Objectives

To compile a battery of test including various aspects of physical fitness that could be used on the field and to assess whether any of these tests are associated with future traumatic knee injuries in youth female team sports athletes.

Design

Prospective cohort.

Setting

Sport setting.

Participants

Female athletes (n = 117, age 15–19 years), from Swedish sport high schools, active in soccer, handball, or floorball.

Main outcome measures

Differences in pre-injury tests values of 11 physical fitness tests in injured versus non-injured athletes, assessed as number of traumatic knee injuries over one season.

Results

28 athletes sustained 34 traumatic knee injuries. Athletes who sustained an injury had a shorter distance on the Yo-Yo IR1 test at baseline than those without an injury (mean difference −193 m, CI -293− −65 m). None of the other tests, assessed for muscular strength, endurance, power, flexibility and dynamic knee valgus, differed between injured and non-injured athletes.

Conclusions

Youth female athletes with lower intermittent endurance capacity, assessed with the Yo-Yo IR1, seemed to be at greater risk of traumatic knee injury. Neither hop performance, flexibility, dynamic knee valgus nor isolated strength tests at baseline could distinguish between injured and non-injured youth female athletes at follow-up.

The aim of this study was to investigate how physical fitness performance, which is related to the strength and power of the lower extremities and core, as well as lateral agility, changes across 20 weeks of in-season training in youth female and male padel players. This study was conducted using a prospective cohort design on 16 Swedish high school padel players aged between 15 and 18 years old. The players were assessed at baseline with five tests of their physical fitness and followed prospectively, with the registration of their training load for 20 weeks, and then assessed at a follow-up, approximately five months later. The players increased their performance in all tests (p ≤ 0.02). The mean improvement in their Isometric squat test performance was 20% for peak force, 18% for relative strength value and 69% for average rate of force development. Their improvement in the squat jump test performance was 9%, whereas the improvement in their countermovement jump test was 6%. For the 30 second sit-up test, an improvement of 14% was observed. Improvements were also noted for the 30 second side hop test performance on both the right (9%) and left leg (11%). The effect size ranged from 0.31 to 1, respectively, for the tests, representing a small to large effect. The data from this study suggest that an improvement in physical fitness performance can be obtained during 20 weeks of padel training.

Most sports science research revolves around male subjects. As a result, most of the knowledge and practices within sports are male-centric. Failing to take the biological, psychological and social (biopsychosocial) particularities of females into account is believed to hinder optimal sports participation, development and performance, with potential negative effects on the health and well-being of females. To close the knowledge gap and alleviate these issues, we aim to develop and evaluate a 12-video educational intervention that addresses female-specific subject matter: the FIDES Athlete Development Programme. The study is designed as an embedded multiple case study where at least 1320 Swedish female athletes aged 13-16 will participate, in addition to their parents and their coaches. The girls will be recruited through their sports clubs, with half being exposed to the FIDES Athlete Development Programme and the other half serving as control cases. The primary outcomes are well-being and sporting experience. To further increase our understanding of the intervention and its implications, interviews and focus group interviews with a reference group of girls and focus group interviews with a randomly selected subsample of coaches and parents will also be performed. The project is approved by the Swedish ethics committee (number: 2023-05264-01) and will be carried out in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Results from the project will be published open access in peer-reviewed journals, at national and international conferences, in mass media, and a PhD thesis. The anonymised data will be made openly available in a data repository.

Background: Studies examining post-race emotional experiences in the context of endurance races among recreational athletes are scarce. The purpose of this study was to describe how recreational athletes experience the time after completing an endurance race.

Methods: In this study, a qualitative study design was used, and data collection was carried out with semi-structured interviews. The selection of subjects was completed systematically through criterion selection. The selection criteria were men and women, aged 18 years or older, who had completed an endurance race, and finished, lasting at least 180 min within the past 12 months. The interviews were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.

Results: Sixteen recreational endurance athletes who, within six months, had completed an endurance race of running, cycling, cross-country skiing or Ironman, participated and were interviewed. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis: “High on life”, “Loss of energy, Ambivalence and Melancholy”, “Activity-charged emotions”, and “Dimensions of emotions over time and new goals”, describing the content of the interviews.

Conclusions: Endurance athletes experienced varied post-race emotions that were both physically and mentally challenging, suggesting a holistic approach to managing post-race emotions would be beneficial. From the athletes’ perspectives, post-race feelings were dependent on many factors, including time spent training for a specific race, and perceived inability to set new goals for an upcoming training period. Setting future goals prior to an event may be a tool for reducing the risk of negative post-race emotions, including post-race blues.

A high incidence of injuries has been reported in young athletes. Several factors have been associated with athletes’ sports injuries. However, scientific evidence is lacking, particularly for adolescent athletes. Hence, the Healthy Injury-Free Adolescent Athletes (HIFAA) was designed to evaluate sports injuries and examine associations with risk factors related to physical load and mental health. Secondary aims are to evaluate differences between sex, age, high school year and sports and examine injuries and the athletic situation 5 to 10 years after graduation. Adolescent athletes aged 15–19 years enrolled in high school and competing in sports to reach a national or international level of sports will be included. At inclusion, athletes will sign an informed consent form and fill out a baseline questionnaire addressing potential risk factors (eg, sports, training and competing health and injuries, and psychosocial status). Athletes will then prospectively be monitored weekly regarding injuries, physical (training/match/competing, perceived exertion) and psychological (fatigue, sleep, mental stress, recovery) load until graduation. A shortened version of the baseline questionnaire will be filled out every year, and a follow-up questionnaire regarding injuries, sporting situations and mental health will be filled out 5–10 years after graduation.

Injuries are frequent among adolescent athletes, with consequences ranging from shorter interruptions in sports performance to mental health problems and early termination of sports. A reduction of these injuries is warranted. This study will provide a detailed understanding of risk factors, a prerequisite to introducing appropriate preventive measures.

Under covid-19-pandemin upplevde padelsporten en verklig boom i Sverige, med en dramatisk ökning av antalet nya utövare. Dock följdes denna våg av rapporter om skador relaterade till sporten, särskilt bland amatörspelare. Efter pandemin blev det en rejäl nedgång i antalet banbokningar, men framtiden för svensk padelsport ser ljus ut med en stigande popularitet hos föreningar samt en integrering i Riksidrottsförbundet. Ungdomars engagemang inom idrotten ökar och pågående forskning fokuserar på att förstå och minimera skaderisken hos padelspelare genom analys av match- och träningsbelastning samt externa riskfaktorer. 

AbstractBackground Studies investigating ankle condition in subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI) using an on-thefield test battery are scarce. Understanding which tests that are most challenging for these subjects has the potentialto set realistic goals in rehabilitation and return-to-sports criteria. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to investigateCAI subjects regarding strength, balance and functional performance with an easily used test battery that requiredminimal equipment.Methods This study was conducted with a cross-sectional design. A total of 20 CAI subjects, engaged in sports,and 15 healthy subjects serving as a control group, were tested for assessment of strength, balance and functionalperformance. A test battery was developed accordingly; isometric strength in inversion and eversion, the single legstance test (SLS), single leg hop for distance (SLHD) and side hop test. The limb symmetry index was calculated todetermine whether a side-to-side lower limb difference could be classified as normal or abnormal. The sensitivity ofthe test battery was also calculated.Results The subjects were 20% weaker on the injured side compared with the non-injured side in eversion (p<0.01)and 16% weaker in inversion (p<0.01) (Table 2). For the SLS test, the mean score of the injured side was 8 points(67%) higher (more foot lifts) compared to the non-injured side (p<0.01). The mean distance of the SLHD was 10 cm(9%) shorter for the injured side compare to the non-injured side (p=0.03). The mean number of side hop was 11repetitions (29%) fewer for the injured side compare to the non-injured side (p<0.01). Six of the 20 subjects obtainedabnormal LSI values in all five tests whereas none obtained normal values in all tests. The sensitivity of the test batterywas 100%.Conclusion Deficits in muscle strength, balance and functional performance appear to be present in CAI subjectswith the largest impairments in balance and side hop performance, which stresses the need for return to sport criteriafor this group of subjects.Trial registration Registered retrospectively on 24/01/2023. NCT05732168.

Objectives: The literature is scarce in terms of injury panorama and risk factors in padel. Thus, the aims of this study were to investigate 1) injury occurrence, anatomical area and severity of acute injuries and overuse problems in women and men who regularly participate in padel; 2) relative impact of overuse problems; 3) intrinsic (age and sex) and extrinsic risk factors (equipment and environment).

Methods: Data for this observational study was collected retrospectively using an open online web-designed form. Injury data together with players’ characteristic and equipment were documented. Players also estimated the impact of the problems on a scale from 0 to 25 points for each body region which were summed in order to calculate a severity score yielding a maximum total score of 125 for each overuse problem.

Results: 274 players (38% women) reported 663 injuries (111 acute injuries and 571 overuse problems) with a higher prevalence noted in men (2.67 injuries/player) compared to women (2.01 injuries/player). Most overuse problem were located in the knee (17.5%), elbow, lower back and foot/lower leg (16% respectively). Foot, ankle and lower leg problems had the greatest impact (median severity score = 45). No associations were found between injury and age (p=0.88). More hand problems were found in women using round and soft rackets whereas men using a hard racket had more hand problems. Of the overuse problems, 33% were associated with outdoor training/games whereas only 1% with indoor.

Conclusion: The findings suggests that both acute injury and overuse problem seem to be quite common in Swedish padel player and that different racket properties are related to various kinds of overuse problems in upper extremity, which affects women and men differently. The relative high impact of foot, ankle and lower leg problems suggests that injury prevention on lower extremity are warranted. 

Trial registration: Registered on 27/10/2021. NCT05111457.

Background and Purpose: Previous studies suggest that both acute and overuse injuries seem to be quite common in middle-aged recreational padel players [1, 2]. Yet, research is limited interms of injury panorama in youth padel players. Thus, this pilot study aimed to investigate the injury prevalence of acute and overuse injuries and training load in youth padel athletes at Swedish sport high school.

Methods: 22 youth padel players (23% females) reported on weekly basis their hours of training and games and all time-loss injuries occurring during sport activity. Details on other training regimes were also recorded. Players estimated the relative impact of the overuse problems, on pain, sport participation, and performance, on a scale from 0 to 25 points for each body region which were summed in order to calculate a severity score yielding a maximum total score of 100 for each overuse problem.

Results: Total training hours was 11 (±5) h/week whereas the mean time of specific padel training was 8 (±4). All players took part in strength and conditioning training. Most (91%) players performed strength training, 50% running, 41% interval training and19% plyometric. Four players were also engaged in other sports; soccer, dancing and gymnastic. A total of 6 acute injuries were recorded; 1 ligament injury to the shoulder,1 finger sprain, 1 hamstring strain, 2 ankle sprain and 1 fracture to the foot. A total of 23 overuse problems were registered with a severity score ranging from 8 to 28.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that the training load is relatively high in youth padel athletes at Swedish sport senior high school. The results also suggest that both acute and overuse injuries are present, but that the relative impact of the overuse problems seem to be of minor extent.

Both weak muscle strength and impaired neuromuscular control has previous been suggested as risk factors for future traumatic knee injury. However, data on the relationship between these two factors are scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship and influence of the one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell squat strength on dynamic knee valgus in elite female and male handball players. In this cross-sectional study 22 elite handball players (7 females) were included. A unilateral drop jump (VDJ) test was used for the assessment of frontal plane dynamic knee valgus. Players also performed a one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell squat test, expressed relative to bodyweight (r1RM), to assess maximal strength, which were dichotomized to analyze ‘weak’ versus ‘strong’ players according to median. Correlations were noted between r1RM in squat and knee valgus angle for both the non-dominant (r = −0.54; p = 0.009) and dominant leg (r = −0.46, p = 0.03). The odds of knee valgus were eight times higher, for the dominant leg, in the weak group compared to the strong group (p = 0.03) and 27 times higher, for the non-dominant leg (p = 0.002). The outcome of the present study suggests that maximum squat strength plays an important role when it comes to neuromuscular control of the knee, and that weak handball players are at higher risk of knee valgus compared to strong players during jumping activity.