Prevalence of Neck Pain among Athletes: A Systematic Review

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.

Relations between lateral abdominal muscles thickness, body mass index, waist circumference and skin fold thickness

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

national experience on physical activity initiatives for adolescent girls and their mothers: CASPIAN study

To provide a low- cost and simple model of culturally-appropriate and low cost facilities for improvement of physical activity for girls and their mothers through an after-school program and to determine the changes in anthropometric indexes after this trial. This national study was conducted in 2006-2007 in 7 provinces with different socioeconomic situations in Iran. Female students who studied in the 7[th] through 10[th] grade and their mothers were selected by random cluster sampling. In each province, 24 sessions of after-school aerobic physical activity were held for 90 minutes, two days a week, and 3 months long at school sites in the afternoon. The study comprised 410 participants [204 mothers and 206 daughters], with a mean age of 15.86 +/- 1.01 and 40.71 +/- 6.3 years in girls and their mothers, respectively. The results of the focus group discussions showed that in general, both mothers and daughters of generalized and abdominal obesity improved significantly both in girls and in their mothers [P-value <0.0001 for weight, body mass index and waist circumference]. Our findings may provide a low-cost and simple effective model of motivation for physical activity with targeted interventions for girls and their mothers. We suggest that the success of this trial might be a result of bonding and accompaniment of mothers and daughters. Such model can be integrated in the existing health and education systems to increase the physical activity level