be helpful in efficiency evaluation of elite athletes.

Usefulness Of Two-Dimensional Echo Strain In Evaluation Of Cardiac Function In Elite Athletes

PURPOSE: Cardiovascular adaptation to sport training is influenced by many factors, including the intensity and the kind of sport practiced. The “Morganroth hypothesis” asserted that a static exercise characterized by a pressure load and dynamic (isotonic) exercise which involves a volume load to the heart lead to different myocardial adaptation patterns. More recent studies revisited this hypothesis, showing that left ventricular (LV) remodelling observed in both resistance and endurance trained athletes, presented similar aspects. Although morphological modifications secondary to exercise have been largely studied, less is known on myocardial systolic function in LV remodeling patterns in different elite athletes. Two-dimensional strain analysis allows a complete study of the contractile function in different myocardial regions of interest in left and right ventricle. In this study we aim to underline possible differences in contractile myocardial function with strain analysis in two groups of elite athletes, trained with different loads and playing different sports (football and cyclism). METHODS: We enrolled 47 male athletes: 23 football players and 24 cyclists, belonging to same football or cyclism team (mean age in both groups 18±3 years old). The athletes were evaluated with echocardiography at the beginning of the sports season. We assessed LV contractile function using speckle-tracking echocardiographic global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS). We also analysed right ventricular function by strain echocardiography. RESULTS: Cyclists showed a significantly augmented indexed LV mass and TAPSE. No significant differences were found in GLS data between the two groups (23.4±0.02 in football players and 24.1±0.02 in cyclists), whereas a significantly higher GCS was found in cyclists compared to football players (31.2±0.04 and 27.2±0.05 respectively, p< 0.005). The cyclist group showed a significant increase in right ventricular strain compared to football players (26.3±0.04 and 23.2±0.04, respectively, p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary data suggest that a dynamic exercise, which involves a volume load, like cyclism, lead to a sensible increase in systolic function in elite athletes especially in right ventricle contractility.

The prevalence and severity of health problems in youth elite sports: A 6-month prospective cohort study of 320 athletes.

Little is known regarding the overall health of youth elite athletes. Our aim was to describe the prevalence and severity of health problems in a cohort of youth elite athletes representing a variety of endurance, team, and technical sports. Elite sport athletes (N=260, 16.2years) from different Sport Academy High Schools in Norway, and a group of their teammates (N=60, 16.4years) attending regular high schools, were included in the study. The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) questionnaire on health problems was used to self-report injuries and illnesses for 26weeks. At any given time, an average of 43% [95% CI: 37%-49%] of the elite sport athletes had some form of health problem and 25% [20%-31%] had substantial health problems. The prevalence of health problems was similar between the elite team sport athletes and their teammates, except for substantial injuries (22% [16%-30%] vs 10% [5%-20%]). Endurance sport athletes reported more illnesses (23% [15%-35%]) than technical and team sport athletes (10% [5%-20%] and 8% [4%-14%]). In contrast, technical and team sport athletes reported more injuries (36% [95% CI: 25-48] and 37% [95% CI 29-45]) compared to endurance sport athletes (15% [8%-25%]). The total impact of health problems was roughly split in thirds between overuse injuries (37%), acute injuries (34%), and illnesses (30%). This is the first prospective study to present self-reported injury and illness data in a large heterogeneous group of youth elite athletes, documenting a substantial impact of both injuries and illnesses on the health of this population.

Coach ratings of skills and their relations to practice, play and successful transitions from youth-elite to adult-professional status in soccer

ABSTRACTElite soccer players (~15 yr) from professional academies in the UK were rated on technical, tactical, physical and creative skills by coaches at time 1 (T1). Players estimated accumulated hours in soccer practice (coach-led activities) and play (self-led activities) during childhood. Coach-ratings were again collected 2.5 yr later (T2) for players that received a professional contract (~17 yr). Adult-professional status was determined at T3 (~ 20 yr). Skill ratings distinguished across the three “future” groups (academy-only, youth-professional only and adult-professional), for all but creative skill. For players that transitioned to youth-professional, medium sized correlations were noted between childhood practice amounts and technical and creative skill ratings at T1, although practice amounts correlated more strongly with skill ratings at T2. Play amounts were not related to any skills. Within groups of youth elite athletes, domain-specific play in childhood, and to a lesser degree practice, were generally not good discriminators of specific-skills. The effects of sport-specific practice on the development (and discriminability) of skills takes time to emerge. We consider the implications for talent development models and purported links between play and creativity.

Performance Motivation of Elite Athletes, Recreational Athletes and Non-Athletes

AbstractThe aim of the paper is to widen knowledge about motivation of elite, recreational athletes and non-athletes. Participants from the elite athletes group (n = 35, 16.7 ± .70 years old) were football players of the Slovak national team. Recreational athletes (n = 31, 16.8 ± .80 years old) and non-athletes (n = 29, 15.7 ± .60 years old) are visiting Grammar School in Zvolen. D-M-V standardized questionnaire was used to determine performance motivation. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov's test disconfirmed the null hypothesis on the normality of data. We used the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests to determine the statistical significance of the differences. The results showed that there were significant (p .0.01) differences with large effect size (η2≥ .14) in all the three (the performance motives scale, the anxiety inhibiting performance scale and the anxiety supporting performance scale) dimensions among the research groups. The motivation of elite athletes is significantly higher (p = .048; r = .25) compared to the recreational athletes. Also, compared to the non-athletes, the level of performance motivation is significantly higher (p = .002; r = .51) in the elite athletes. Based on the results of the study we can formulate the statement that the level of performance motivation is contingent on the level of sport activity.

Developmental tasks and well-being in adolescent elite athletes in comparison with recreational/non-athletes

Young elite athletes (EA) have to solve the same developmental tasks (DTs) as non-athletes, even though they spend a lot of time with their sports and have to solve certain sports-related DTs in addition [Ohlert & Kleinert (2014). Entwicklungsaufgaben jugendlicher Elite-Handballerinnen und –Handballer [Developmental tasks in adolescent elite handball players]. Zeitschrift für Sportpsychologie, 21(4), 161–172. doi:10.1026/1612-5010/a000129]. The aim of this study was to find out if this situation leads to a shortfall in certain DTs and, furthermore, to a reduced well-being in adolescent EA. In total, 185 EA participated in the survey together with 166 recreational/non-athletes (RA). Participants were between 16 and 19 years old (69% female) and answered questions regarding the relevance of different DTs, their actual progression, satisfaction with their actual progression, and the WHO-5 measure for well-being. Compared to the RA group, the EA group reported a different relevance for some DTs. No significant differences were found between the two groups in progression or satisfaction with progression. The stepwise multiple regression resulted in two significant predictors for well-being in EA: satisfaction with progression in the DTs “to find oneself” and “circle of friends”. For RA, the analysis revealed only satisfaction with progression in “circle of friends” as a significant predictor. Implications are that, at least for this age group, problems with DTs were not detected for the adolescent EA. However, if satisfaction with the own progression in certain DTs is low, well-being will also be reduced.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) diagnosis and treatment in an elite professional football (soccer) player

A 33-year-old male professional football player suffered from acute-onset dizziness following a lower limb soft tissue treatment in prone lying. Symptoms included spinning vertigo lasting for 30's, headache, visual vertigo...

Subsequent Injuries Are More Common Than Injury Recurrences: An Analysis of 1 Season of Prospectively Collected Injuries in Professional Australian Football

Background: It is known that some people can, and do, sustain >1 injury over a playing season. However, there is currently little high-quality epidemiological evidence about the risk of, and relationships between, multiple and subsequent injuries. Purpose: To describe the subsequent injuries sustained by Australian Football League (AFL) players over 1 season, including their most common injury diagnoses. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Within-player linked injury data on all date-ordered match-loss injuries sustained by AFL players during 1 full season were obtained. The total number of injuries per player was determined, and in those with >1 injury, the Subsequent Injury Classification (SIC) model was used to code all subsequent injuries based on their Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (OSICS) codes and the dates of injury. Results: There were 860 newly recorded injuries in 543 players; 247 players (45.5%) sustained ≥1 subsequent injuries after an earlier injury, with 317 subsequent injuries (36.9% of all injuries) recorded overall. A subsequent injury generally occurred to a different body region and was therefore superficially unrelated to an index injury. However, 32.2% of all subsequent injuries were related to a previous injury in the same season. Hamstring injuries were the most common subsequent injury. The mean time between injuries decreased with an increasing number of subsequent injuries. Conclusion: When relationships between injuries are taken into account, there is a high level of subsequent (and multiple) injuries leading to missed games in an elite athlete group.

Great British medalists: Response to the commentaries.

Hardy et al. (2017) reported the findings of a large-scale, multisource, qualitative study that examined the commonalities of, and discriminators between, a group of super-elite (SE) and a group of elite (E) athletes who were matched on gender, sport, discipline, and era. Fifteen research teams who are actively engaged in research in the domain then provided critical commentaries on the target paper. In our response to these commentaries, we briefly remind the reader of the primary findings of the original paper and then deal with the commentaries under the subheadings: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Elite Performance; Mediating and Moderating Variables; Methodological Issues; Omissions; and Alternative Approaches. Finally, we discuss the very small number of disagreements that we have with any of the commentaries.

Association of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups with elite athletic status in Iranian population

Increasing evidences suggest that certain variations in the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are associated with physical performance levels of individuals. The aim of the present study was to assess whether mitochondrial haplogroups are associated with elite athlete status in Iranian population. The mtDNA haplogroups of 100 Iranian athletes and 100 healthy, non-athletic individuals were genotyped. Significant differences were observed for haplogroups U and J, which were under- and over-represented in the elite athletes group. The results show that mtDNA haplogroups and their related phenotypic expression correlate with the physical performance.

Discordant genotyping results using DNA isolated from anti-doping control urine samples.

The UGT2B17 gene deletion polymorphism is known to correlate to urinary concentration of testosterone-glucuronide and hence this genotype exerts a large impact on the testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio, a biomarker for testosterone doping. The objective of this study was to assess if DNA isolated from athletes' urine samples (n = 713) obtained in routine doping controls could be targeted for genotyping analysis for future integration in the athlete's passport. A control population (n = 21) including both urine and blood DNA was used for genotyping concordance test. Another aim was to study a large group (n = 596) of authentic elite athletes in respect of urinary steroid profile in relation to genetic variation. First we found that the genotype results when using urine-derived DNA did not correlate sufficiently with the genotype obtained from whole blood DNA. Secondly we found males with one or two UGT2B17 alleles had higher T/E (mean 1.63 ± 0.93) than females (mean 1.28 ± 1.08), p˂0.001. Unexpectedly, we found that several male del/del athletes in power sports had a T/E ˃1. If men in power sport exert a different urinary steroid profile needs to be further investigated. The other polymorphisms investigated in the CYP17A1, UGT2B7 and UGT2B15 genes did not show any associations with testosterone and epitestosterone concentrations. Our results show that genotyping using urine samples according to our method is not useful in an anti-doping setting. Instead, it is of importance for the anti-doping test programs to include baseline values in the ABP to minimize any putative impact of genotype. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mobility and muscle strength in male former elite endurance and power athletes aged 66-91years.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare mobility and muscle strength in male former elite endurance and power athletes aged 66-91years (n=150; 50 men in both former elite athlete groups and in their control group). Agility, dynamic balance, walking speed, chair stand, self-rated balance confidence (ABC-scale), jumping height, and handgrip strength were assessed. Former elite power athletes had better agility performance time than the controls (age- and body mass index, BMI-adjusted mean difference -3.6s; 95% CI -6.3, -0.8). Adjustment for current leisure time physical activity (LTPA) and prevalence of diseases made this difference non-significant (P=0.214). The subjects in the power sports group jumped higher than the men in the control group (age- and BMI-adjusted mean differences for vertical squat jump, VSJ 4.4cm; 95% CI 2.0, 6.8; for countermovement jump, CMJ 4.0cm; 95% CI 1.7, 6.4). Taking current LTPA and chronic diseases for adjusting process did not improve explorative power of the model. No significant differences between the groups were found in the performances evaluating dynamic balance, walking speed, chair stand, ABC-scale, or handgrip strength. In conclusion, power athletes among the aged former elite sportsmen had greater explosive force production in their lower extremities than the men in the control group.

Knee joint position sense ability in elite athletes who have returned to international level play following ACL reconstruction: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundFollowing an ACL injury, reconstruction (ACL-R) and rehabilitation, athletes may return to play with a proprioceptive deficit. However, literature is lacking to support this hypothesis in elite athletic groups who have returned to international levels of performance. It is possible the potentially heightened proprioceptive ability evidenced in athletes may negate a deficit following injury. The purpose of this study was to consider the effects of ACL injury, reconstruction and rehabilitation on knee joint position sense (JPS) on a group of elite athletes who had returned to international performance. MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design ten elite athletes with ACL-R and ten controls were evaluated. JPS was tested into knee extension and flexion using absolute error scores. Average data with 95% confidence intervals between the reconstructed, contralateral and uninjured control knees were analyzed using t-tests and effect sizes. ResultsThe reconstructed knee of the injured group demonstrated significantly greater angle of error scores when compared to the contralateral and uninjured control into knee flexion (p=0.0001, r=0.98) and knee extension (p=0.0001, r=0.91). There were no significant differences between the contralateral uninjured knee of the injured group and the uninjured control group. ConclusionsElite athletes who have had an ACL injury, reconstruction, rehabilitation and returned to international play demonstrate lower JPS ability compared to control groups. It is unclear if this deficiency affects long-term performance or secondary injury and re-injury problems. In the future physical therapists should monitor athletes longitudinally when they return to play.

Osteoarthritis is associated with symptoms of common mental disorders among former elite athletes

PurposeThe primary aim was to establish the association between osteoarthritis (OA) and the occurrence and comorbidity of symptoms of common mental disorders (CMD: distress, anxiety/depression, sleep disturbance, adverse alcohol use) in a group of former elite athletes (rugby, football, ice hockey, Gaelic sports and cricket). A secondary aim was to explore this association in the subgroups of sports.MethodsCross-sectional analysis was performed on the baseline questionnaires from five prospective cohort studies conducted between April 2014 and January 2016 in former elite athletes of rugby, football, ice hockey, Gaelic sports and cricket. The presence of OA (diagnosed by a medical professional) was examined with a single question, and symptoms of CMD were evaluated through multiple validated questionnaires (4DSQ, GHQ-12, PROMIS, AUDIT-C).ResultsThere was a significant association between OA and symptoms of distress (OR 1.7, 95 % CI 1.2–2.6), sleep disturbance (OR 1.6, 95 % CI 1.1–2.3), adverse alcohol use (OR 1.8, 95 % CI 1.2–2.6) and a comorbidity of symptoms of CMD (OR 1.5, 95 % CI 1.0–2.1) in former elite athletes.ConclusionOA might be a risk factor for developing symptoms of CMD in former elite athletes. The clinical relevance of this study is that an interdisciplinary approach to the clinical care and support of former elite athletes after their careers is advocated as the interaction between the physical and mental health issues occurring on the long term is complex. Monitoring OA among former elite athletes should be empowered while strategies to prevent symptoms worsening should be developed and implemented. The self-awareness, prevention and care of mental health problems that might occur after a professional sports career should also be addressed.Level of evidenceLevel III.

Family functioning profiles and character strengths in young elite athletes from Argentina

The goals of this present study were to explore family functioning in terms of cohesion, flexibility, communication, and promotion of challenges in young athletes and to study how family functioning is related to character strengths in elite versus recreational athletes. Adolescents (n = 476) of both genders (56.50% male) between 11 and 19 years old (M = 15.22; SD = 1.50) participated in the study. The elite athletes group (n = 238) was made up of adolescents from youth national teams of different sports from Argentina. The recreational athletes group (n = 238) played sports as an extracurricular activity and were recruited from secondary schools in Buenos Aires. All athletes completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Parental Promotion of Challenges Scale, Parent-adolescent Communication Inventory, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, and Values in Action Inventory for adolescents. A cluster analysis revealed three distinct family functioning profile groups: Cluster 1: positive family functioning (n = 164); Cluster 2: moderate family functioning (n = 215); and Cluster 3: negative family functioning (n = 97). Elite athletes differed from recreational athletes in their family functioning perceptions. A multivariate analysis showed that positive family functioning is related to the development of character strengths in adolescent athletes regardless of whether they are recreational or elite athletes. The results are discussed with regard to the role of family functioning in development opportunities for adolescents to reach their sporting potential and make sports a positive experience.

No Evidence of a Common DNA Variant Profile Specific to World Class Endurance Athletes.

There are strong genetic components to cardiorespiratory fitness and its response to exercise training. It would be useful to understand the differences in the genomic profile of highly trained endurance athletes of world class caliber and sedentary controls. An international consortium (GAMES) was established in order to compare elite endurance athletes and ethnicity-matched controls in a case-control study design. Genome-wide association studies were undertaken on two cohorts of elite endurance athletes and controls (GENATHLETE and Japanese endurance runners), from which a panel of 45 promising markers was identified. These markers were tested for replication in seven additional cohorts of endurance athletes and controls: from Australia, Ethiopia, Japan, Kenya, Poland, Russia and Spain. The study is based on a total of 1520 endurance athletes (835 who took part in endurance events in World Championships and/or Olympic Games) and 2760 controls. We hypothesized that world-class athletes are likely to be characterized by an even higher concentration of endurance performance alleles and we performed separate analyses on this subsample. The meta-analysis of all available studies revealed one statistically significant marker (rs558129 at GALNTL6 locus, p = 0.0002), even after correcting for multiple testing. As shown by the low heterogeneity index (I2 = 0), all eight cohorts showed the same direction of association with rs558129, even though p-values varied across the individual studies. In summary, this study did not identify a panel of genomic variants common to these elite endurance athlete groups. Since GAMES was underpowered to identify alleles with small effect sizes, some of the suggestive leads identified should be explored in expanded comparisons of world-class endurance athletes and sedentary controls and in tightly controlled exercise training studies. Such studies have the potential to illuminate the biology not only of world class endurance performance but also of compromised cardiac functions and cardiometabolic diseases.

Influence of different characteristics of sport on heart rate recovery in elite athletes

Introduction: One of the benefits of regular physical activity is lower resting heart rate and its faster recovery after maximal exercise test, as a result of a stronger parasympatic (vagal) tone. Heart rate recovery is used as reliable parameter for prescription of the training program and also in prognostic purposes as a parameter of risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. Aim: The purpose of this study is to show significant differences in heart rate recovery after maximal exercise test and resting heart rate among different groups of elite athletes. Material and Methods: This study subjected 575 adult (23.1 ± 4.3 years), male athletes divided into four sport groups: skill, power, mixed and endurance. Every subject performed progressive, maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test on a treadmill. Heart rate recovery in first (ΔHRR1) and third (ΔHRR3) minute was calculated as a difference of maximal heart rate and heart rate in the first and the third minute after cessation of exercise, respectively. Results: Compared to skill, power and mixed group (62.9 ± 11.4; 61.5 ± 10.0; 59.9 ± 10.4 min-1 respectively), significantly lower values od resting heart rate are recorded in the endurance group (56.2 ± 10.6 min-1) (p = 0,05). Also, ΔHRR1 was significantly higher in the endurance group (33.5 ±14.3 min-1) compared to skill, power and mixed group (24.3 ± 10.9; 25.5 ± 11.2; 27.8 ± 15.6 min-1 respectively) (p = 0,05). Values od ΔHRR3 were significantly higher in power, mixed and endurance groups (74.8 ± 14.3; 79.5 ± 12.7; 79.4 ± 12.6 min-1 respectively) compared to skill group (67.3±16.1 min-1) (p = 0,05). Conclusion: Training endurance group of sports has the most contribution to lower resting heart rate and faster recovery of heart rate in the first minute after exercising, due to dominant parasympatic tone.

Differences among Elite Female Rowers Regarding Carbohydrate Consumption at Rest

Backround: The objective of this study was interpreting the reported differences within carbohydrate consumption at rest, in female rowing groups. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study, on a group of elite rowing athletes, monitoring carbohydrate consumption at rest. 34 subjects, divided in 3 groups of activities (senior, youth, junior) took part in this study being monitored through Cosmed Quark CPET device. Results: The average amount of carbohydrates consumed at rest among the group of seniors was 263.6 grams/day, representing 1080.76 kcal. Youth group has reached an average of 248 grams/day, representing 1016.8 kcal., whereas the junior group has reached high average consumption of carbohydrates, 359 grams/day, equivalent to 1417.9 kcal/day. Noticeable differences among the average value was recorded between G3-G1, G3-G2 groups while the most significant differences were seen between G1-G3, and G2-G3 groups of athletes. Conclusion: The results of this study show a lack of adaptation among athletes in exercise performed with a monitored increased carbohydrate consumption at rest, and a low lipid consumption. At the same time, increased preponderance of carbohydrates at rest can negatively affect the activity of recovery, in terms of energy and nutritional needs by initiating the specific effort with an advanced stage of fatigue dictated by time spent in anaerobic effort indicated by the energy consumption of the monitored athletes.

Radiographic Prevalence of Dysplasia, Cam, and Pincer Deformities in Elite Ballet

Background: The demands of hip strength and motion in ballet are high. Hip disorders, such as cam and pincer deformities or dysplasia, may affect dance performance. However, the prevalence of these radiographic findings is unknown. Purpose: To determine the prevalence of radiographic cam and pincer deformities, borderline dysplasia, and dysplasia in a professional ballet company. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: An institutional review board–approved cross-sectional investigation of a professional ballet company was undertaken. Male and female adult dancers were eligible for inclusion. Four plain radiographs were obtained (standing anteroposterior pelvis, bilateral false profile, and supine Dunn 45°) and verified for adequacy. Cam and pincer deformities, dysplasia, borderline dysplasia, and osteoarthritis were defined. All plain radiographic parameters were measured and analyzed on available radiographs. Student t test, chi-square test (and Fisher exact test), and Spearman correlation analyses were performed to compare sexes, groups, and the effect of select radiographic criteria. Results: A total of 47 dancers were analyzed (21 males, 26 females; mean age (±SD), 23.8 ± 5.4 years). Cam deformity was identified in 25.5% (24/94) of hips and 31.9% (15/47) of subjects, with a significantly greater prevalence in male dancers than females (48% hips and 57% subjects vs 8% hips and 12% subjects; P < .001 and P = .001, respectively). Seventy-four percent of subjects had at least 2 of 6 radiographic signs of pincer deformity. Male dancers had a significantly greater prevalence of both prominent ischial spine and posterior wall signs (P = .001 and P < .001, respectively), while female dancers had a significantly greater prevalence of coxa profunda (85% female hips vs 26% male hips; P < .001). Eighty-nine percent of subjects had dysplasia or borderline dysplasia in at least 1 hip (37% dysplastic), with a significantly greater prevalence of dysplasia or borderline dysplasia in female versus male dancers (92% female hips vs 74% male hips; P < .022). Further, in those with dysplasia or borderline dysplasia, 92% of female and 82% of male dancers had bilateral findings. Conclusion: In this professional ballet company, a high prevalence of radiographic abnormalities was found, including cam and pincer deformity and dysplasia. The results also revealed several sex-related differences of these abnormalities in this unique population. The long-term implications of these findings in this group of elite athletes remain unknown, and this issue warrants future investigation.

Wheelchair Depending Elite Athletes Do Have Less Symptoms But Equal Pathology In Mr-imaging Of There Shoulder Than Recreational Athletes

Handicapped people depending on wheelchairs do have a prevalence of 50%-80% to suffer chronic shoulder pain throughout their living. The effect of high intensive physical activity such as competing on international level on the shoulder pain is not finally resolved. PURPOSE: To determine the correlations of symptoms and MR-Imaging in elite and recreational athletes depending on wheelchairs. METHODS: We measured groups of elite athletes (EA) (n=10) and recreational athletes (RA) (n=30). The elite athletes were defined as international competing athletes being member of national squads. Athletes took part in Wheelchair Basketball, Badminton and rugby as well as Handbike. Both groups were seen 3 times over 2 years. Each time we investigated their symptoms in the Constant Score (CS) and Wheelchair users shoulder pain index (WUSPI). MR-Imaging was performed at T0 and after 24 month. A score was developed to describe pathologies seen in MR Imaging. Group comparisons were made using two way ANOVA with repeated measures. RESULTS: The mean value (MW) of the CS for EA developed from 93.4 (± 5.2) to 95.1 (± 3.1). The MW for the RA was 89.5 (± 14.5) at T0 and 92.6 (± 8.3) at T2. WUSPI for EA started with a mean value of 6.3 (± 15.9) and developed to 1.3 (± 3.3), RA started with 24.3 (± 42.3) and was 8.9 (± 14.2) at T2. The MR-Imaging Score showed MW of 1.9 (± 2.1) for EA and rised to 6.0 (± 5.0) after two years. RA showed MW of 2.9 (± 2.9) at T0 and 5.7 (± 5.1) at T2. The distance between humeral head and acromion was 6.2 (± 1.2) for EA at T0 and 5.3 (± 0.7) at T2. RA showed MW of 6.0 (± 1.6) at T0 and 5.1 (± 2.4) at T2. CONCLUSION: The EA had a better shoulder function measured in the CS, relative to RA. There were lower symptoms in WUSPI of EA compared to RA. Analysis could not show differences in pathology between the EA and RA. MR-Imaging in both groups did not show significant differences in alteration in two year follow up. Supported by Bundesinstitut für Sportwissenschaft (BiSP) IIA1-070403/09-11