Articles

Cervical isometric strength and range of motion of elite rugby union players: a cohort study

Head and neck injury is relatively common in Rugby Union. Despite this, strength and range-of-motion characteristics of the cervical spine are poorly characterised. The aim of this study was to provide data on...

Authors: David F Hamilton and Don Gatherer

Relationship between age and elite marathon race time in world single age records from 5 to 93 years

The aims of the study were (i) to investigate the relationship between elite marathon race times and age in 1-year intervals by using the world single age records in marathon running from 5 to 93 years and (ii) t...

Authors: Beat Knechtle, Hervé Assadi, Romuald Lepers, Thomas Rosemann and Christoph Alexander Rüst

Metastability in plyometric training on unstable surfaces: a pilot study

In the past, plyometric training (PT) has been predominantly performed on stable surfaces. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine effects of a 7-week lower body PT on stable vs. unstable surfaces. This...

Authors: Armin Kibele, Claudia Classen, Thomas Muehlbauer, Urs Granacher and David G Behm

Protein supplements consumption: a comparative study between the city centre and the suburbs of Palermo, Italy

Protein supplements are extensively used among commercial gym users and athletes. Although demographic information amongst such consumption has been poorly investigated. The aim of this study is to compare pro...

Authors: Antonino Bianco, Caterina Mammina, Ewan Thomas, Francesco Ciulla, Umberto Pupella, Francesco Gagliardo, Marianna Bellafiore, Giuseppe Battaglia, Antonio Paoli and Antonio Palma

Can supplementation with vitamin C and E alter physiological adaptations to strength training?

Antioxidant supplementation has recently been demonstrated to be a double-edged sword, because small to moderate doses of exogenous antioxidants are essential or beneficial, while high doses may have adverse e...

Authors: Gøran Paulsen, Kristoffer T Cumming, Håvard Hamarsland, Elisabet Børsheim, Sveinung Berntsen and Truls Raastad

The validity of the non-exercise activity thermogenesis questionnaire evaluated by objectively measured daily physical activity by the triaxial accelerometer

Physical inactivity is a major cardiovascular risk factor. Recently, we showed that non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) assessed by the self-reported questionnaire is favorably associated with metabolic...

Authors: Hidetaka Hamasaki, Hidekatsu Yanai, Masafumi Kakei, Mitsuhiko Noda and Osamu Ezaki

Comparison of three generations of ActiGraph activity monitors under free-living conditions: do they provide comparable assessments of overall physical activity in 9-year old children?

A recent review concludes that the agreement of data across ActiGraph accelerometer models for children and youth still is uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement of three generations of...

Authors: May Grydeland, Bjoerge Herman Hansen, Mathias Ried-Larsen, Elin Kolle and Sigmund Alfred Anderssen

Changes in sex difference in swimming speed in finalists at FINA World Championships and the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2013

This study investigated swimming speeds and sex differences of finalists competing at the Olympic Games (i.e. 624 female and 672 male athletes) and FINA World Championships (i.e. 990 women and 1008 men) between 1...

Authors: Stefanie Wild, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann and Beat Knechtle

Gender differences in myocardial function and arterio-ventricular coupling in response to maximal exercise in adolescent floor-ball players

The hemodynamic and cardiac responses to exercise have been widely investigated in adults. However, little is known regarding myocardial performance in response to a short bout of maximal exercise in adolescen...

Authors: Åsa Fomin, Cristina Da Silva, Mattias Ahlstrand, Anders Sahlén, Lars Lund, Marcus Stahlberg, Anders Gabrielsen and Aristomenis Manouras

Aerobic exercise modulates intracortical inhibition and facilitation in a nonexercised upper limb muscle

Despite growing interest in the relationship between exercise and short-term neural plasticity, the effects of exercise on motor cortical (M1) excitability are not well studied. Acute, lower-limb aerobic exerc...

Authors: Amaya M Singh, Robin E Duncan, Jason L Neva and W Richard Staines

The child and adolescent athlete: a review of three potentially serious injuries

The increased participation of children and adolescents in organized sports worldwide is a welcome trend given evidence of lower physical fitness and increased prevalence of overweight in this population. Howe...

Authors: Dennis Caine, Laura Purcell and Nicola Maffulli

A novel compression garment with adhesive silicone stripes improves repeated sprint performance – a multi-experimental approach on the underlying mechanisms

Repeated sprint performance is determined by explosive production of power, as well as rapid recovery between successive sprints, and there is evidence that compression garments and sports taping can improve b...

Authors: Dennis-Peter Born, Hans-Christer Holmberg, Florian Goernert and Billy Sperlich

Swimming performances in long distance open-water events with and without wetsuit

Existing literature showed improved swimming performances for swimmers wearing wetsuits competing under standardized conditions in races held in pools on short to middle distances. Data about the influence of ...

Authors: Sebastian Ulsamer, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann, Romuald Lepers and Beat Knechtle

Sex and age-related differences in performance in a 24-hour ultra-cycling draft-legal event – a cross-sectional data analysis

The purpose of this study was to examine the sex and age-related differences in performance in a draft-legal ultra-cycling event.

Authors: Lara Pozzi, Beat Knechtle, Patrizia Knechtle, Thomas Rosemann, Romuald Lepers and Christoph Alexander Rüst

Changes in breaststroke swimming performances in national and international athletes competing between 1994 and 2011 –a comparison with freestyle swimming performances

The purpose of the present study was to analyse potential changes in performance of elite breaststroke swimmers competing at national and international level and to compare to elite freestyle swimming performa...

Authors: Mathias Wolfrum, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann, Romuald Lepers and Beat Knechtle

Responses to increasing exercise upon reaching the anaerobic threshold, and their control by the central nervous system

The anaerobic threshold (AT) has been one of the most studied of all physiological variables. Many authors have proposed the use of several markers to determine the moment at with the AT is reached. The presen...

Authors: Ana B Peinado, Jesús J Rojo, Francisco J Calderón and Nicola Maffulli

Nation related participation and performance trends in ‘Ironman Hawaii’ from 1985 to 2012

This study examined participation and performance trends in ‘Ironman Hawaii’ regarding the nationality of the finishers.

Authors: Philippe Dähler, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann, Romuald Lepers and Beat Knechtle

Surface electromyography during physical exercise in water: a systematic review

Aquatic exercise has been widely used for rehabilitation and functional recovery due to its physical and physiological benefits. However, there is a high variability in reporting on the muscle activity from su...

Authors: Antonio Ignacio Cuesta-Vargas and Carlos Leonardo Cano-Herrera

A model for creating a single stretch injury in murine biarticular muscle

We developed a single stretch injury model to create damage near the musculotendinous junction (MTJ) of the gastrocnemius muscle in mice. Our hypothesis was that magnitude of muscle injury could be controlled ...

Authors: Stacey L Brickson, Ronald P McCabe, Adam W Pala and Ray Vanderby Jr

The influence of changes in trunk and pelvic posture during single leg standing on hip and thigh muscle activation in a pain free population

Thigh muscle injuries commonly occur during single leg loading tasks and patterns of muscle activation are thought to contribute to these injuries. The influence trunk and pelvis posture has on hip and thigh m...

Authors: Simon Prior, Tim Mitchell, Rod Whiteley, Peter O’Sullivan, Benjamin K Williams, Sebastien Racinais and Abdulaziz Farooq

Is Platelet-rich plasma superior to whole blood in the management of chronic tennis elbow: one year randomized clinical trial

Lateral humeral epicondylitis, or ‘tennis elbow’, is a common condition with a variety of treatment options. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and Autologous Whole Blood (AWB) represent new therapeutic options for ch...

Authors: Seyed Ahmad Raeissadat, Seyed Mansoor Rayegani, Hossein Hassanabadi, Rosa Rahimi, Leyla Sedighipour and Khalil Rostami

The perceptions of professional soccer players on the risk of injury from competition and training on natural grass and 3rd generation artificial turf

The purpose of this study was to describe professional soccer players’ perceptions towards injuries, physical recovery and the effect of surface related factors on injury resulting from soccer participation on...

Authors: Constantine CN Poulos, John Gallucci Jr, William H Gage, Joseph Baker, Sebastian Buitrago and Alison K Macpherson

Reference values for isometric muscle force among workers for the Netherlands: a comparison of reference values

Muscle force is important for daily life and sports and can be measured with a handheld dynamometer. Reference values are employed to quantify a subject’s muscle force. It is not unambiguous whether reference ...

Authors: Rob KW Douma, Remko Soer, Wim P Krijnen, Michiel Reneman and Cees P van der Schans

Alpine skiing injuries in Finland – a two-year retrospective study based on a questionnaire among Ski racers

Alpine skiing is one of the most popular winter sports in the world. Nevertheless, it has always been associated with a high risk of injury. There are however, only a few studies that have examined the risk of...

Authors: Antti J Stenroos and Lauri E Handolin

The effects of oral hydrolytic enzymes and flavonoids on inflammatory markers and coagulation after marathon running: study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Regular moderate intensity physical activity positively influences the immune system with a lower incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and lower levels of pro-inflammatory markers. However, m...

Authors: Viola Grabs, David C Nieman, Bernhard Haller, Martin Halle and Johannes Scherr

Analysis of sex differences in open-water ultra-distance swimming performances in the FINA World Cup races in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km from 2000 to 2012

The present study investigated the changes in swimming speeds and sex differences for elite male and female swimmers competing in 5 km, 10 km and 25 km open-water FINA World Cup races held between 2000 and 2012.

Authors: Matthias Alexander Zingg, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann, Romuald Lepers and Beat Knechtle

Cardiac performance, biomarkers and gene expression studies in previously sedentary men participating in half-marathon training

The mechanisms through which exercise reduces cardiovascular disease are not fully understood. We used echocardiograms, cardiac biomarkers and gene expression to investigate cardiovascular effects associated w...

Authors: Danica D Vance, Gordon L Chen, Mark Stoutenberg, Robert J Myerburg, Kevin Jacobs, Lubov Nathanson, Arlette Perry, David Seo, Pascal J Goldschmidt-Clermont and Evadnie Rampersaud

The health profile of football/soccer players in Northern Ireland – a review of the uefa pre-participation medical screening procedure

It is compulsory that domestic football/soccer teams in UEFA competitions organise players’ pre-participation medicals. Although screening guidelines have been established, these remain controversial. The find...

Authors: Neil Heron and ME Cupples

Reviewer acknowledgement 2013

The Editors of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 13 (2013).

Authors: Fernando Marques

Regionally accentuated reversible brain grey matter reduction in ultra marathon runners detected by voxel-based morphometry

During the 4,487 km ultra marathon TransEurope-FootRace 2009 (TEFR09), runners showed catabolism with considerable reduction of body weight as well as reversible brain volume reduction. We hypothesized that ul...

Authors: Wolfgang Freund, Sonja Faust, Christian Gaser, Georg Grön, Frank Birklein, Arthur P Wunderlich, Marguerite Müller, Christian Billich and Uwe H Schütz

Changes of direction during high-intensity intermittent runs: neuromuscular and metabolic responses

The ability to sustain brief high-intensity intermittent efforts (HIE) is meant to be a major attribute for performance in team sports. Adding changes of direction to HIE is believed to increase the specificit...

Authors: Karim Hader, Alberto Mendez-Villanueva, Said Ahmaidi, Ben K Williams and Martin Buchheit

Tear of peroneus longus in long distance runners due to enlarged peroneal tubercle

Tear of the Peroneus longus in association with a prominent peroneal tubercle is rare.

Authors: Ezequiel Palmanovich, Lior Laver, Yaron S Brin, Iftach Hetsroni and Meir Nyska

Epidemiology of sports-related injuries in children and youth presenting to Canadian emergency departments from 2007–2010

Although injuries related to sports and recreation represent a significant burden to children and youth, few studies have examined the descriptive epidemiology of sports-related injury since 2005, and some spo...

Authors: Liraz Fridman, Jessica L Fraser-Thomas, Steven R McFaull and Alison K Macpherson

Sex-related differences and age of peak performance in breaststroke versus freestyle swimming

Sex-related differences in performance and in age of peak performance have been reported for freestyle swimming. However, little is known about the sex-related differences in other swimming styles. The aim of ...

Authors: Mathias Wolfrum, Beat Knechtle, Christoph Alexander Rüst, Thomas Rosemann and Romuald Lepers

A comparison land-water environment of maximal voluntary isometric contraction during manual muscle testing through surface electromyography

The aim of this study was to compare through surface electromyographic (sEMG) recordings of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) on dry land and in water by manual muscle test (MMT).

Authors: Romualdo Castillo-Lozano and Antonio Ignacio Cuesta-Vargas

Kinetic and kinematic differences between deadlifts and goodmornings

In order to improve training performance, as well as avoid overloading during prevention and rehabilitation exercises in patients, the aim of this study was to understand the biomechanical differences in the k...

Authors: Florian Schellenberg, Julia Lindorfer, Renate List, William R Taylor and Silvio Lorenzetti

Control strategies to re-establish glenohumeral stability after shoulder injury

Muscles are important “sensors of the joint instability”. The aim of this study was to identify the neuro-motor control strategies adopted by patients with anterior shoulder instability during overhead shoulde...

Authors: Bala S Rajaratnam, James CH Goh and Prem V Kumar

Obesity, knee osteoarthritis and knee arthroplasty: a review

The incidence of obesity is rising worldwide. Obesity is a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis in the knee. Obesity and knee osteoarthritis are independently disabling conditions and in combination pose ...

Authors: Saif Salih and Paul Sutton

Participation and performance trends of East-African runners in Swiss half-marathons and marathons held between 2000 and 2010

This study examined the changes in participation, performance and age of East African runners competing in half-marathons and marathons held in Switzerland between 2000 and 2010.

Authors: Marco Cribari, Christoph A Rüst, Thomas Rosemann, Vincent Onywera, Romuald Lepers and Beat Knechtle

Return to sport after arthroscopic meniscectomy on stable knees

Athletes suffering from any injuries want to know when they will be able to return sports activity. The period of return-to-sport after the arthroscopic meniscectomy is still unknown. The aim of this study is ...

Authors: Sung-Gon Kim, Masashi Nagao, Koichi Kamata, Koichi Maeda and Masahiko Nozawa

An Intra-tendonous ganglion cyst causing impingement between the anterior cruciate ligament and anterior root of the medial meniscus: a case report

There are several reports of symptomatic ganglion cysts near the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and lateral and medial meniscus, but symptomatic ganglia arising from the a...

Authors: Mei Guolong, Gao Zhi and Hu Yong

Effects of neck pain on reaching overhead and reading: a case–control study of long and short neck flexion

Reaching overhead and reading are tasks that many individuals encounter daily. The level of difficulty of these tasks increases if an individual has neck pain. This study determined the neck movement patterns ...

Authors: Marissa K Constand and Joy C MacDermid

Subacromial impingement syndrome in a patient with hereditary multiple exostosis: a case report

Hereditary multiple exostosis (HME) is characterised by multiple osteochondromas that are distributed throughout the skeleton, invariably involving the shoulder girdle. Tumours within the subacromial space can...

Authors: Nicholas D Clement, Julie M McBirnie and Daniel E Porter

Analysis of soft tissue injuries associated with distal radius fractures

Soft tissue injuries associated with distal radius fractures have been reported by some authors. Arthroscopy can be used to evaluate the condition of the articular surface and intracarpal soft tissues and as a...

Authors: Takeshi Ogawa, Toshikazu Tanaka, Takaji Yanai, Hiroshi Kumagai and Naoyuki Ochiai

Is leg compression beneficial for alpine skiers?

This study examined the effects of different levels of compression (0, 20 and 40 mmHg) produced by leg garments on selected psycho-physiological measures of performance while exposed to passive vibration (60 H...

Authors: Billy Sperlich, Dennis-Peter Born, Mikael Swarén, Yvonne Kilian, Björn Geesmann, Matthias Kohl-Bareis and Hans-Christer Holmberg

Effect of partial medial meniscectomy on anterior tibial translation in stable knees: a prospective controlled study on 32 patients

Quantitative measurement of anterior translation of the tibia (ATT) by KT 1000 is used mainly to provide an objective assessment of knee laxity after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears or ACL reconstructio...

Authors: Kaissar Yammine

The protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing intermittent and graded exercise to usual care for chronic fatigue syndrome patients

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a debilitating disorder with an unknown aetiology but suspected multifactorial origins. Common “triggers” include severe viral infections and emotional stress. Recent studies have a...

Authors: Suzanne Broadbent and Rosanne Coutts

A biomechanical study comparing two fixation methods in depression fractures of the lateral tibial plateau in porcine bone

A novel method of fixation has been described for the treatment of pure depression fractures of the lateral tibial plateau. Fracture fragments are elevated through a reamed transtibial tunnel. An interference ...

Authors: Caroline M Blakey, Michael Rennison, Stephen P Guy and Paul M Sutton

An interview with Nicola Maffulli, section editor for the musculoskeletal regenerative medicine section of BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation

Authors: Nicola Maffulli

Extensor Pollicis Brevis tendon damage presenting as de Quervain’s disease following kettlebell training

Kettlebell exercises are more efficient for an athlete to increase his or her muscle strength. However it carries the risk of injury especially in the beginners. A 39 year old gentleman came to our clinic with...

Authors: Karuppaiah Karthik, Charles William Carter-Esdale, Sanjay Vijayanathan and Tony Kochhar