Health & Safety

Low intensity, long-duration aerobic exercise is typically prescribed for youth who are overweight or obese, but has a number of drawbacks compared to resistance training, says an international consensus of experts in a new international position statement.

Thinking about starting your child or teen in a resistance training program, but wondering whether it is a good idea? Not only is there no cause for concern, but, according to a new international consensus statement (Loyd RS, et al 2014), resistance training for children and adolescents has two major benefits: improved athletic performance and a positive effect on overall health.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association has released a new position statement on the management of sport concussion. The statement is an update to the NATA's original 2004 concussion guidelines and addresses education, prevention, documentation and legal aspects, evaluation and return-to-play considerations. In particular, the authors amended the return-to-play guidelines and now recommend no return on the day the athlete is concussed.

Some children and adolescents who have continue to report symptoms weeks and months after suffering a concussion may be exaggerating or feigning symptoms in order to get out of schoolwork or sports or for other reasons unrelated to their injury, says a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

The medical community is largely unaware of national sports preparticipation physical evaluation (PPE) guidelines and only 11% of athletes at US high schools are guaranteed to receive a PPE fully consistent with the national standard, finds a 2014 study. The findings come despite efforts to standardize the screening process, and nearly unanimous public support for screening by a qualified health care professional before participation in a consistent manner across the country.

While much is known about the causes and risk factors associated with overuse injuries and burnout, more research is needed, concludes a new position statement on overuse injuries and burnout.

A new book challenges the decades-old use of ice in the treatment of sports injuries, with some now claiming it has no therapeutic value in sports medicine. On the other side are those who still swear by icing a sports injury to reduce acute-injury bleeding, relieve post-injury soreness, and for relieving pain. So, is it time to remove the "I" from the first-aid acronym RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation)? We checked with MomsTEAM's expert physical therapist to find out.

There is good news and bad news in a first-of-its-kind study about implementation of the nation's first youth sports concussion safety legislation. The good news is that nearly all football and soccer coaches at public high schools in Washington State have completed the required concussion education, are generally knowledgeable about concussions, and are comfortable in deciding when to refer players for additional evaluation for a suspected concussion. The bad news is that concussion education of athletes and parents was much less extensive.

A simple vision test performed on the sports sidelines was able to identify nearly 8 out of 10 athletes later found to have suffered a concussion, and when test results were combined with tests for cognition and balance, allowed identification of concussed athletes with 100% accuracy, according to researchers at New York University.