Sports injuries survey on university students in Hong Kong.

A sports injuries survey was conducted among 1714 students of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The common sports involved in injuries were Soccer (26%), Basketball (18%), Cycling (11%), Track and field athletics (11%) and Swimming (10%). The lower limb usually took the brunt of the injuries (67%) followed by the upper limb (28%) and spinal injuries were relatively uncommon (3%). The majority of the injuries were mild to moderate and the commonest ones were abrasion (37%), contusion (21%), cramp (20%), sprains (9%), and strains (7%). Of the injuries 80% recovered in less than 10 days and 50% of them were self-treated. However, a significant group of more severe injuries was recorded: fracture, concussion and heat stroke which demanded special medical attention and longer period for recovery. The pattern of treatment was also unique in that traditional Chinese methods of treatment were sought more frequently than special orthopaedic advice. The preventive aspects of sports injuries was not well recognised with only 40% of the students regularly practising warm-up exercises, 18% stretching exercises and 4% using protective aids. More educational programmes and studies were indicated. The set up of a sports injury clinic is recommended with the utilisation of a sports injury reporting system.     

Overuse injuries in triathletes. A study of the 1986 Seafair Triathlon

A questionnaire was mailed to 600 to 657 finishers in the Seafair Triathlon (July 20, 1986); 45% of those polled returned the questionnaire. Over the preceding year, 49% of the respondents suffered a training-related injury serious enough to cause them to stop training for at least 1 day, seek medical care, or take medicine, Seventy percent of the injuries were due solely or partly to running. The knee, shoulder, and ankle were most frequently affected. Female triathletes and those more than 40 years of age showed a similar injury incidence and distribution. Elite triathletes averaged more miles per week in each sport than the athletes as a whole and showed a higher incidence of injury (60%), although this was not a significant difference. Higher weekly swimming, cycling, and running mileages did not lead to a higher incidence of injury. The likelihood of injury was independent of age, sex, body mass index, mileage per week, or other training factors evaluated in the study.     

Sports injuries in physical education teacher education students

Sports injuries could be highly detrimental to the career of a physical education teacher education (PETE) student. To enable the development of future sports injury prevention programs, sports injuries in 128 first‐year academic bachelor PETE students were registered prospectively during one academic year. Common risk factors for sports injuries, taken from the literature, were also evaluated by means of logistic regression analysis. We found an incidence rate of 1.91 and an injury risk of 0.85, which is higher than generally found in a sports‐active population. Most injuries involved the lower extremities, were acute, newly occurring injuries, and took place in non‐contact situations. More than half of all injuries lead to an inactivity period of 1 week or more and over 80% of all injuries required medical attention. A major part of these injuries happened during the intracurricular sports classes. Few differences were seen between women and men. A history of injury was a significant risk factor (P = 0.018) for the occurrence of injuries, and performance of cooling‐down exercises was significantly related to a lower occurrence of ankle injuries (P = 0.031). These data can inform future programs for the prevention of sports injuries in PETE students.     

Sports injuries in school-aged children. An epidemiologic study

In November 1982, epidemiologic data were collected in a unique, large scale, population-based survey on sports injuries in school-aged children living in Holland. A total of 7,468 pupils, aged 8 to 17, completed questionnaires covering a retrospective period of 6 weeks. Seven hundred ninety-one sports injuries were registered, amounting to an incidence of 10.6 sports injuries per 100 participants. In 31% of the cases, medical consultation was needed. Injuries incurred during the study period caused 36% of the children to miss one or more physical education classes and caused 6% to miss school for at least 1 day. Contusions and sprains were the most common lesions (77%). Three of four injuries involved the lower extremity, in particular the ankle. Sixty-two percent of all the injuries occurred in organized sports, 21% in physical education classes, and 17% in unsupervised sports activities. The highest injury rates were found in basketball and field hockey. In this study population, 15 and 16-year-old boys who had a high sports activity index and played team sports, particularly contact team sports, formed a high risk group.     

Epidemiologic, clinical and arthroscopic study of the discoid meniscus variant in Greek population

This retrospective study was aimed to investigate the epidemiologic, clinical and arthroscopic features of discoid meniscus variant in Greek population. We reviewed the cases of 2,132 patients who underwent knee arthroscopy between 1986 and 2004 and diagnosis of discoid lateral meniscus was established in 39 patients with mean age of 31.7 ± 9.4 years old. Incidence of the discoid lateral meniscus variant was recorded at rate of 1.8% presenting no significant differences according to patient gender or lesion body side. Regarding the type of discoid dysmorphy, 23 cases attributed to complete type, 15 were incomplete and in one case, Wrisberg type was observed. Predictive values of the most commonly recorded physical signs in the clinical diagnosis of the discoid meniscus were analysed. Comparative evaluation of the long-term results of arthroscopic partial meniscectomy performed in patients with intact or torn discoid lateral meniscus and torn normally shaped lateral meniscus was carried out using Lysholm and IKDC scoring systems. Also, we investigated any correlation between dysmorphy type and tear pattern analysing the arthroscopic findings. Results demonstrated that the discoid meniscus lesion represents an atypical clinical entity in adults and no significant predictive value of the signs encountered in the clinical examination of the patients with discoid meniscus was observed. Clinical outcome after arthroscopic partial meniscectomy regarding the intact discoid meniscus group was superior in comparison with that of torn discoid meniscus cases. On other hand, no difference in the result of partial meniscectomy between discoid and normal lateral meniscus tear groups was found. No statistically significant relationship between the type of discoid menisci and tear pattern or incidence rate of concomitant intraarticular lesions was confirmed.     

Sports injuries of the knee ligaments--a prospective stress radiographic study.

Forty-six patients were entered into a prospective clinical and stress radiographic study done to assess the value of acute surgical treatment of injuries to the knee ligaments sustained during sports activities. After an average follow-up period of 5 1/2 years (range 4-6 1/2 years) medial instability was found only in two patients, both of whom were in the group with isolated rupture of the medial collateral ligament. Nine of the 29 patients in this group developed rotatory instability, but it was moderate and did not give rise to symptoms. Among the 17 patients with either injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament or combined injuries, anterior drawer instability persisted in seven, with an insufficient functional result in five. None of these 17 patients were able to resume competitive sport. Those patients who had not exercised physically just before the injury proved to have a significantly greater total instability than those who had. Therefore, routine limbering-up is recommended before sports activities.     

Sports injuries and society.

Injuries are classified and examples of the ways in which they can arise are given. Treatment, rehabilitation and the value of exercise are considered. A review of the effects of increasing leisure time and sports have been given, the value of legislation, education, protective clothing and close supervision in preventing the occurrence of injuries in sport is discussed.     

Sports nutrition. Approaching the nineties

A sophisticated appreciation of the role of nutrition in athletic performance has been made possible by increasing knowledge of the physiology of exercise. The nutritional issues of training are of primary importance, since this occupies most of the athlete's effort. The nutritional support of an intense daily training programme includes an appropriately high energy intake, predominantly in the form of carbohydrate in order to continually replenish muscle glycogen stores. Recent review of the protein needs of athletes indicates that requirements may be substantially above those of sedentary subjects, to account for the oxidation of amino acids during exercise as well as the retention of nitrogen during periods of muscle building. However, these increased requirements are likely to be met by the generous protein intakes anticipated in a high energy diet. The same would seem to hold true for micronutrient considerations, although there is no evidence that vitamin requirements are considerably increased by exercise. Nevertheless, a high energy diet chosen from a sufficiently varied range of foods should allow micronutrient intakes well in excess of population recommended dietary intake levels. Current interest is focused on the mineral status of athletes, particularly that of iron and calcium. In the case of iron, there is a possibility that the increased level of loss by some endurance athletes will not be met by their usual dietary patterns. Screening for early signs of iron deficiency, and appropriate supplementation and dietary counselling seem warranted in high risk groups. Competition poses the challenge of identifying possible factors limiting performance, and taking steps to delay or reduce these. Of paramount importance is body temperature regulation through the maintenance of hydration levels. This issue has long been recognised, but recent studies of gastric emptying and the benefits of carbohydrate supplementation during exercise have caused an update of the advice to athletes regarding fluid intake during exercise. It now seems possible to simultaneously achieve fluid and carbohydrate requirements for endurance exercise within a wide range of choice of beverages containing up to 10% carbohydrate. Concern about the adequacy of carbohydrate fuel stores in endurance exercise situations is also well known. The recognition that training achieves various physiological adaptations to enhance the lifespan of fuel stores has taken away some of the attention previously focussed on carbohydrate-loading techniques.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Japanese encephalitis in southeastern Nepal: clinical aspects in the 1986 epidemic.

A multi disciplinary team furthered the collaborative study of acute encephalitis in southeastern Nepal during a major epidemic which occurred in the monsoon period of 1986. Viral studies of serum and cerebro-spinal fluid (CSF) confirmed Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) as the causative agent. Analysis of epidemiologic data suggests recent introduction of the virus to the regional population. Children accounted for the majority of all hospital admissions and had a markedly lower fatality rate from the infection than adults. Unfavourable prognostic indicators identified include a reduced conscious level on admission to hospital and a low serum or CSF IgM response to JEV.     

1986 Stewart memorial lecture. Sleep and wakefulness of the airline pilot

There are two overriding concerns in the design of schedules for aircrew who have to cope with irregularity of their sleep due either to work at unusual times of the day or to time zone changes. The first is that aircrew must be able to achieve an acceptable sleep pattern, and this is likely to involve short periods of sleep and naps. These, in turn, depend on limits to duty hours. The second is that the arrangement of work must bear in mind that prolonged duty and duty at certain times of the day may both involve relatively low levels of performance, and modelling can identify the adverse interactions of these influences. It is also important that the quality of the sleep of the individual pilot is taken into consideration when there are undue difficulties in coping with irregularity of work.