The activation pattern of trunk and lower limb muscles in an electromyographic assessment; comparison between ground and treadmillwalking

Background: Due to biomechanical differences, various patterns of muscle contraction are expected to occur while walking over ground versus when walking on a treadmill. Objectives: This study aimed to compare amplitude and duration of activation of selected trunk and lower extremity muscles during over-ground and treadmill walking. Materials and Methods: Through a simple sampling method, 19 sedentary healthy men within the age range of 20-40 were selected. Surface electromyography of rectus abdominis, external oblique, longissimus and multifidus muscles as the selected trunk muscles and vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and hamstrings as the selected lower limb muscles were recorded. Results: In each gait cycle, there were no statistically significant differences in duration of selected trunk as well as lower limb muscles activitybetweentreadmillandover-ground walking. Howeverthemeanamplitude of rectus abdominis (P=0.005), longissimus (P = 0.018) and multifidus (P = 0.044) as the selected trunk muscles as well as the mean amplitude of vastus lateralis (P = 0.005) and vastus medialis (P < 0.001) as the lower limb muscles was greater on treadmill compared with over ground. Conclusions: Due to the stabilizing role of trunk and lower limb muscles during walking, these muscles seem to be active throughout the entire gait cycle. The increased muscle amplitude on treadmill can demonstrate that more motor units may be recruited during the contraction,which can be helpful in prescribing the appropriate type of exercise especially for patients with core muscle weakness. © 2016, Sports Medicine Research Center

The prevalence of selected intrinsic risk factors for ankle sprain among elite football and basketball players

Background: Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are among the most common sports-related injuries and the reinjury rate is very high. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of some intrinsic risk factors among professional football and basketball players with or without history of acute or recurrent ankle sprain. Patients and Methods: One hundred and six professional football and basketball players who were referred for pre-participation examinations were recruited in this study. Prepared checklist was completed for each participant. Athletes were asked for any history of previous ankle sprain and the severity (based of self-description of signs and symptoms by the athlete), level and number of injuries in the last two years. All players were assessed for measures of foot posture index-6, foot length and width, Beighton generalized joint laxity score, anterior drawer and talar tilt tests, star excursion and single leg balance tests and goniometric assessment of ankle plantarflexion, ankle dorsiflexion and first metatarsophalangeal dorsiflexion. Results: Forty eight basketball players (45.3) and 58 football players (54.7) with mean (SD) age of 19.8 (4.5) years participated. About 58.5 and 14.2 of athletes had a history of ankle sprain and recurrent sprain in at least one extremity, respectively. Sprains were more prevalent in basketball players and in dominant leg. There was no significant difference in assessed risk factors between athletes with and without history of ankle sprain, except for positive single leg balance test which was more prevalent in athletes with history of ankle sprain and also for positive talar tilt test and decreased ankle plantarflexion range of motion in acute and recurrent injury of left ankle. Conclusions: Some intrinsic risk factors including lateral ankle ligaments laxity, balance and ankle plantarflexion seem to be related to acute or recurrent LAS in athletes. Further research is needed to reveal the role of different arthrokinematics following lateral ankle sprain. © 2016, Sports Medicine Research Center

The Prevalence and Characteristics of Performance-Enhancing Drug Use Among Bodybuilding Athletes in the South of Iran, Bushehr

Background: Several reports have implied progressive increase of performance-enhancing drug (PED) use among Iranian athletes. More importantly, most of the previous research in the Iranian population had mainly focused on the anabolic steroid abuse, and ignored other agents. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of PED use among bodybuilding athletes in Bushehr, south of Iran. Methods: Four hundred and fifty three male bodybuilding athletes were recruited from Bushehr gyms between February and May of 2015. Men were eligible to participate in the survey if they had regularly participated in the strength-training exercise (minimum of 1 year and 4 hour/week). Data were collected via a face-to-face interview. The survey consisted of three separate parts including demographic data, exercise pattern and PED use. Results: According to this study, 234 (51.7%) of bodybuilding athletes had used PEDs. The PED users reported an average of 3.80 � 4.52 agents’ use in their programs and they had used PEDs for the average of 3.24 � 3.99 years. The most prevalent agents which had been abused by the athletes were anabolic steroids (used by 185 athletes (79.4% of athletes). Furthermore, 110 (47%) of athletes reported stimulant agents’ use during their routines. The most prevalent motivation for using PEDs was increasing muscle mass that was reported by 164 (70.1%) of PED users. In addition, sexual and dermatologic effects were the most prevalent adverse effects reported by the PED user athletes (114 (49.4%) and 103 (44.2%), respectively). Conclusions: This study showed the high rate of PED use among recreational and professional Iranian bodybuilding athletes that can expose them to the serious side effects of these agents

Acute Mountain Sickness among overnight hotel guests: prevalence, symptoms and signs

&quot;nBackground: Altitude diseases, the most frequent of which is acute mountain sickness (AMS), are among the most common and serious problems that recreational and professional mountain athletes may encounter. If left undiagnosed, they may lead to lethal consequences. In a cross sectional study, we investigate the prevalence of AMS disorder among the overnight guests of a mountain resort hotel. &quot;nMethods: Overnight guests staying at Hotel Tochal (elevation 3545 m), near Tehran, Iran, in the winter of 2006 constituted the study participants. A questionnaire, including demographic data, proposed risk factors and Lake Louise score, was completed by a physician for all who had headache or other symptoms of AMS. Data from daily hotel reception records were also collected. &quot;nResults: Overall, 328 persons stayed at this hotel for at least one night during the study period. Among these, 47 persons (14.3%) were admitted to the clinic for headache. According to the physician&apos;s diagnoses, only 34 guests (10.4%; 95% CI: 7.1-13.7%) were affected by AMS. The concurrent symptoms of headache and vertigo or insomnia had the highest predictive value for AMS diagnosis. Ambiguous headache had a higher predictive value than other types of headache. &quot;nConclusions: Despite the height of Tochal peak and the frequent use of high speed telecabin, it seems that the frequency of AMS is lower than that found in other studies on similar altitudes. However, more research should be done in this regard

The misuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids among Iranian re-creational male body-builders and their related psycho-socio-demographic factors

Background: The high prevalence and potential side effects of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) misuse by athletes has made it a major public health concern. Epidemiological studies on the abuse of such drugs are mandatory for de-veloping effective preventive drug control programs in sports community. This study aimed to investigate the preva-lence of AAS abuse and their association with some psycho-socio-demographic factors in Iranian male recreational body-builders. Methods: Between March and October 2011; 906 recreational male body-builders from 103 randomly selected body-building clubs in Tehran, Iran were participated in this study. Some psycho-socio- demographic factors including age, job, average family income, family size, sport experience (months), weekly duration of the sporting activity (h), pur-pose of participation in sporting activity, mental health as well as body image (via General Health Questionnaire and Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, respectively), and history of AAS use were obtained by inter-views using questionnaires. Results: Participants were all recreational male body-builders mean age (SD): 25.7 (7.1), ranging 14-56 yr. Self-report of AAS abuse was registered in 150 body-builders (16.6%). Among different psycho-socio-demographic factors, only family income and sport experience were inversely associated with AAS abuse. Conclusion: Lifetime prevalence of AAS abuse is relatively high among recreational body-builders based on their self-report. Some psycho-socio-demographic factors including family income and sport experience may influence the pre-valence of AAS abuse. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Public Health. All rights reserved

Pre-participation examination in childrens

Increasing numbers of children and adolescents annually participate in the sports competitions, in which the pre-participation evaluation (PPE) is a necessity. Unfortunately, no proper outcome is attainable in our country despite the huge volume and significant costs. The primary goals of the PPE are to detect conditions that may predispose to injury, disability, or death and to meet legal and insurance requirements. It is recommended that PPE be performed 4-6 weeks prior to an athlete starting practice. There are 3 types of PPE: office based, assembly line, and station. Medical history and physical examination are two essential components of PPE. In this regard, family history and special attention to cardiovascular, pulmonary, musculoskeletal and neurologic systems are particularly important. Most guidelines do not recommend any further paraclinical testing including ECG. At the end of examination, the physician should determine the level of contact and intensity of the given sport and finally decide regarding the safe clearance of the athlete. Due to the importance of PPE as a valuable preventive method, national standardization of the PPE, endorsement of these standards by all organizations and performing the PPE by only appropriately trained physicians are the main strategies to improve the quality of evaluations

Patellofemoral pain in athletes: clinical perspectives

Farzin Halabchi,1,2 Maryam Abolhasani,1,2 Maryam Mirshahi,1,2 Zahra Alizadeh1,2 1Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Abstract: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a very common problem in athletes who participate in jumping, cutting and pivoting sports. Several risk factors may play a part in the pathogenesis of PFP. Overuse, trauma and intrinsic risk factors are particularly important among athletes. Physical examination has a key role in PFP diagnosis. Furthermore, common risk factors should be investigated, such as hip muscle dysfunction, poor core muscle endurance, muscular tightness, excessive foot pronation and patellar malalignment. Imaging is seldom needed in special cases. Many possible interventions are recommended for PFP management. Due to the multifactorial nature of PFP, the clinical approach should be individualized, and the contribution of different factors should be considered and managed accordingly. In most cases, activity modification and rehabilitation should be tried before any surgical interventions. Keywords: anterior knee pain, sport, rehabilitation, runners&rsquo; kne