Source: National Athletic Trainers' Association DALLAS, June 27, 2013 - During its 64th Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposia in Las Vegas today, the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) pre-released a position statement on the "Conservative Management and Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Athletes." The statement, created by the NATA Research & Education Foundation, will appear in the July issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, NATA's scientific publication. Ankle sprains remain one of the most common joint injuries that affect athletes of all ages and in all sporting events. An estimated 28,000 ankle injuries occur in the United States each day, translating into an enormous impact on the health care industry and resulting in millions of dollars spent on treatment, according to the statement. In sports, ankle injuries are the most common with some estimates attributing more than 45 percent of all athletic injuries to ankle sprains. "Most ankle sprains result from damage due to an acute twisting of the foot or are caused from landing from jumps, stepping on another athlete's foot, trauma at heel strike during running or stressing the foot while in a fixed position," according to lead author Thomas W. Kaminski, PhD, ATC, University of Delaware, Athletic Training Education Program. "The guidelines we've recommended provide sports medicine professionals, coaches, parents and others with appropriate steps to provide the best possible care." Sports with the highest incidence of ankle injuries are field hockey, followed by volleyball, football, basketball, cheerleading, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, rugby, track and field, gymnastics and softball. The new position statement offers very specific guidelines on ankle sprain prevention and treatment. Highlights include: Diagnosis:Ascertain the patient's history, including the cause of injury and past injuries. This can provide important insights, though severity of injury may be difficult to determine.Assess active, passive and resistant range of motion (ROM) about the ankle. This can provide insight into injury to ligaments, muscles, tendons and nerves.Administer special testing to assess injury to the lateral ankle ligaments performed soon after injury and before joint swelling. This may have better diagnostic accuracy than tests performed after swelling has occurred.Use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a reliable technique to detect acute tears of the ligament after injury. Compared with MRIs, diagnostic ultrasound is useful in detecting acute ankle injury. Treatment and Rehabilitation:· Cryotherapy (cold therapy) should be applied to acute ankle sprains to reduce pain, minimize swelling formation and decrease secondary injury. Compression should be applied and the limb should be elevated.· Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, administered orally or topically, reduce pain and swelling and improve short-term function after ankle sprains.· Functional rehabilitation, ankle stabilization with progressive weight bearing and exercise, is more effective than immobilization in managing grade I (mild) and II (moderate) ankle sprains. Grade III (severe) sprains should be immobilized for at least 10 days with a brace or below the knee cast and controlled therapeutic exercise.· Rehabilitation should include comprehensive range of motion, flexibility and strength training, and balance training. Return-to-Play Considerations:· The patient's perception of function should be included in all return-to-play (RTP decision making.· Functional performance testing should be a component of the RTP decision making. Several tests may be used to help determine the patient's ability to RTP.· Before the patient returns to sport-specific tasks, the injured limb's functional performance should measure at least 80 percent of the uninjured limb.· Athletes with a history of previous ankle sprains should wear prophylactic ankle supports in the form of taping or bracing for all practices and games. Prevention:· Clinicians working with athletes should implement a multi-intervention injury prevention program, lasting at least three months that focuses on balance and neuromuscular control to reduce the risk of injury.· Addressing the strength of the leg muscles, hip extensors and abductors may be an ankle injury-prevention strategy.· Clinicians should consider assessing dorsiflexion (upward movement of the foot at the ankle joint) ROM in at-risk athletes. If the ROM is limited, clinicians should incorporate techniques to enhance motion for possible prevention of ankle injury. Special considerations:· Syndesmotic or high ankle sprains are characterized by symptoms including prolonged pain, bone spurs and functional disability. Evaluation should include testing, functional evaluation and radiography, with MRI if indicated.· High ankle sprains should be treated more conservatively than lateral sprains. Acute management includes immobilization for a period of time to allow healing and functional return.· Surgery should be considered for high ankle sprains that demonstrate more joint incongruity and instability.· Clinicians should be aware of any characteristics that define chronic ankle instability. Strategies that focus on balance, strength and dynamic movements with changes in direction may be effective in reducing risk of recurrence. "Individuals who suffer ankle sprains typically have high occurrence rates, prolonged symptoms, diminished quality of life, reduced physical activity levels and a propensity to develop chronic ankle instability and an increased risk for ankle osteoarthritis," adds Kaminski. "Managing these injuries can be challenging, and following the proper protocols is critical for a successful and sustained return to activity." For a copy of the complete statement, visit http://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/ankle-sprains.pdf. About National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) - Health Care for Life & SportAthletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and supports 35,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org for more information. June 27, 2013
Source: National Sporting Goods Association MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS (June 19, 2013) - The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) released the latest editions of its Sports Participation reports today. The 2013 editions of the research include participation data from 47 sports and activities, and this year marks the 28th year the association has compiled participation data. NSGA's Director of Research & Information Dustin Dobrin said, "While it's important to recognize that one year does not make a trend, and there are many contributing factors for the increases and decreases in participation levels in every sport, we found some very interesting insights in this year's research. Overall, participation in many sports is rebounding after some difficult years, while others continue to struggle in attracting new participants." A few key insights from these new reports are below: Participation Growth in Majority of Sports - Of the 47 sports/activities tracked, 32 experienced participation growth during 2012. Indoor gaming activities increased by an average of 11%, while fitness sports each increased about 5%. Shooting sports were mixed but sports with firearms drove overall average increases to over 3%. Snow sports saw the steepest decline in 2012, dropping an average of 11%. Female Participation Driving Much of the Growth - Much of the participation growth mentioned above was driven by females, with 40 of the 47 sports/activities having increased female participation, compared to only 11 showing increased male participation. Shooting Sports with Firearms Experienced Double Digit Growth - Overall, participation in hunting with firearms increased more than 18%, even more sharply among females (up nearly 29% compared to 2011). Target shooting with live ammunition showed a 10.9% increase, with female participation increasing by over 27%. Team Sports Mixed, but Tackle Football Dropped Double Digits - Participation lagged in basketball, baseball, ice hockey and soccer in 2012, while it increased in lacrosse, softball and volleyball. The largest drop in team sports took place in tackle football, which experienced a nearly 13% decline in participation since 2011. More than one-half of the decline was within the 7-11 age group, and all of the decline in that age group was from the infrequent (2-9 times) and occasional (10-49 times) participants. There was an increase in frequent (50+ times) participants aged 7-11. In addition to its Sports Participation in the United States (formerly broken out into Series I and Series II), NSGA's participation research includes State-by-State, Lifecycle Demographics, Cross Participation, and Single Sport reports. Regular purchasers will find a new experience when opening the 2013 editions of NSGA's reports. For the first time, both the Sports Participation in the United States and the Sports Participation State-by-State reports include quick view snapshots - one-page charts and graphs that allow users to easily see demographic information and a 10-year trend on each sport/activity. According to Dobrin, "We have taken steps to make the data in our reports very easy to consume so users can easily understand all of the key information they're looking for with less effort." For more information on each report and to purchase your copies today, please visit www.nsga.org/research. About NSGAThe National Sporting Goods Association has served as the leading voice for the sporting goods industry since 1929. For more than 25 years, NSGA has been the industry's leader in providing reliable research and information to sporting goods executives. Annually, the association produces the Sporting Goods Market and Sports Participation research, while producing a Cost of Doing Business survey every other year. For more information about the association's research, please visit www.nsga.org/research. June 20, 2013
