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Methods@#Patients who underwent PCLF and received postoperative cervical collars from 2018 to 2020 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Their data were compared with an age- and sex-matched group of subjects who did not receive collars after PCLF during the same period. Pain intensity (using the Visual Analog Scale), Neck Disability Index, and quality of life (using 36-item Short Form Health Survey) of the patients were compared at baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. @*Results@#A total of 36 patients who received cervical collars after surgery and 40 controls were included. At baseline and 1-month follow-up, there were no differences in pain intensity, functional status, and quality of life between the groups. However, at 3 months postoperatively, the quality of life of the subjects with no orthosis was higher than those who received cervical collars (p =0.01). At 6- and 12-month follow-up, there were no differences between the groups in pain intensity, functional status, and quality of life. @*Conclusions@#No difference in the pain intensity and functional status of patients who used cervical collars and controls was shown in our study. Patients who did not wear cervical collars had a higher quality of life during the 3-month postoperative evaluation. Future prospective, well-controlled studies with longer follow-ups are needed to further investigate the effects of cervical orthosis on the clinical outcome of patients after PCLF.
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Many studies have investigated the prevalence of neck pain (NP) and its risk factors in the general population. However, the prevalence of NP among athletes has not yet been systematically investigated. We aimed to systematically review the prevalence of NP in athletes. A comprehensive search was conducted in September 2015 using PubMed, Ovid SP Medline, ISI, and Google Scholar. We included studies in English that reported the prevalence of NP in an athletic population during a defined period of time. We assessed the risk of bias in studies due to various definitions of NP, response rates, and reliability of the study instruments. Two reviewers independently assessed the studies' quality and performed data extraction. Of 1,675 titles identified, eight articles were assessed for risk of bias, and six with low or moderate risk were included. NP was shown to be prevalent in athletes, with a 1-week prevalence ranging from 8% to 45%, a 1-year prevalence ranging from 38% to 73%, and a lifetime prevalence of about 48%. The prevalence of NP in athletes is high. More studies regarding the prevalence and risk factors of NP may be useful for planning educational programs and developing appropriate rehabilitation protocols and preventive guidelines. Researchers are encouraged to perform epidemiologic studies in athletes with a low risk of bias.
Subject(s)
Humans , Athletes , Bias , Epidemiologic Studies , Neck Pain , Neck , Prevalence , Rehabilitation , Risk Factors , SportsABSTRACT
Background: The most common reproductive endocrine disorder of reproductive age women is a Poly cystic ovary syndrome [PCOS] Metabolic syndrome has been more reported in patients with PCOS in comparison to general population. Few investigations have been performed to evaluate the independent effect of exercise on biochemical and clinical symptoms of patients with PCOS. The aim of the study was to find the effect of home base aerobic-strengthening exercises on anthropometric and hormonal variables of patients with PCOS
Materials and Methods:In this randomized controlled trial twenty women in the exercise group performed aerobic, strengthening exercises; the other 20 participants in the control group were advised to continue their previous physical activity pattern. Blood pressure, Waist to Hip ratio [WHR], BMI along with hormonal variables[including insulin related factors, sexual hormones and inflammatory factors] were assessed at baseline and after the 12 week intervention]
Results:16patients in the exercise group and 14 patients in control group finished the study. TheWHR [p<0.001] along with the blood level of insulin [p=0.016], FBS [p=0.044], Prolactine [p=0.022] and hsCRP [p=0.035] and HOMA index [p=0.009] were decreased significantly in the exercise group compared with the control group. No significant differences were found in lipid profile and sexual hormones between groups at the end of the study
Conclusion: We can conclude that 12 weeks combined aerobic-strengthening exercise program in women with poly cystic ovary syndrome can lead to a reduction of waist to hip ratio [WHR] and some cardiovascular risk factors [including insulin, FBS, HOMA index and HsCRP] along with an increase of prolactine level in these patients
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Prevalence of obesity and overweightness in different societies is increasing. Role of physical activity in weight loss and also prevention from some chronic diseases has been discussed previously. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of two different aerobic exercises [intermittent and continuous exercises] while prescribed with concurrent calorie-restrict diet on the weight loss and body fat of overweight and obese females. Fifteen individuals in intermittent group performed 40 min moderate Intensity exercise in 3 bouts per day for 5 days per week; the 15 participants of continuous group exercised a single 40 min bout per day, 5 days per week. Also, 15 participants were included in control group without exercise program. A self-monitoring calorie-restrict diet was recommended to all participants. The body fat percentage, waist circumference, and also skin fold thickness of all participants were assessed at baseline and 12[th] weeks. The reduction of weight and BMI of participants in intermittent group [-3.33 +/- 1.80 and -1.34 +/- 0.70, respectively] was significantly more than comparable changes in continuous group [-1.23 +/- 1.60 and 0.49 +/- 0.65, respectively] [P = 0.048 and 0.041, respectively]. After the intervention, there was no significant difference between case and controls in terms of body fat percentage, waist circumference, and sum of skin fold thickness. It seems that moderate intensity intermittent exercise for more than 150 min/ week is more efficient than continuous exercise in weight loss of obese and overweight women
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In light of provided progresses in ultrasound measurements of lateral abdominal muscles, an important role for these muscles, particularly transverse abdominis [TrA] muscle in stability of the spine has been suggested. Some authors have found significant correlations between body mass index [BMI] and thickness of these muscles. The aim of this study was to examine possible association between different methods of measurements of fatness and lateral abdominal muscles thicknesses, employing ultrasound imaging in healthy subjects. Ninety healthy male volunteers aged 18 to 38 [mean = 31.37, standard deviation = 5.09] who met our inclusion criteria participated in this study. BMI, skin fold thickness, weight and waist circumference were assumed as the major outcomes for measurement of fatness of the subjects. Employing ultrasound measurements, the thickness of TrA, internal oblique [Int Obl] and external oblique [Ext Obl] muscles were also measured. We found positive significant relation between Ext Obl muscle thickness and all methods of measurements of fatness. Reversely, the results show that Int Obl muscle thickness significantly decreases with the rise of all methods of fatness measurement except weight which had no significant correlation with Int Obl thickness. No significant relation between the TrA muscle thickness and different measurements of the fatness of the subjects were found. In the studies investigate the thickness of lateral abdominal muscles; the authors try to match the participants of different groups of their study regarding the BMI. We found that both waist circumference and skin fold thickness measurements might be assumed as surrogate of BMI, in aim of matching the participants on Ext Obl muscle thickness
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This study was performed to determine the possible causes and mechanisms of fatalities among Iranian mountaineers during climbing. By contacting several sources, deceased mountaineers were identified. Data about the causes and mechanism of death was retrospectively obtained using a standard questionnaire for each case. A total of 29 deaths were identified from March 2006 to June 2010. Deceased subjects had a mean age of 39 years [SD: 12.8, Range: 20-67]. Falling was the most common accident leading to death of outdoor enthusiasts [n=14, 48%]. Asphyxia [n=6, 24%] was the most common cause of death among the subjects, followed by heart attack, internal bleeding, cerebral hemorrhage and hypothermia [17%, 17%, 17% and 10%, respectively]. Our findings suggest that education of medical service providers of the climbing groups on facing victims in high altitude areas, where they have limited resources, can be particularly helpful. In addition, a national program to educate mountaineers might help to reduce fatalities
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The pathophysiology of primary benign exertional headache [EH] is not still clearly defined. Some researchers have suggested an impaired vascular response as the etiology of this disorder. In this study we investigated whether there are any differences in blood pressure [BP] and heart rate [HR] of the subjects in course of the static and dynamic exercises and the treadmill stress test between those with and without EH. From university students, 22 patients with EH [mean age: 19.8 +/- 2.10, Female to Male: 7:15] and 20 normal subjects [mean age: 19.3 +/- 1.97, Female: Male: 8:12] were recruited. All the subjects performed the static and dynamic exercises at 30 and 20 percent of the maximal voluntary contraction [MVC] and Bruce treadmill stress test according to the standard protocols. HR and BP of all the cases at the baseline and during and immediately after each test were measured. No significant difference was found between the mean rise of HR, systolic and diastolic BP of the subjects with and without EH in static and dynamic exercises and also treadmill stress test. It seems that between those with and without EH, there is no significant difference in rise of HR and BP response to static and dynamic exercises and treadmill stress test. Further studies are required to find the pathophysiology and risk factors of EH
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Weight loss in wrestling has been found to be an interesting issue for researchers. In this regard, complications of weight loss in wrestlers before the competitions and their weight gain in course of competitions have been debated in previous studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the extent of weight gain and to estimate the percentage of body fat in participants in the Tehran high school male wrestling championship. This study was a cross sectional survey. Subjects were participants of the Tehran high school male wrestling championship [n=365]. Weight gain in course of competitions and body fat levels [based on skin fold measurements] of subjects were measured. Between the first weigh-in of the wrestlers which was done one day before the competitions and the second weigh-in which was conducted immediately before the first round of their first competition [20 hours], 69% of subjects gained on average 1.3 +/- 0.9 kg [range: 0.1 to 6.10 kg] or 2.2 +/- 1.7% of the wrestler's weight [range: 0.1 to 9.3]. Among the subjects, the mean of fat body percentage was found to be 15.2%. Rapid weight loss for matches were prevalent among subjects. It was also found that Iranian wrestlers have a relatively higher body fat percentage in comparison to American wrestlers. Therefore, it can be concluded that weight loss behaviour of these wrestlers should be changed from using dehydration methods to using gradual methods of weight loss such as fat reduction methods
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adolescent , Adipose Tissue , Weight Gain , Cross-Sectional Studies , Skinfold Thickness , Body WeightABSTRACT
Low back pain [LBP] is common among children and adolescents. In younger children particularly those under 3, LBP should be considered as an alarming sign for more serious underlying pathologies. However, similar to adults, non specific low back pain is the most common type of LBP among children and adolescents. In this article, a clinical algorithmic approach to LBP in children and adolescents is presented
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Taekwondo, as the most popular martial art among Iranian sportsmen, might lead to injury for the athletes of this sport during competitions. We decided to report the incidence rate of injuries sustained by the athletes of this sport during national competitions. All competitions of Iran national championship taekwondo league in 2006-2007 with 204 athletes were observed prospectively to detect the occurrence of injuries. The severity of injuries was classified into four groups [mild, moderate, severe, and critical] according to the involvement of medical care team in the contest, ability of the athletes to resume and duration of probable absence of injured athletes from future competitions and training sessions. Athlete-Exposure [A-E] was defined as the number of competitions multiplied by two. On this base, the rate of injury incidence per 1000 A-Es, the rate of injuries per time unit and the rate of injury occurred for each 100 athletes were considered as the major outcomes of this study. Of totally 1,338 A-Es, 93 injuries were recorded during the competitions. The rate of injury incidence was found to be 69.5 injuries per 1000 A-Es and the rate of injuries per minute of competitions was 0.023 which corresponded to 23.3 injuries per 1000 minutes of competitions. 45.6 injuries were occurred for each 100 athletes during the course of competition. The most frequent injuries were mild [68.8%] and critical injuries [24.7%], followed by moderate and severe injuries; 4.3% and 2.1%, respectively. The rate of injury we found was lower than that of western countries. In spite of finding the lower limbs as the most frequent place of injuries in other studies, we found the upper limbs as the most predisposed place of injuries which might be due to difference in the method of combat of Iranian athletes with other athletes
Subject(s)
Humans , Prospective Studies , Martial Arts , Sports MedicineABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to compare the Iranian taekwondo-in statistically in terms of total injury rates to international counterparts as gleaned from the extant literature. The Iranian sample consisted of 204 male taekwondo-in participating in the national championship. The international sample included the participants in national and international tournaments. Validated standard questionnaires were employed at all tournaments to collect injury data that were always diagnosed by the respective tournament physicians. An injury was defined as any circumstance for which assistance was sought from the medical personnel. In addition to injury rates, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] around the rates were computed. To assess which group was at higher risk, odds ratios were calculated, including the 95% CIs. Compared to Greek counterparts, the injury rate for the Iranian taekwondo-in was statistically significantly higher. The Iranians were also at a higher risk to incur an injury: OR =11.2 [95%CI: 6.60 - 18.88, P<0.001, CLR=2.86]. When comparing the Iranian taekwondo-in to their colleagues competing at the 1999 World Championships, the former recorded a statically significantly lower injury rate but the latter were not at a higher risk [OR=0.61, 95%CI: 0.41 - 0.91, P==0.014, CLR=2.20]. A statistical comparison of total injury rates in Iranian and international taekwondo-in revealed no difference between the two groups. However, what is of concern is that the total injury rate across taekwondo studies is significantly higher than those reported for American football