These results support the effectiveness of acupuncture for physical and mental well-being of athletes.

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Purpose: T1WI (T1 weighted image) was acquired in order to grade bone fusion following the studies by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Associations). Research using images other than T1WI has not been reported. The aim of this study is to evaluate the grade of epiphyseal fusion by T2* weighted images (T2*WI) and to investigate new findings on T2*WI as compared with T1WI.Methods: A total of 87 subjects, all junior football players between the ages of 12 and 17 years old, were examined. T1 and T2* WI were obtained using a 1.2T Open type MR system. The T1WI and T2*WI were rated twice randomly by four radiologists using the FIFA grading system. Results: The intra-rater reliability for grading was higher in T1WI (The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC)=0.949-0.985) than in T2*WI (ICC=0.917-0.943). The inter-rater reliability for grading was also higher in T1WI (ICC=0.923) than in T2*WI (ICC=0.867).Conclusions: This research showed that T1WI is a better sequence than T2*WI to evaluate bone fusion following FIFA protocol. It was speculated that the reason for this is that T1WI has higher tissue contrast resolution and enables clearer images of the epiphyseal fusion than T2*WI and the grading system by T1WI was not suitable for T2*WI.

BackgroundFIFA 11+ program has been shown to reduce injury risk in female football players but has not been evaluated in an Asian male adolescent players.ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of the FIFA 11 + on injury risk in a Japanese male adolescent football players.DesignCohort study.Setting6 Japanese U-18 (age: 16–18) and U-15 (age: 13–15) football teams followed for three seasons (2010, 2011 and 2012). The 2010 season, players completed the usual warm-up as control group, whereas the 2011 and 2011 players performed the FIFA 11+ throughout the entire season as intervention group.ParticipantsA total 986 male athletes (age: 12–18 years).InterventionsFIFA 11+program was conducted twice a week or more in entire season in 2010 and 2011.Main outcome measurementsInjury rate during football (match and training), match and training were reported as the number of injuries per 1000 player-hours.ResultsThe injury rate during football, match, and training in the control season were 4.0, 8.9, and 3.4 injuries per 1000 player-hours and 2.0, 4.4, and 1.5 injuries per 1000 player-hours in the intervention season. The intervention season had reductions in relative risk (RR) of game of 29% (RR=0.71, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.664 −0.747), of match of 46% (RR=0.54, 95% CI=0.477–0.611), and of training of 28% (RR=0.72, 95% CI=0.674–0.768). The injury rate of lower extremity was reduced significantly in intervention season compared with control season.ConclusionsThe FIFA 11+ program reduced overall injury risk and lower extremity injury risk in a Japanese male adolescent football players.