Interventional spine procedures in athletes.

Back pain is common in athletes and a source of missed time from practice and competition. Pain generators include muscle (strain), ligament (myofascial sprain and strain), intervertebral disc (herniation and degeneration), nerve (radiculopathy), joint (facet and sacroiliac (SI) joint), and bones (pars interarticularis defect). The goal of treatment of an athlete with back pain is to relieve symptoms and facilitate safe but rapid return to play with no change in performance.

Common dermatologic infections in athletes and return-to-play guidelines.

Although the usual perspective on return to play for athletes is recovery from injury, an unheralded aspect on return to play involves potentially contagious skin infections. An estimated 8.5% of health conditions and injuries related to high school sports and 21% of health conditions and injuries related to college sports involve infectious diseases of the skin.