Journal of Sports Medicine & Doping Studies

Aim: Australian sport was rocked by the revelations of the Australian Crime Commission’s report Organized Crime and Drugs in Sport. Although the primary focus of the report concerns the use of prohibited substances at elite level, the report also examined the possible effects of prohibited substance use at sub-elite levels. Little is known about the use of medications, dietary supplements, and alcohol and tobacco by Australian sub-elite athletes. This paper provides a ‘snapshot’ of use at a single sub-elite Australian Rules Football Club prior to the commencement of the 2012 South Australian football league season. Design: Prospective survey of sub-elite footballers from a single South Australian club.

Method: Players were required to complete a medical questionnaire prior to the commencement of the 2012 SANFL season. As part of the questionnaire, players were provided with questions concerning the use of prescription medications, supplements, and alcohol and tobacco. Players that were included on the ‘Senior Training Squad’ were identified and their questionnaires used in the preparation of this article.

Results: Few players use prescribed medication, and a little over one-third of players take dietary supplements. Alcohol was the most consumed item, with 82% reporting some alcohol use. Daily tobacco use was almost nonexistent. There were no reports of the use of substances prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Conclusions: Alcohol is the substance most used by players, with prescribed medication use almost entirely limited to asthma medications. Prohibited substance use is undetectable.

The aim of this study was to identify the effect of somatotype and body composition variables on leg explosive power of college level men students. The sample consisted of 500 young college students, divided into two groups: athletes (N=250) undergoing Bachelor of Physical Education course whose mean age 23.86 ± 0.36 years; and nonathletes (N=250) college students who do not take part regular physical activities and mean age 22.16 ± 0.88 years. The somatotype was assessed using the Heath & Carter method. Assessing body composition of the subject various anthropometric measurements were taken. Sargent vertical jump test was used to measure leg explosive power. The measures were compared between the two groups using the Student t-test for independent samples. The two groups differed significantly (p ≤ 0.01) in terms of body weight, % body fat, lean body mass, % skeletal muscle mass and somatotype. The findings of the present study showing that athlete have higher mean values in leg explosive power (p ≤ 0.01) than non-athlete. The leg explosive power was positively significantly (p ≤ 0.01) correlated with % skeletal muscle mass, lean body mass, mesomorphy and ectomorphy components of somatotype; on the other hand body weight, height, % body fat, body surface area and endomorphy component of somatotype significantly (p ≤ 0.01) negatively correlated. In conclusion, somatotype and body composition variables are important factors in determining leg explosive power.

Background: Vitamin D is well known for its role in calcium homeostasis and bone metabolism. In addition 25 (OH) vitamin D3 (25OHD3) deficiencies is correlated with muscle pain and weakness, hence there is increasing interest in optimal 25OHD3 levels for athletes. We investigated the prevalence of 25OHD3 deficiency and the ethnical variation in 25(OH)D concentrations among professional soccer players in the winter season. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 87 professional soccer players (aged 18-35) from one Belgian and two Dutch first division soccer clubs. Blood samples were collected from October 2009 till March 2010. 25OHD3 was measured using an electro-chemiluminescence immunoassay (Roche), reference interval: 50-130 nmol/L. Results: For 47 players (54%) of the total group the 25OHD3 was <50 nmol/L. For 16 subjects (18.4%) concentrations<30 nmol/L were found. All black players (n=20) had blood levels <50 nmol/L and 9/20 <30 nmol/L. In Latin-American players 10 out of 15 had 25OHD3 <50 nmol/L and 5/15 <30 nmol/L. For Caucasian players, 21/52 players were <50 nmol/L and 2/52 <30 nmol/L. Conclusion: The vitamin D level in professional soccer players at the end of the summer and during the winter season in West-Europe is obvious below optimal, for Caucasians 40% were deficient (<50 nmol/L), but all black athletes were deficient or severely deficient (<30). Especially dark skinned soccer players, as well as other athletes may improve their physical performance by keeping their 25OHD3 level above 75 nmol/L all year round.

Background: Injuries to the pectoralis major muscle can result in functional limitation. Previous reports on conservative treatment on large tears of the pectoralis major muscle showed inconsistent results with several treatment modalities. The best option to treat this pathology is still under discussion.

Methods: A 30 year-old male patient with a large pectoral is major muscle tear was treated with ultrasoundguided EPI® technique once a week and eccentric exercise. Echography study was performed during the follow-up. Functional evaluation was assessed with Tegner scale, the criteria described by Bak et al. and the subjective outcomes described by Anthony et al.

Results: Ultrasound scan showed a correct arrangement of muscle fibers. Functional evaluation showed excellent results and at four weeks of treatment, the patient had returned to their level of activity prior to the injury.

Conclusion: Treatment with the US-guided EPI® technique on pectoralis major muscle tear resulted in a high improvement in function and a rapid return to the previous level of activity after few sessions. The procedure has proven to be safe with no recurrences at one-year follow-up.

Objectives: This paper reviews the knowledge regarding the embryogenesis and anatomy of the popliteal fossa with the aim of determining which variations predispose towards exertional leg pain and Functional Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome (PAES) in particular.

Methods: Current literature review and synopsis of published knowledge is presented. Ethics approval was granted for this study by the Greenslopes Research and Ethics Committee.

Results: Functional PAES is thought to be more common than previously recognized. Four subgroups of clinical presentation were found, depending on anatomical variation in the popliteal fossa: Anatomical PAES; Functional PAES; Asymptomatic Occluders and Asymptomatic Non-occluders. Features predisposing towards Functional PAES include a more lateralized medial head of gastrocnemius and a lower percentage of maximal force of plantarflexion required to cause occlusion of the artery.

Conclusions: Functional PAES may be responsible for a large number of previously unrecognized cases of exertional leg pain, and an understanding of how it develops is important. In understanding the anatomical variations present in the popliteal fossa, one can classify which sub-group the patient belongs to, and how much this predisposes towards the development of exertional leg pain. The necessity for treatment, as well as where interventions should be targeted, can be determined by coupling these investigation findings with clinical features of claudicant leg pain.