The rugby shoulder score as a method to detect sub-clinical shoulder dysfunction in professional rugby league players.

The shoulder has been reported as the most commonly injured joint in rugby league (McDonough & Funk 2014, Physical Therapy in Sport, 15, 91-96). Whilst contact injuries make up the majority of shoulder injuries in rugby league, many shoulder pathologies are of insidious onset or linked to training loads (King et al., 2014, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 9, 417 – 431). Given that previous injury is the greatest risk factor for future injury in many sports (Benita 2016, Sports Medicine, 46, 79), it is pertinent to develop methods which detect early stage pathology. At present, it is not yet known what the incidence of players playing with an existing sub-clinical shoulder dysfunction are. The Rugby Shoulder Score (Roberts and Funk, 2013, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47, 920 – 926), a uni-dimensional 120 point (20 – 140), scale was developed to monitor shoulder function in players undergoing rehabilitation from shoulder injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether the Rugby Shoulder Score (RSS) was capable of detecting sub clinical shoulder dysfunction in players actively engaged in training and match play. Following University ethics approval, 18 professional super league rugby players were invited to provide written informed consent. A total of 12 players completed the RSS at the midway point of the season. One player reported a perfect score (20) and the remaining 11 indicated varying levels of shoulder dysfunction (23-69) as measured by the RSS. On average players reported a score of 45 indicating that players were training and playing ~21% below maximum function. This study reported that 91% of this small sample (n=12) of professional rugby players were training and playing with some level of shoulder dysfunction at the midway point in the super league season. This pilot study warrants further investigation in a representative sample

Playing through the pain: Self-reported shoulder function of uninjured rugby players.

Introduction: The shoulder is the most commonly injured joint in rugby league and among the top 3 in rugby union. Contact injuries make up the majority of shoulder injuries in rugby, but many shoulder pathologies are of insidious onset or linked to training loads. Given that previous injury is the greatest risk factor for future injury in many sports, it is pertinent to develop methods which detect early stage pathology. At present, it is not yet known what the prevalence of players playing with an existing sub-clinical shoulder dysfunction are. The Rugby Shoulder Score (RSS), a uni-dimensional 120-point scale (20 – 140), was developed to monitor shoulder function in players undergoing rehabilitation from shoulder injury. The aim of this study was to use the RSS to estimate the prevalence of sub-clinical shoulder dysfunction in a sample of professional and amateur rugby players. Methods: Following ethical approval from the Leeds Beckett University research ethics committee, 86 uninjured players provided written informed consent. RSS assessments were administered, via paper questionnaire, at the mid-point of the season. All players were participating in training and match play at the time of assessment. The sample consisted of 34 professional and 52 amateur players respectively. A RSS of 20 represents a perfect score. An increasing RSS indicates increasing shoulder dysfunction. Results: The mean RSS score for the entire sample was 35. Professional players demonstrated greater shoulder dysfunction than amateur players (RSS 42 vs. 30; P20) was more than half of the sample. Professionals tended to have greater shoulder dysfunction than amateurs. A threshold for minimal clinical importance of the RSS does not exist. However, for a sub group of players (n=17) an RSS range has been identified which appears to indicate a level of dysfunction which may affect match play and training

The First Study of Injury Epidemiology in Cheerleading during the 2016/2017 Season in the United Kingdom.

In 2016, competitive cheerleading was granted provisional recognition as an Olympic sport thus allowing it to be considered for future games inclusion. Team England including the ‘all girl elite’ and ‘co-ed elite’ won gold and silver respectively at the ICU World Cheerleading Championships. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence and incidence of injury in cheerleaders during the 2016/2017 UK season. Following ethical approval from the Leeds Beckett University research ethics committee, 182 competitive (3.7 ± 1.8 years’ experience) cheerleaders (173 female, mean (±SD): age 21 ± 4 y, height 165 ± 7 cm, weight 64.7 ± 13.9 kg) provided electronic informed consent. Players completed a retrospective injury history questionnaire adapted from a football consensus statement on injury reporting (Fuller et al., 2006, Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 16(2), 83-92). Severity of injury was categorised using a time loss definition: slight (1-3 days), minor (4-7 days), moderate (1-4 weeks) and major (4 weeks plus). On average, cheerleaders engaged in ~5 hours training per week and ~3.4 competitions during the season. The one season prevalence of injury in this sample was 73%. A total of 226 injuries were reported. First time injuries (69%) were more common than recurrent injuries (31%). The maximum number of injuries reported by a single cheerleader was 5. The overall (competition and training) incidence of injury was 4.9/1000h. The majority (86%) of injuries occurred during training (4.76/1000h). Injuries to the ankle (11.9%), face (11.5%) and low back (10.2%) were the most common. Ligaments were the most commonly injured tissues (22.9% of all injuries). The most commonly reported mechanism of injury was during a stunting manoeuvre (54.9% of all injuries). Minor injuries were most common (61%), followed by moderate (21%) and major injuries (18%). This is the first study to report the prevalence and incidence of injury in cheerleading. Unlike many sports, the majority of injuries occur during training rather than competition. We suggest that this is mainly down to differences in exposure. On average, competitions last for 2.5 minutes. It may also be that cheerleaders are more aggressive in their training practices in order to perfect routines for competition, which may indicate fewer mistakes leading to injury occur on the day of competition. Prospective studies are required to develop this area of research

Injury Epidemiology in Female Netball Players during the 2016/2017 Season in the United Kingdom.

Netball is ranked second behind football for female sports participation in the United Kingdom. The epidemiology of netball injuries has been reported at elite level but not amateur (Best and Gledhill 2017, IOC Conference on the Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport, 16 March 2017 - 18 March 2017, Monaco). The aim of this study was to report the prevalence and incidence of injury in amateur female netball players during the 2016/2017 UK season. Following ethical approval from the Leeds Beckett University research ethics committee, 134 Female netball players (mean (range): age 23y (16-54), height 170cm (140-190cm), weight 66kg (50 – 100kg) provided electronic informed consent. Players completed a retrospective injury history questionnaire adapted from a football consensus statement on injury reporting (Fuller et al., 2006, Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 16(2), 83-92). Severity of injury was categorised using a time loss definition: slight (1-3 days), minor (4-7 days), moderate (1-4 weeks) and major (4 weeks plus). The one season prevalence of injury in this sample was 54%. The overall (match and training) incidence of injury was 5.72/1000h. More injuries occurred during match play (9.14/1000h) than in training (3.00/1000h). Injuries to the ankle (36%), knee (22%) and the wrist/hand/fingers (24%) were the most common. Ligaments were the most commonly injured tissues (53% of all injuries). The most commonly reported mechanism was landing from a jump (33% of all injuries). The majority of injuries were first-time injuries (81%). Moderate injuries were most common (47%), followed by major (35%) and minor injuries (18%). This is the first data set to retrospectively analyse netball injures at amateur level. We report a lower injury incidence than that found at the elite level (5.72 vs. 9.08/1000h). At elite and amateur level, a similar relative percentage of injuries occur during match and training. The nature and mechanism of injury also remain common to both playing standards. Insufficient neuromuscular control when landing from a jump appears to stress ligaments beyond their physiological load tolerance in female netball players. Prospective studies are required to confirm these findings

Does Taping of the Annular Pulleys of the Fingers Improve Grip Strength in Climbers?

Indoor sport climbing will debut as a new Olympic discipline at the 2020 summer games in Tokyo. The annular pulleys of the fingers are the most commonly reported injured structure in climbing. There are five annular pulleys within each finger and referred to as the A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5. The A2 and A4 structurally maintain the integrity of the flexor tendon system due to their direct attachment to the underlying bone. The A2 is the largest pulley and capable of withstanding up to 400 newton of force. Anecdotal evidence suggests some climbers apply athletic tape to the fingers both as a prophylactic measure to prevent annular pulley injury and to increase their grip strength capability. Grip refers to the method by which the climber holds the climbing surface to facilitate movement. The type of grip the climber uses largely depends on the size and shape of the available hand-holds, the climber’s body orientation in relation to the climbing surface and the strength of the climber. A common type of grip used in climbing is the closed crimp position. In this position the proximal interphalangeal joint is flexed at approximately 100° and the distal interphalangeal joint is hyperextended at approximately 210°. The distal palmer surface of the index, middle and ring fingers are normally in contact with the surface and the thumb often placed over the dorsal surface of the index finger to generate more force. The aim of the study was to investigate if taping the fingers increased crimp grip strength in uninjured climbers. Following ethical approval by the Leeds Beckett University research ethics committee, 50 active climbers (25 male, 25 female) were recruited. Using a within subject repeated measures design, a Jamar plus digital dynamometer was used to measure crimp grip strength (3 trial mean, dominant and non-dominant hand, tape and no-tape). The order of conditions was randomised and each participant performed each grip. The tape condition involved applying a 10cm piece of 1” Lewis-Plast zinc oxide tape to the proximal interphalangeal joint of the index, middle and ring fingers using the H-tape method. There was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.922, paired t-test) in crimp grip strength between tape (24.03 ± 6.9kg) and no tape (23.99 ± 7.2kg) conditions. Taping the annular pulleys did not increase crimp grip strength as measured using hand held dynamometry in uninjured climbers

Promoting Sustainable Change: A Toolkit For Integrating Gender Equality and Diversity in Research and Innovation Systems

Yes”Promoting sustainable change” provides answers to those and similar questions and encourages people to learn more about gender equality and diversity in research and innovation systems. This is a toolkit for experienced and new innovators as well as for people who want to learn more about how understanding gender and diversity can lead to more innovation in their everyday lives.FP

Building up Steam as Consumers: Women, Rice Cookers and the Consumption of Everyday Household Goods in Japan

This chapter discusses the increasingly important role played by women as everyday consumers in post-war Japan, focusing on their consumption of household and kitchen appliances, specifically the electric rice cooker. Two key areas are explored. First, I investigate the development, production and consumption of this appliance. The electric rice cooker was developed by Japanese manufacturers from the mid-1950s, and was at the time unique to the Japanese manufacturing sector and the Japanese consumer market. It rapidly achieved significance in both domestic and export markets.1 The analysis will focus on the rice cooker’s development and impact in the Japanese market during the post-war years as a key example of the importance of everyday household appliances in the history of gender and consumption in Japan, impacting on women’s roles inside and outside the home. The chapter will show that although the rice cooker was in many ways a humble product, it had a revolutionary impact on Japanese women’s primary role as housewives. Second, the chapter places the case-study of the rice cooker within a broader context, discussing the role played by Japanese women as key consumers of appliances and as a gendered consumer group. It will explore the significance of housewives as a consumer group in Japan during the post-war decades, the associated gendering of consumer practices, and the extent to which housewives, as the holders of the purse-strings within the Japanese nuclear household, were empowered by the establishment of the breadwinner-homemaker model

Playing through the pain: The prevalence of perceived shoulder dysfunction in uninjured rugby players using the Rugby Shoulder Score

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of self-reported shoulder dysfunction using the Rugby Shoulder Score (RSS) reported in arbitrary units (AU) of rugby players available for match selection (uninjured). Design: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: Paper survey at the mid-point of the season of uninjured players (n = 86 males (mean age (±SD): 26 ± 6.9y) from 8 squads (professional n = 34; amateur; n = 52)), using the RSS, subjective impact on rugby performance and previous shoulder injury, analysed using a Mann-Whitney U test. Results: 55% of players reported a level of RSS dysfunction despite being uninjured. Players who also reported their shoulder was impacting on performance had significantly higher median RSS (61, IQR 28AU, p = 0.02) than those who reported no impact on performance (40, IQR 22AU). Conclusions: Findings from this study show that over half of players were playing with a level of self-reported shoulder dysfunction. This figure is higher in the professional game, for those with a history of previous injury and for forwards

Magnetometry via a double-pass continuous quantum measurement of atomic spin

We argue that it is possible in principle to reduce the uncertainty of an atomic magnetometer by double-passing a far-detuned laser field through the atomic sample as it undergoes Larmor precession. Numerical simulations of the quantum Fisher information suggest that, despite the lack of explicit multi-body coupling terms in the system's magnetic Hamiltonian, the parameter estimation uncertainty in such a physical setup scales better than the conventional Heisenberg uncertainty limit over a specified but arbitrary range of particle number N. Using the methods of quantum stochastic calculus and filtering theory, we demonstrate numerically an explicit parameter estimator (called a quantum particle filter) whose observed scaling follows that of our calculated quantum Fisher information. Moreover, the quantum particle filter quantitatively surpasses the uncertainty limit calculated from the quantum Cramer-Rao inequality based on a magnetic coupling Hamiltonian with only single-body operators. We also show that a quantum Kalman filter is insufficient to obtain super-Heisenberg scaling, and present evidence that such scaling necessitates going beyond the manifold of Gaussian atomic states.Comment: 17 pages, updated to match print versio

The Limits of Anthropocene Narratives

The rapidly growing transdisciplinary enthusiasm about developing new kinds of Anthropocene stories is based on the shared assumption that the Anthropocene predicament is best made sense of by narrative means. Against this assumption, this article argues that the challenge we are facing today does not merely lie in telling either scientific, socio-political, or entangled Anthropocene narratives to come to terms with our current condition. Instead, the challenge lies in coming to grips with how the stories we can tell in the Anthropocene relate to the radical novelty of the Anthropocene condition about which no stories can be told. What we need to find are meaningful ways to reconcile an inherited commitment to narrativization and the collapse of storytelling as a vehicle of understanding the Anthropocene as our current predicament