Objective. To estimate the risk of osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip and knee due to long-term weightbearing sports activity in ex-elite athletes and the general population.Methods. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 81 female ex-elite athletes (67 middle-and long-distance runners, and 14 tennis players), currently ages 40-65, recruited from original playing records, and 977 age-matched female controls, taken from the age-sex register of the offices of a group general practice in Chingford, Northeast London, England. The definition of OA included radiologic changes (joint space narrowing and osteophytosis) in the hip joints, patellofemoral (PF) joints, and tibiofemoral (TF) joints.Results. Compared with controls of similar age, the ex-athletes had greater rates of radiologic OA at all sites. This association increased further after adjustment for height and weight differences, and was strongest for the presence of osteophytes at the TF joints (odds ratio [OR] 3.48), and was weakest for narrowing at the TF joints (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.71-1.94). No clear risk factors were seen within the ex-athlete groups, although the tennis players tended to have more osteophytes at the TFjoints and hip, but the runners had more PF joint disease. Within the control group, a small subgroup of 22 women who reported long-term vigorous weight-bearing exercise had risks of OA similar to those of the ex-athletes. Ex-athletes had similar rates of symptom reporting but higher pain thresholds than controls, as measured by calibrated dolorimeter.Conclusion. Weight-bearing sports activity in women is associated with a 2-3-fold increased risk of radiologic OA (particularly the presence of osteophytes) of the knees and hips. The risk was similar in ex-elite athletes and in a subgroup from the general population who reported long-term sports activity, suggesting that duration rather than frequency of training is important.Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common causes of disability in developed countries. An increase in the level of recreational physical activity is being widely encouraged as a major public health initiative to reduce cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, yet the risks associated with excessive sports activity are unclear. To date, results of studies that have investigated the effects of weight-bearing exercise on the skeleton of athletes have been conflicting. Reports of negative effects have included studies of knee or hip O A in former cross country runners (1) and track athletes (2), a study of veteran Californian runners (3), and a study of knees and ankles of veteran military parachutists (4). Reports of positive effects have included a study from Finland of male ex-runners with OA (5), a recent record linkage study of male Finnish athletes showing a 2-fold risk of

Seeds' of 15 species collected from a range of habitats contrasting in soil water status were germinated in soils of known matric potentials ranging from near field capacity to the permanent wilting potential ( -0-05, -0-5, -1-0 and -1-5 MPa). Germination was very sensitive to soil water potential and species responded in various ways. Some showed germination responses which correlated with the soil water status of their native habitat: none of the wetland species studied could germinate to any great extent at low soil water potentials; in contrast some species associated with drier habitats achieved high levels of germination in soils as dry as -1-0 MPa (and -1-5 MPa for one ruderal species). However, other species from drier habitats failed to germinate at low soil water potentials, and it is suggested that this may be a mechanism to avoid exposing the seedling to an unfavourable environment.

A simple set of lower limb stretching and strengthening exercises resulted in a substantial and safe reduction in the incidence of AKP in a young military population undertaking a physical conditioning program. Such exercises could also be beneficial for preventing this common injury among nonmilitary participants in recreational physical activity.

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The aim of this descriptive exploratory study is to record the temporal spatial parameters and 5 metabolic energy expenditure during walking of individuals with amputation, walking with 6 advanced prostheses and following completion of comprehensive rehabilitation, to able-7 bodied controls. Main Outcomes and Measures 25Temporal spatial and metabolic energy expenditure data were captured during walking on 26 level ground at self-selected speed. 28 Results 29The individuals with amputation were all male, with a mean age 29 years (SD = 4) and mean

We describe 261 peripheral nerve injuries sustained in war by 100 consecutive service men and women injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their mean age was 26.5 years (18.1 to 42.6), the median interval between injury and first review was 4.2 months (mean 8.4 months (0.36 to 48.49)) and median follow-up was 28.4 months (mean 20.5 months (1.3 to 64.2)). The nerve lesions were predominantly focal prolonged conduction block/neurapraxia in 116 (45%), axonotmesis in 92 (35%) and neurotmesis in 53 (20%) and were evenly distributed between the upper and the lower limbs. Explosions accounted for 164 (63%): 213 (82%) nerve injuries were associated with open wounds. Two or more main nerves were injured in 70 patients. The ulnar, common peroneal and tibial nerves were most commonly injured. In 69 patients there was a vascular injury, fracture, or both at the level of the nerve lesion. Major tissue loss was present in 50 patients: amputation of at least one limb was needed in 18. A total of 36 patients continued in severe neuropathic pain. This paper outlines the methods used in the assessment of these injuries and provides information about the depth and distribution of the nerve lesions, their associated injuries and neuropathic pain syndromes.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Ecology. INTRODUCTIONBannister's study of Erica cinerea and E. tetralix (1964a, b, c, 1965, 1966) confirmed the subjective observation that E. tetralix normally occupies wetter sites and he suggested that differential sensitivity to the production of toxic substances in waterlogged soils might be a partial explanation of this distribution. The two species are closely related and their morphological similarity makes them very suitable for comparative ecological and physiological investigation. As experimental material their only disadvantages are low growth rates and a certain difficulty of propagation by cuttings.Bannister (1964b, c) also showed that the two species differed in their response to water deficit. Other workers have attempted to explain the distribution of E. tetralix on waterlogged soils as a consequence of its shallow root system (Webster 1962a, b) though Bannister (1965, 1966) recorded little variation of rooting depth between the two species. Loach (1966) and Sheikh (1969) both found that E. tetralix competed better with Molinia caerulea and Calluna vulgaris in the more nutrient-deficient parts of the wet heath association: its field distribution is therefore controlled by other factors in addition to soil wetness, and it is likely that the distribution of Erica cinerea will also depend on a range of variables.Waterlogging results in the virtual exclusion of oxygen from a soil and it becomes anaerobic with an accompanying modification of normal soil-chemical processes. These effects have been widely reviewed (Pearsall 1950; Richards & Wadleigh 1952; Ponnamperuma 1964; Grable 1966) and include the production of various potentially phytotoxic substances. Of the inorganic components of such soils, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, di-valent iron and di-valent manganese have most often been cited as toxins.The work to be described in these papers was undertaken to establish the role of iron and manganese in the differential response of the two Erica species though it was recognized that the experimental isolation of these two factors was not altogether ecologically satisfactory. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant materialPlants of Erica tetralix and E. cinerea were collected from a site near Caerphilly,

There was a high incidence of AKP, and while the short term prognosis appears relatively good in the majority of cases as reflected in the median TDL, a large minority were medically discharged and held back in training. Further work should examine methods of reducing the disease burden of AKP in the Army, addressing areas such as aetiology, prevention and treatment.