What are the most effective risk-reduction strategies in sport concussion?
- Authors: Benson, Brian , McIntosh, Andrew , Maddocks, David , Herring, Stanley , Raftery, Martin , Dvorak, Jiri
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. 5 (2013), p. 321-326
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- Description: Aim To critically review the evidence to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of protective equipment, rule changes, neck strength and legislation in reducing sport concussion risk. Methods Electronic databases, grey literature and bibliographies were used to search the evidence using Medical Subject Headings and text words. Inclusion/ exclusion criteria were used to select articles for the clinical equipment studies. The quality of evidence was assessed using epidemiological criteria regarding internal/external validity (eg, strength of design, sample size/power, bias and confounding). Results No new valid, conclusive evidence was provided to suggest the use of headgear in rugby, or mouth guards in American football, significantly reduced players' risk of concussion. No evidence was provided to suggest an association between neck strength increases and concussion risk reduction. There was evidence in ice hockey to suggest fair-play rules and eliminating body checking among 11-years-olds to 12-years-olds were effective injury prevention strategies. Evidence is lacking on the effects of legislation on concussion prevention. Equipment self-selection bias was a common limitation, as was the lack of measurement and control for potential confounding variables. Lastly, helmets need to be able to protect from impacts resulting in a head change in velocities of up to 10 and 7 m/s in professional American and Australian football, respectively, as well as reduce head resultant linear and angular acceleration to below 50 g and 1500 rad/s2, respectively, to optimise their effectiveness. Conclusions A multifactorial approach is needed for concussion prevention. Future well-designed and sportspecific prospective analytical studies of sufficient power are warranted.
Increasing compliance with neuromuscular training to prevent ankle sprain in sport : Does the 'Strengthen your ankle' mobile App make a difference? A randomised controlled trial
- Authors: van Reijen, Miriam , Vriend, Ingrid , Zuidema, Victor , van Mechelen, Willem , Verhagen, Evert
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 50, no. 19 (2016), p. 1200-1205
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- Description: Background: E-health has the potential to facilitate implementation of effective measures to prevent sports injuries. Aim: We evaluated whether an interactive mobile application containing a proven effective exercise programme to prevent recurrent ankle sprains resulted in higher compliance as compared with regular written exercise materials. Methods: 220 athletes participated in this randomised controlled trial with a follow-up of 8 weeks; 110 athletes received a booklet explaining an 8-week neuromuscular training programme; 110 athletes participated in the same programme in an interactive mobile App (Strengthen your ankle). The primary outcome was compliance with the exercise programme. Secondary outcome measure was the incidence density of self-reported recurrent ankle sprains. Results: The mean compliance to the exercise scheme was 73.3% (95% CI 67.7% to 78.1%) in the App group, compared with 76.7% (95% CI 71.9% to 82.3%) in the Booklet group. No significant difference in compliance was found between groups. The incidence densities of self-reported time-loss recurrences were not significantly different between both groups (HR 3.07; 95% CI 0.62 to 15.20). Summary: This study shows that the method of implementing the exercises by using an App or a Booklet does not lead to different compliance rates. New findings: The use of a mobile App or a Booklet lead to similar compliance and injury rates in the short term. Trial registration number: The Netherlands National Trial Register NTR 4027. The NTR is part of the WHO Primary Registries. © 2016, BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Back to basics with some new tools : First ensure the safety of sporting environments
- Authors: Finch, Caroline , Brown, James , Readhead, Clint , Lambert, Mike , Viljoen, Wayne
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Editorial
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 51, no. 15 (2017), p. 1109-1110
- Full Text: false
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