These results suggest that runners who have developed stride patterns that incorporate relatively low levels of impact forces, and a moderately rapid rate of pronation are at a reduced risk of incurring overuse running injuries.

Past participation in rugby or a history of concussion were associated with small to moderate neurocognitive deficits (as indicated by worse CNS Vital Signs scores) in athletes post retirement from competitive sport.

Despite international concern about the safety of trampolines, they have become increasingly popular in New Zealand. While internationally attention has centred on a relatively few cases of catastrophic cervical spine injury, little research effort has been directed at placing these incidents in a wider context. To redress this, a descriptive epidemiological study of trampoline-related injury in New Zealand was undertaken. National hospitalization and mortality data for a 10-year period revealed 2098 hospitalizations and two deaths. The incidence rate for hospitalizations increased from 3.1 per 100 000 population per year in 1979 to 9.3 in 1988. Of the hospitalized victims, 71% were injured on home trampolines and 80% fell from the trampoline to the surrounding surface. Fractures were the commonest type of injury (68%), and the body site most frequently involved was the upper limb (53%). There was no evidence of a high incidence of severe head and neck injuries. It was concluded that, although existing trampoline standards addressed many of the issues raised by this reasearch, measures to reduce the impact of falls from trampolines to the ground and to prohibit the provision of trampolines as 'play equipment' are required.

No abstract

Tibial acceleration is a surrogate measure for impact loading and lower limb fatigue injury in runners. Triaxial accelerometers may offer reliable and practical measurement of resultant peak tibial acceleration (PTA). With such potential in mind, this study examined variability and measurement reliability of tibial acceleration in 14 runners at baseline at one week, and eight of the runners again at six months. Triaxial accelerometers were attached to the distal tibiae of runners before they ran on a treadmill for two minutes each, at speeds of 2.7, 3.0, 3.3 and 3.7 m/s in standardised shoes. Resultant PTAs were calculated for each speed and session. Reliability outcomes were presented as percentage change and effect sizes. Variability outcomes included intraclass correlation coefficients and the typical error of the measurement. Smallest worthwhile change and performance/noise ratio were also calculated. While runners demonstrated marginally lower reliability and higher variability over six months, compared to one week, in all cases the measures of reliability and variability were of 'good' to 'moderate' reliability, and 'small' to 'moderate' variability using magnitude-based inferences. We can be confident that resultant PTA can be used with runners to assess and monitor their impacts throughout a six-month intervention.

No abstract

No abstract

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency, magnitude, and distribution of head impacts sustained by players in a junior rugby league over a season of matches. METHODS The authors performed a prospective cohort analysis of impact magnitude, frequency, and distribution on data collected with instrumented XPatches worn behind the ear of players in an “under-11” junior rugby league team (players under 11 years old). RESULTS A total of 1977 impacts were recorded. Over the course of the study, players sustained an average of 116 impacts (average of 13 impacts per player per match). The measured linear acceleration ranged from 10g to 123g (mean 22g, median 16g, and 95th percentile 57g). The rotational acceleration ranged from 89 rad/sec2 to 22,928 rad/sec2 (mean 4041 rad/sec2, median 2773 rad/sec2, and 95th percentile 11,384 rad/sec2). CONCLUSIONS The level of impact severity based on the magnitude of impacts for linear and rotational accelerations recorded was similar to the impacts reported in studies of American junior and high school football, collegiate football, and youth ice hockey players, but the players in the rugby league cohort were younger, had less body mass, and played at a slower speed than the American players. Junior rugby league players are required to tackle the player to the ground and use a different tackle technique than that used in American football, likely increasing the rotational accelerations recorded at the head.