Health & Safety

ACL injury prevention programs for female athletes such as the Prevent Injury and Enhance Performance (PEP) program have value, despite lingering doubts about their effectiveness raised in a new study. While there is evidence that injury prevention programs may reduce the risk of some knee injuries, additional research in necessary, said the study author.

Female athletes are at signficantly greater risk of ACL injuries than male athletes. Up to now, predicting whether a female athlete was at risk for an ACL injury required expensive and complex laboratory-based motion analysis systems, such as those used in creating video games. Now it will be possible  to predict whether an athlete is high risk for anterior cruciate ligament injuries using a simple, low-cost tool in a doctor's office, report the authors of a new study. 

Nearly $30 million a year would be saved in hospital charges if early rather than delayed ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction surgery was performed on pediatric patients, according to a study presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) 2010 Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island.  Additionally, more than 7,300 tears to the meniscus and 7,800 cartilage tears in children could be avoided each year in the U.S. by early ACL surgery.

The purpose of lifting weights and resistance training in sports is simple: as a means to an end (improving performance), not as an end in itself (lifting more weight).  Understanding the basic benefits from good lifting technique and risks of poor sports training is critical to developing a purposeful and appropriate strength training program.

A lot has been written about the subject of stretching and flexibility in sports. Studies abound on the effects of flexibility on muscular strength, joint motion, and injury prevention, but the picture seems to become more muddled with every passing day, with even the conventional wisdom that static stretching improves flexibility over resistance training recently called into question. But the fact remains: stretching improves flexibility, a foundation for athletic success.

Children who don't exercise enough may show early signs of cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's 57th Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

College cheerleaders are at high risk for body image issues and eating disorders - and may be affected by how revealing their uniforms are, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's 57th Annual Meeting in Baltimore.

Static stretching improves flexibility over resistance training, according to conventional wisdom, but a new study suggests that strength training may work just as well, if not better, in increasing an athlete's flexibility.

Middle-school students with higher levels of physical fitness fared better on standardized tests than students who were less fit., according to new research. The study suggests that cutting physical education classes to focus on academics might be counterproductive.