[Joint pain and consumption of analgesics among young elite athletes : Nationwide data from youth basketball]. / Gelenkschmerzen und Analgetikakonsum bei jungen Leistungssportlern : Bundesweite Daten aus dem Jugendbasketball.

BACKGROUND: Joint pain may be an early indicator of biomechanical stress. During adolescence the physical development, including the development of the musculoskeletal system, is still ongoing and joint pain requires special attention, especially among young athletes. OBJECTIVE: Young athletes from the highest national basketball leagues in Germany were questioned about prevalence, location, context and coping strategies concerning joint pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were derived from the German "Adolescents' and Childrens' Health in Elite Basketball study" (ACHE study). Analyses were based on an online survey of 182 elite basketball players between 13 and 19 years of age from 46 German teams, conducted between April 2016 and June 2016. RESULTS: In the highest German leagues 2 out of 3 players suffered from joint pain at the time of the survey (7-day prevalence 64.6%). Pain in the lower extremities occurred most frequently. The 7­day prevalence for knee and leg pain reached up to 40% and foot pain up to 21%. For 84% of all players, occasional consumption of analgesics was the norm and 40% took them frequently. The consumption of several medicinal substances, especially of cyclooxygenase inhibitors, such as ibuprofen and diclofenac, is widespread among adolescent elite basketball players as 1 out of 7 athletes (13%) used medicinal substances despite being pain-free and 5% used it prophylactically with the purpose of preventing pain. CONCLUSION: From the point of view of pain medicine, it is not only the high prevalence of pain that is remarkable but also the widespread use of analgesics without a prescription and the misguided conception of adolescent competitive athletes that such medications have preventive effects.

Late-phase bronchial vascular responses in allergic sheep.

Sheep were classified on the basis of their airway response to Ascaris suum antigen aerosols as allergic or nonsensitive. Allergic sheep were classed as acute or dual responders. Acute responders had only an immediate increase in mean airflow resistance after antigen, whereas dual responders had an immediate and late-phase (6-8 h after antigen challenge) increase in mean airflow resistance; nonsensitive sheep had minimal airway responses to antigen (less than 30% increase from base line). The sheep were anesthetized 2 wk later and, after a left thoracotomy, were challenged with antigen to determine bronchial vascular responses; bronchial artery blood flow was measured with an electromagnetic flow probe. Airway responses to antigen aerosol challenge were similar in the anesthetized and conscious animals. The mean fall in bronchial vascular resistance (BVR) immediately after antigen challenge was similar in acute and dual responders (41 +/- 7 and 47 +/- 9% of base line, respectively). In dual responders, late-phase airway responses were preceded by a significant increase from base line in Qbr and a fall in bronchovascular resistance (BVR). The mean fall in BVR 6-8 h after antigen challenge in documented dual responders was significantly different from bronchial vascular responses in acute responders (59 +/- 3 vs. 89 +/- 10%, respectively). Sheep without airway responses to A. suum had no significant changes in bronchial hemodynamics or airways mechanics. Late-phase-associated changes in BVR are a specific response to antigen challenge and may be a sensitive index of mediators being released.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)