athlete

This study investigated the effectiveness of a 4-week TRX suspension training program on knee and hip alignment as well as hip muscle strength in male basketball players with dynamic knee valgus. The present study was Quasi-experimental, and its statistical population consisted of basketball players (18-25 years old) from Mashhad, Iran. Thirty-two athletes diagnosed with dynamic knee valgus were randomly selected as samples and randomly assigned to experimental (n=16) and control (n=16) groups. Data measurement tools included Kinovea software (Kinovea Robotics, Canada, 2006) and an isokinetic dynamometer (JTECH MedicalTM Commander instruments). To measure kinematic angles, athletes performed standardized tasks such as squats and lunges, which were selected to elicit dynamic knee valgus and accurately assess knee and hip alignment.  A 4-week TRX suspension training program (3 sessions/week, 30-45 minutes/session) was implemented for the exercise group. Statistical analyses (paired t-tests, ANCOVA) were conducted using SPSS software (p < 0.05). Paired-sample t-tests revealed significant improvements in knee and hip alignment (reduced knee valgus (p=0.003) and hip drop angles (p=0.013)) in the exercise group post-training compared to pre-training. The exercise group's dominant leg also observed significant increases in hip abductor, extensor, and external rotator strength (p=0.0001). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for pre-test scores demonstrated significant between-group differences in all outcome measures, indicating the TRX program's effectiveness in the dynamic knee valgus group compared to the control. This study suggests that a 4-week TRX suspension training program can effectively improve knee and hip alignment and strengthen hip musculature in male basketball players with dynamic knee valgus.

The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization (DNS) training on movement patterns and postural control in female athletes with lower cross syndrome (LCS).
This research employed a quasi-experimental, pre-and post-test design. Thirty healthy female athletes with an average age of 24.98 ± 2.26 years and diagnosed with LCS were randomly divided into an experimental group (15 subjects) and a control group (15 subjects). Participants in the experimental group completed the DNS training protocol, which consisted of three sessions per week for eight weeks. Postural control and functional movements were assessed using the Y-balance test and Functional Movement Screening (FMS) before and after the intervention. Statistical analysis included paired t-tests, ANCOVA, and the Wilcoxon test.
ANCOVA revealed a significant difference in the Y-balance test and FMS scores between the experimental and control groups for participants with LCS. Within-group analysis indicated that the post-test mean scores of the experimental group were significantly improved compared to pre-test scores following DNS training (P<0.05).
The results indicate that eight weeks of DNS training significantly improved functional movement screening and Y-balance test scores in female athletes with LCS. Therefore, DNS exercises may be recommended to athletes to enhance balance and lower limb performance.

Lumbar hyperlordosis is a common problem among athletes, characterized by an excessive increase in the lumbar arch which can lead to chronic Low Back Pain (LBP). The central stabilizing muscles of the trunk are crucial for maintaining proper stability and alignment of the spine. Weakness in these muscles can increase the lumbar arch's severity and associated pain. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the endurance of different groups of core stability muscles and pain in women athletes with lumbar hyperlordosis.

36 female athletes with lumbar hyperlordosis were randomly selected and examined. The study assessed the endurance of the different central stability muscles, including trunk flexors, extensors, and lateral flexors, using McGill tests. Additionally, the athletes' level of LBP was measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Data analysis used multiple linear regression to assess the correlation between muscle endurance and pain.

None of the endurance variables of the four central stability muscles are significantly associated with the pain of subjects with hyperlordosis (P≥0.05). According to the reported beta values, the endurance of the muscles of the trunk extensor, left lateral flexor, right lateral flexor, and trunk flexor have the greatest association with LBP of athletes with lumbar hyperlordosis (P≥0.05).

These findings suggest that increasing the endurance of the central stabilizing muscles, could not significantly reduce LBP in athletes with lumbar hyperlordosis, for this reason, there is no need to separate the strengthening of the core muscles to reduce LBP These results could be used to develop targeted exercise programs to correct posture and reduce pain in this population.

Deafness is recognized as the most common sensory-neural defect.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of hopping training on the static and dynamic balance of Iraqi deaf athletes.

The current research was a semi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population included deaf male athletes aged 15 to 25 in Baghdad, Iraq. Fifty deaf athletes were purposefully selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Static and dynamic balance were evaluated using the stork test and the Y balance measuring device, respectively. The experimental group underwent an eight-week hopping training program (three sessions per week, each lasting one hour). Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and covariance analysis at a significance level of 0.05, using SPSS version 25.

The findings revealed that eight weeks of hopping training significantly improved static balance (F = 40.58, P = 0.001, η² = 0.46), dynamic balance in the anterior direction (F = 44.60, P = 0.001, η² = 0.48), posterior-external direction (F = 36.88, P = 0.007, η² = 0.42), posterior-internal direction (F = 39.50, P = 0.004, η² = 0.43), and the total balance score (F = 42.60, P = 0.001, η² = 0.45). No significant differences were observed in the control group following the intervention.

This study demonstrated that an eight-week program of hopping training can enhance both static and dynamic balance performance in deaf athletes. It is recommended to incorporate this type of intervention as an effective alternative for balance training, especially in settings with limited facilities for individuals with hearing impairments.

Communication in sports requires special attention, especially for athletes who are in direct contact with coaches, spectators, etc.

Based on an examination of 49 years of papers related to communication with athletes published in diverse scientific documents, we examine developments in the field in this article using bibliometric analysis. This is a bibliometric review of publications related to communication between coaches and or among athletes to identify authors, countries, affiliations, the most relevant sources, and the evolution of scientific results, thematic maps, and keywords.

On February 8, 2023, the metadata search in the Scopus database using the search terms "athlete” and "communication" resulted in a total of 519 documents.

The author's keyword "communication" was the one that appeared in the most, with a total of 45 occurrences, followed by "athlete" with 44 and "sport" with 33 occurrences. The keyword "injury" was the newest keyword that came up ten times in 2017-2021 and 2022. On the thematic map, "crisis communication" is a growing topic that should receive researchers’ attention.

Researchers and scientists interested in this topic might also take advantage of several publications, authors, and trending keywords as references for further research. As a result, sports academics must work on research on the topic of communication in athletes and apply what they learn in training and competition practices.

Most athletes retire young and severe sports injuries can be considered one of the most important reasons for psychological problems in sports retirees. This study aimed to investigate the impact of early retirement due to sports injuries on the physical condition, quality of life, health, self-esteem, and body-esteem of both active and inactive Iranian elite athletes.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on forty elite retired Iranian athletes, primarily from skiing, wrestling, and mountaineering, with an average age of 66.62 ± 4.65 years, height of 166.70 ± 3.66 cm, and weight of 66.15 ± 4.88 kg. The participants were divided into two groups, active (n = 20) and inactive (n = 20), based on their current level of sports activity. The Nordic, SF-36, Rosenberg, and Mendelson questionnaires were utilized to determine musculoskeletal pain, quality of life, self-esteem, and body image.
The results indicated that participants in the active group reported a higher quality of life score than those in the inactive group (P = 0.001). Furthermore, the active group scored significantly higher in terms of body image (P = 0.001) and self-esteem (P = 0.001) than the inactive group.
Based on the study's results, it is recommended that sports health and psychology experts pay increased attention to the post-exercise period of elite athletes. Furthermore, it is suggested that elite sports retirees continue to engage in light sports activities even after retiring from professional sports.

Two common choices exist for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, autograft and allograft. Hamstring tendon autografts and soft-tissue allografts are commonly used for ACL reconstruction. The outcomes between these two grafts are controversial. This research aims to quantify and compare lower limb joint coordination between two ACL reconstruction graft options and healthy individuals.

Sixty-one athletes were enrolled after ACL reconstruction surgery (allograft, n=22; autograft, n=18). Furthermore, twenty-one healthy athletes were considered in the control group. The inclusion criteria included unilateral anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery with allograft and autograft methods, male athletes with a minimum of 9 months and a maximum of two years since their surgery, successfully passing a series of quadriceps and hamstring strength tests and distance jumping before entering sports-specific activities under the supervision of a sports physiotherapist, and returning to pre-injury sports activities. 

Autograft was not statistically different from matched healthy limbs in terms of joint coordination variability and magnitude (P>0.05). However, the magnitude of joint coordination was superior to the allograft group compared to the autograft reconstructed ACL (P<0.05). 

Although our result reported no significant difference between groups in joint coordination variability, having an insight into coordinative function after ACL reconstruction will help develop postoperative rehabilitation programs as well as minimize the re-injury risk among patients. We also suggest that scholars should conduct more robust trials with valid research designs to control the results of ACL reconstruction comparison with autograft and allograft.

We developed a reference point by applying a doping attitude and propensity tool to prevent doping in sports athletes.

Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS) was investigated on 768 registered athletes with the Korea Sports Association. Independent sample t-test and ANOVA were applied to confirm the doping attitude and propensity according to anti-doping education and event type. To establish the criteria for PEAS, the intersection was confirmed through the group comparison method, and EasyOZ by Excel was applied at this time. In addition, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated to confirm the validity of the reference point.

First, in the case of anti-doping education, it was confirmed that more than 90% of the anti-doping education was completed in all sports. Second, there was no statistically significant difference in PEAS according to the type of sport, and there was only a difference in the PEAS according to whether or not anti-doping education was provided and whether or not there was anti-doping education. Third, the point of contact established in the group comparison method was 29.5 points, and as a result of validating the validity based on this, 30 points were found to be the most suitable index.

This study could be used as important information in that it suggests a different method for evaluating PEAS and establishes a reference point that can be used more effectively in the actual field.

Sleep as a biological phenomenon is effective in the performance and recovery of athletes. Questionnaires can be used as a cost‑effective initial assessment tool for sleep. The Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) demonstrated a clinically valid instrument for screening relevant sleep issues in athletic populations. Due to the lack of validated tools for adequate screening for sleep difficulties in the Iranian athlete population, the present study was conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the ASSQ.

The translation process was performed using instructions by Beaton et al. Content validity was assessed by a panel of experts. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for two 5‑item sleep difficulty scores (SDS) and a 4‑item chronotype score. Internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega and stability reliability were used to evaluate reliability.

The ASSQ achieved conceptual and semantic equivalence with the original scale. The item‑level content validity index (I‑CVI) of each item ranged from 0.87 to 1, and the averaging scale‑level CVI/average was 0.95. In factor analysis, one factor for SDS and one factor for chronotype score were identified and confirmed. The internal consistency of the SDS scale (α =0.77, Ω =0.83) and chronotype (α =0.74, Ω =0.77) was acceptable. Stability reliability was confirmed for SDS scale (intra‑class correlation [ICC] =0.87) and for chronotype (ICC = 0.83).

Persian ASSQ has acceptable psychometric measurement properties as a screening tool to assess sleep in Iranian athletes.

Sleep as a biological phenomenon is effective in the performance and recovery of athletes. Questionnaires can be used as a cost?effective initial assessment tool for sleep. The Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) demonstrated a clinically valid instrument for screening relevant sleep issues in athletic populations. Due to the lack of validated tools for adequate screeningfor sleep difficulties in the Iranian athlete population, the present study was conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the ASSQ.

The translation process was performed using instructions by Beaton et al. Content validity was assessed by a panel of experts. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed for two 5?item sleep difficulty scores (SDS) and a 4?item chronotype score. Internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega and stability reliability were used to evaluate reliability.

The ASSQ achieved conceptual and semantic equivalence with the original scale. The item?level content validity index (I?CVI) of each item ranged from 0.87 to 1, and the averaging scale?level CVI/average was 0.95. In factor analysis, one factor for SDS and one factor for chronotype score were identified and confirmed. The internal consistency of the SDS scale (? =0.77, ? =0.83) and chronotype (? =0.74, ? =0.77) was acceptable. Stability reliability was confirmed for SDS scale (intra?class correlation [ICC] =0.87) and for chronotype (ICC = 0.83).

Persian ASSQ has acceptable psychometric measurement properties as a screening tool to assess sleep in Iranian athletes.

Athletes' poor understanding of sports nutrition could place their health in danger, degrade their performance, and have an impact on their lean body mass and energy levels.

The research study aims to study the perception of Thai national youth athletes regarding nutrition understanding and the relation between endurance, power, and mixed sports and believing in the food selection before, during, and after the competition.

The quantitative research was used with 216 respondents divided into three categories (Endurance Sport, Power Sport, and Mix Sport) which consisted of the Thai national youth athletes for each category in Thailand, and analyzed by the descriptive statistics, and the chi-square test by using SPSS.

The result of the chi-square test between the athlete samples of endurance, power, and the mixed sport and believing in the food selection before the competition found that by having the correlation efficiency (Chi-Square: c2) = 1241.381, DF=32, and the p-value were 0.01. During the competition found that the food selection was related to the sports categories by having the correlation efficiency (Chi-Square: c2) = 485.438, DF=26, and the p-value was 0.01, and after the competition found that the food selection was related to the sports categories by having the correlation efficiency (Chi-Square: c2) = 718.997, DF=30, and the p-value were 0.01.

The result of this research may be applied as important information for developing an effective guideline for Thai national youth athletes in the future.

The number of mountaineers and climbers has increased over the last few years. Considering the geographical features of Iran, this increase in the number of climbers is more significant in this country. Because of the importance of mountaineering injuries, a comprehensive survey of these injuries is needed. In this base, we designed a survey to investigate skeletal injuries in mountaineering accidents. This cross-sectional study was conducted on athletes from the Mountaineering Federation of Islamic Republic of the Iran (MFIRI) in 2015 and 2016. A total of 110 athletes were included using a simple random sampling method, and they were examined for any complications after skeletal injuries. Their medical records were reviewed. A total of 110 mountaineers completed the checklists, and 15 mountaineers reported a rock-climbing trauma and injury during 2015 and 2016. The most traumatic location was the lower extremities (46.7%). Additionally, most of trauma occurrences were in descent (80%) and times of day between noon and midnight (64.3%). The mean age of the mountaineers who had a trauma incidence was 37.95±8.76 years. Smoking was significantly different between the two groups. Skeletal injuries during mountaineering and rock climbing mostly affect the lower extremities, followed by the upper extremities and spine. There was no significant difference in age, sex or climbing equipment between the group who had an accident and the group who did not. In this study, there was a relationship between smoking cigarettes and an increased incidence of climbing accidents. Longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate this relationship.

Low back pain (LBP) is the most common musculoskeletal disorder reported in the community, leading to chronic pain and disability. This review aims to determine the effectiveness of prevention and management protocols on LBP in athletes.

Searches were conducted from 2010 to 2022 from international databases, including Google Scholar, Science Direct, and PubMed using keywords related to back pain in athletes. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) presenting the prevention and management protocol for back pain of athletes were included in this review. The physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro) scale was used to check the quality of articles. 

Finally, 16 articles with 1,317 subjects met the inclusion criteria. These studies have mainly focused on the effect of taping, cognitive functional approach, movement patterns, conditioning, lifestyle, motor control, segmental motion, isokinetic, core stabilization, virtual reality training, dynamic and static stretching, Mézières method, functional movement screen, and semi-customized exercises in athletes at risk of LBP. The positive effect of stability and cognitive exercises were documented.

The deep and superficial muscle integration exercises by correcting the body posture and correct muscle calling had the greatest effect on the balance of the muscles.

There is limited number of study on dietary supplements use in most gyms clubs. The aims of current study were to assess supplement intake in athletes who exercise regularly in gyms in the city of Qom, Iran, and to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding dietary supplement.

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 300 athletes who were randomly selected from 18 sport clubs of Qom city between November 2015 and March 2016. A self-administered questionnaire containing 34 questions was used to evaluate the socio-demographic characteristic, knowledge, attitude, and practices of athletes on dietary supplements. Validity and reliability of questionnaire determined through panel of experts and Cronbach’s alpha (N=24, α=0.79) respectively.

Our results showed that 28% of women, and 62% of men had the history of supplement usage (42 percent of all participants). Male were more likely to take supplements than females (p<0.01). The results of knowledge questions showed that more than half of the questions (56.3%) were answered correctly. Although, coaches was the main source of information on dietary supplements (43%), but significant difference was shown between men and women.

The results of this study were reported that nearly half (42%) of athletes used dietary supplement. The overall scores indicated that dietary supplements knowledge of these athletes is not enough for healthy decision making. The source of information and dietary supplement practices of athletes were strongly affected by gender.

 Lateral ankle sprain (LAS) is one of the most common injuries during physical activity. Considering the high prevalence of this injury in athletes and the need to pay attention to athletes' return to the same level of sports performance as before the injury, the present study aimed to investigate the return to sport after lateral ankle sprains.

 In this study, a comprehensive review of the published papers has been done considering English specialized keywords, including physical therapy, sport-specific movement, return to sport, ankle injuries, ligament injuries, return to play, lower extremity, ankle sprain, recurrent injury, ankle, sports injury, lateral ankle instability, chronic ankle instability, athlete, lateral ankle sprain. Therefore, databases i.e., Science Direct, Scopus, Pedro, Google Scholar, PubMed, SID, ISC, Madlib, Magiran and Irandoc were explored, and those researches published between 2000 to April 2022 about the return to sport and LAS injuries were studied.

 After searching in the mentioned databases, first, the abstract of 370 articles on return to sport after LAS was found, and then the full text of 148 related papers was studied. After reviewing them based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and eliminating duplicate items, 47 articles were scrutinized. Finally, 11 papers were identified about the return to sport after LAS injury. Most studies have reported that the recommended methods reduce the time to return to sport. In this regard, some studies have set a time to return to sport, and some have not reported the exact time. Studies have emphasized the use of specific tests and criteria for evaluating athletes to enter the final stage of rehabilitation as the most important principle of safely returning to sport.

 Athletes' return to physical activity should be followed in a way that allows them to safely return to sport while minimizing the risk of recurrent injuries. Determining specialized criteria and tests for high and diverse populations in sports, especially those involved with lateral ankle sprains, is the key to success in safer return to sport. However, most studies have been conducted in limited populations and disciplines, and researchers must perform more research in this area.