Disparities in Sports Medicine Health Care Access in Illinois High Schools: Access to Team Physicians, Athletic Trainers, and Automated External Defibrillators.

ABSTRACT: High school athletes have higher rates of injuries and sudden death than their college counterparts. Medical care for these athletes should include access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Disparities in medical care access provided by high schools for their athletes may be due to school characteristics or socioeconomic or racial factors. This study investigated relationships between these factors and access to team physicians, athletic trainers, and automated external defibrillators. Medical care access is negatively related to the percentage of low-income students and positively related to the number of sports offered. Relationships between race and access to a team physician became nonsignificant when the percentage of low-income students was considered. Physicians who treat high school athletes should consider the medical care access provided by their schools when they educate these patients about preventing and treating sports injuries.

Tips for managing 4 common soft-tissue finger and thumb injuries.

After examination and, in some cases, imaging, most of these injuries can be managed conservatively with splinting or injection. Some cases require prompt surgical referral.

Association Between Parental Understanding of Pitch Smart Guidelines and Youth Baseball Player Injuries.

BACKGROUND: Injuries continue to rise among youth baseball players despite extensive research into prevention and the availability of throwing guidelines such as Pitch Smart. More research is needed to understand whether adherence to the current guidelines decreases injuries. PURPOSE: To understand the degree to which parents are aware of the Pitch Smart guidelines, whether parents adhere to the guidelines, and whether adherence results in decreased injuries in youth baseball players. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: An anonymous, internet-based survey consisting of 44 items was distributed to parents of adolescent baseball players affiliated with various youth baseball organizations across the midwestern United States; 15 items on the survey served as assessment questions of the Pitch Smart guidelines. Absolute and percentage correct scores were calculated and compared by use of a Student t test. A chi-square analysis was used to compare discrete data. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine whether showcase participation predicted player injury. RESULTS: A total of 853 parents completed the survey. The mean ± SD age of the players on whom parents reported was 11.37 ± 3.5 years (range, 6-20 years). Among the cohort, 422 players regularly pitched. Regarding Pitch Smart guidelines, the percentage of correct answers by parents was 55.44% ± 0.3% for a player with a reported injury history and 62.14% ± 0.2% for a player without an injury history (P = .012). The number of correct answers was 8.03 ± 4.0 for the group with an injury history and 9.17 ± 3.2 for the group with no history of injury (P = .004). Binary logistic regression analysis, which controlled for age, indicated that showcase participation (P = .001, ß = 1.043 ± 0.026, R2 = 0.178) was a significant predictor of player injury. CONCLUSION: Pitchers are at an increased risk of injury compared with nonpitchers. Parents who are knowledgeable about the Pitch Smart throwing guidelines and actively follow them are significantly less likely to have a child with an injury. Excessive showcase participation is predictive of player injury when the analysis controls for age.

High ankle sprains: Easy to miss, so follow these tips.

Misdiagnosis can result in increased loss of play time and chronic ankle dysfunction. Here are the physical exam maneuvers and imaging options to consider.

Bone Marrow Aspirate Concentrate for Orthopaedic Use.

Biological-based therapies are rapidly expanding for different musculoskeletal conditions because of their potential benefits including their minimal invasiveness, capacity for unprecedented healing, and potential for rapid recovery. In this regard, although several approaches have been reported in the literature, most of the body of the literature is increasingly based on platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, and cell-based therapy studies. Although further basic science and clinical research is needed to elucidate the long-term outcome of these therapies in the treatment of several injuries, there is compelling evidence for their use for certain indications. The purpose of this article was to review the main aspects of bone marrow aspirate concentrate, which is one of the few forms of stem cell delivery approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and, furthermore, to critically assess the current evidence-based recommendations and identify potential avenues for development.

Return to Play After Shoulder Surgery in Throwers.

The throwing athlete's shoulder is a unique, complex entity with challenges in diagnosis and management. The shoulders in these athletes possess unique biomechanics and pathologic conditions. Unfortunately, return to play outcomes are often poor when specifically evaluating overhead athletes, especially with regard to SLAP repair. It is imperative for the surgeon to be cautious when indicating these athletes for surgery, because although they may demonstrate improvements in pain and general function, subtle changes in accuracy or velocity as a result of surgery can significantly affect the success of an overhead throwing athlete at the competitive level.