Differences in Achilles tendon mechanical properties between professional ballet dancers and collegiate athletes utilizing shear wave elastography.

Purpose: To report normative stiffness parameters obtained using shear wave elastography in dorsiflexion from the Achilles tendons in asymptomatic professional ballet dancers and compare them with college-level athletes.

Methods: An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved study consists of 28 professional ballet dancers and 64 asymptomatic collegiate athletes. The athletes were further subdivided into runner and non-runner disciplines.

Mild Hemophilia in a Competitive High School Soccer Player: A Case Report.

In this report, we discuss the case of a now 23-year-old athlete who was diagnosed with mild hemophilia, successfully played varsity soccer throughout high school, and continued to play intramural and club soccer while in college. A prophylactic protocol was developed by the athlete's hematologist to allow his safe participation in contact sports. Similar prophylactic protocols have been discussed by Maffet et al that successfully allowed an athlete to participate in high-level basketball.

Shear wave elastography assessment and comparison study of the Achilles tendons in optimally conditioned asymptomatic young collegiate athletes.

Objective: To assess the functional parameters of the Achilles tendons among asymptomatic college level athletes using shear wave elastography (SWE) and to describe the relationship to athlete demographics and anthropometric lower extremity measurements.

Material And Methods: Sixty-five athletes were included in this IRB-approved study. SWE measurements were made on two tendon positions (neutral state and active maximum dorsiflexion) with two different probe orientations (longitudinal and transverse).

From Blocking Shots to Blocking GI Transit, This Professional Basketball Player Does It All: A Case Report on Small Bowel Obstruction.

Small bowel obstructions (SBO) are a commonly encountered diagnosis within emergency departments. Typically, these patients have evident risk factors including, but not limited to, prior abdominal surgery, personal or family history of gastrointestinal disorders, femoral and inguinal hernias, or neoplasm. In this case, we describe an SBO in a female, professional athlete whose swift, severe symptom onset, rapid resolution with conservative treatment, lack of identifiable risk factors, and prompt return to high level competition without recurrence are certainly unique.

In vivo Sonographic Characterization of The Achilles Tendons in Healthy Young Collegiate Athletes as a Function of Ankle Position.

This study aims to describe the normative Achilles tendon properties in a collegiate subject cohort. Achilles tendon evaluations in 65 asymptomatic college-level athletes by ultrasound B mode on two tendon positions (neutral state and active maximum dorsiflexion). Correlation was made to BMI, tibial/foot length, maximal calf circumference, type of sports, resting/maximal dorsiflexion-plantar flexion angles among other factors.

Early Screening for Cardiovascular Abnormalities With Preparticipation Echocardiography: Feasibility Study.

Objective: The traditional history and physical (H&P) is a poor screening modality to identify athletes at risk for sudden cardiac death. Although better than H&P alone, electrocardiograms (ECG) have also been found to have high false-positive rates. A limited portable echocardiogram by a frontline physician (PEFP) performed during preparticipation physical examination (PPE) allows for direct measurements of the heart to more accurately identify athletes with structural abnormalities.

Is There a Role for Limited Echocardiography During the Preparticipation Physical Examination?

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the leading cause of death during exercise for athletes younger than 35 years. Structural cardiac abnormalities are responsible for the majority of SCDs among competitive athletes. The screening protocol that is best for detecting athletes at risk for SCD has been the subject of considerable and long-standing debate.

Sterilizing Bacillus pumilus spores using supercritical carbon dioxide.

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC CO(2)) has been evaluated as a new sterilization technology. Results are presented on killing of B. pumilus spores using SC CO(2) containing trace levels of additives.