This study presents age-specific and gender-specific patterns and normative values for lower-body isokinetic performance in 195 women and 162 men, 18-80 years of age, using data collected from 1991 to 2004. Peak torque (PT) and average power (AP) during knee extension (KE), knee flexion (KF), ankle plantar flexion, and dorsiflexion (DF) at 1.05, 3.14, and 5.24 rad · s(-1) were compared by decade. Knee extension and KF at all speeds showed a significant main effect by age group (G). Men's KEPT and KEAP at 60 and 70 G were significantly different than 20, 30, and 40 G at all speeds. Additionally, 50 G differed from all other groups. For women, 50, 60, and 70 G KEPT and KEAP at 5.24 rad · s (-1)differed significantly from all other age groups. Men's KFPT and KFAP showed no differences among 20, 30, and 40 G, whereas 50 G differed from all groups except 60 G. For KFPT and KFAP, women 20 and 30 G differed from other age groups at all testing speeds. Plantar flexion and DF performance declines were speed specific mainly occurring at 3.14 rad · s.(-1) The results reflect declines in strength and power beginning during the fifth decade in men, and earlier in women. The study also provides normative values, which may be used to evaluate neuromuscular performances by gender across decades of life.
This paper seeks to review the literature and address ethical implications of organized contact sports, such as American football and boxing, with significant child or adolescent participation. Child and adolescent sport participation act not only as a leisure activity, but also improves physical health and enhances psychological and social health outcomes. However, playing sports may also have negative physiological effects, such as sports-related concussions (SRCs) - a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) - which are an emerging public health concern. This paper review and explores ethical implications of contact sports in the scientific literature and demonstrates challenged faced on philosophical deliberation on the ethical implications of SRCs and RHIs due to complexities of these conditions and their identification and treatment involving a wide variety of practical situations, which formal sports rules may not adequately address. Since scholarly literature has yet to arrive at a consensus concerning causal link(s) between contact sports participation and significant concussion-related brain damage, the paper argues in favor of strengthening concussion preventive measures, identification protocols and management procedures in contact sports. This article rejects ethical paternalism on the basis of inconclusive empirical evidence concerning associations between contact sports participation and heightened SRC risk. It also rejects Mill’s argumentation against consensualism and suggests prevention is a better solution over inadequately founded philosophical ethical proposals favoring drastically reforming contact sports.
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