Development of a Standardised System to Classify Injury-Inciting Circumstances in Football: the Football Injury Inciting Circumstances Classification System (FIICCS)

Aiello, F., McCall, A., Brown, S.J. et al.  Sports Med 53, 1805–1818 (2023). A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities and circumstances being performed at the time of injury is important to hypothesise mechanisms, develop prevention strategies and inform future investigations. Results reported in the literature are inconsistent because inciting activities are reported using different classifications. Hence the aim was to develop …

Carbohydrate Nutrition and Skill Performance in Soccer

Rollo, I., Williams, C. Sports Med53 (Suppl 1), 7–14 (2023). In soccer, players must perform a variety of sport-specific skills usually during or immediately after running, often at sprint speed. The quality of the skill performed is likely influenced by the volume of work done in attacking and defending over the duration of the match. Even the most highly skillful players …

Estimating the Relationship Between the Symptom-Free Waiting Period and Injury Rates After Return-to-Play from Concussion: A Simulation Analysis Using CARE Consortium Data

Garcia, G.-G. P., et al. Sports Med. 53, 2513–2528 (2023). Background: A key component of return-to-play (RTP) from sport-related concussion is the symptom-free waiting period (SFWP), i.e., the period during which athletes must remain symptom-free before permitting RTP. Yet, the exact relationship between SFWP and post-RTP injury rates is unclear. Objective: We design computational simulations to estimate the relationship between …

Tackling sport-related concussion: effectiveness of lowering the maximum legal height of the tackle in amateur male rugby – a cross-sectional analytical study.

Tonder, R. van, Starling, L., Surmon, S., Viviers, P., Kraak, W., Boer, P.-H., Jordaan, E., Hendricks, S., Stokes, K. A., Derman, W. & Brown, J. C. Inj. Prev. 29, 56–61 (2023). Objective: Rugby union (‘rugby’) is popular globally, with most of its participants being amateur. Concern regarding sport-related concussion (SRC) sustained during rugby is increasing. SRC occurs most frequently in …

Are return-to-play times longer in lower-limb muscle injuries involving the intramuscular tendon? A systematic review

Beattie, C. E., Barnett, R. J., Williams, J., Sim, J. & Pullinger, S. A. J. Sci. Med. Sport 26, 599–609 (2023). Objectives: To determine the influence of severity and direction (craniocaudal length vs cross-sectional area) of intramuscular tendon tears in the lower limb on return-to-play times, compared to muscle injuries without intramuscular tendon involvement. Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis. Methods: …

Chronic changes in muscle architecture and aponeurosis structure following calf muscle strain injuries

B. Nielsen L, B. Svensson R, U. Fredskild N, et al. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2023;33:2585-2597 Background Muscle strain injuries in the human calf muscles are frequent sports injuries with high recurrence. Potential structural and functional changes in the medial head of the musculus gastrocnemius (GM) and the associated aponeurosis are not well documented. Purpose To test whether a …

Risk Factors for Concussion in Under 18, Under 22 and Professional Men’s Rugby Union: A Video Analysis of 14,809 Tackles

Kawasaki, T., Kawakami, Y., Nojiri, S. et al. Sports Med – Open 9, 95 (2023) This study aimed to identify the risk factors for tackle-related concussion observed in matches involving under (U) 18, U 22 and professional men’s Rugby Union players through video analysis. Study Design- Descriptive epidemiology study. Twenty Rugby Union matches each for high school (U18), university/college (U22) and professional …

The association of adolescent fitness with cardiometabolic diseases in late adulthood: A 45‐year longitudinal study

Laakso, P. T. T., Ortega, F. B., Huotari, P., Tolvanen, A. J., Kujala, U. M. & Jaakkola, T. T. Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports (2023). doi:10.1111/sms.14529 The aim of this study was to examine the associations of adolescent cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), muscular fitness (MF), and speed-agility fitness (SA) with middle-aged cardiometabolic disease risk and explore sex differences. This 45-year prospective …

Sports-related factors predicting maintained participation and dropout in organized sports in emerging adulthood: A four-year follow-up study

Rinta‐Antila, K., Koski, P., Aira, T., Heinonen, O. J., Korpelainen, R., Parkkari, J., Savonen, K., Toivo, K., Uusitalo, A., Valtonen, M., Vasankari, T., Villberg, J. J. & Kokko, S. Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports (2023).  This study explored sports-related factors predicting organized sports participation in emerging adulthood. In the Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) study, 354 sports club participants …

Review of the scientific rationale, development and validation of the International Olympic Committee Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport Clinical Assessment Tool: V.2 (IOC REDs CAT2)—by a subgroup of the IOC consensus on REDs

Stellingwerff T, Mountjoy M, McCluskey WT, et al. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023;57:1109-1118. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs) has various different risk factors, numerous signs and symptoms and is heavily influenced by one’s environment. Accordingly, there is no singular validated diagnostic test. This 2023 International Olympic Committee’s REDs Clinical Assessment Tool—V.2 (IOC REDs CAT2) implements a three-step process of: (1) initial screening; (2) severity/risk …