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Clin Sports Med 2021 Jul;40(3):541-554

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, PO Box 800159, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. Electronic address:

Idiopathic scoliosis will be noted in 2% to 3% of typically developing athletes. Sports physicals are an opportunity to screen for spinal deformity and to promote healthy involvement in activities. Bracing is effective at limiting further progression if a curve progresses beyond 20°. Read More

J Prim Prev 2020 10;41(5):421-429

Department of Kinesiology and Health, Rutgers University-New Brunswick, New Brunswick, USA.

Neck circumference is quick and simple to measure and thus an attractive proxy of neck strength, a putative mechanism underlying risk of sport-related concussion (SRC). Research, however, is limited on the relationship of neck circumference to SRC. Our study examined differences in neck circumference based on sex, concussion history, concussions experienced subsequent to college entry, and participation in sports with high versus low risk for contact. Read More

Sports Health 2020 Jul/Aug;12(4):355-360. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

University Hospitals Sports Medicine Institute, Cleveland, Ohio.

Background: Single-sport specialization at the exclusion of other sports has become increasingly popular in youth sporting culture. The purpose of this study was to survey Major League Soccer (MLS) athletes to examine factors influencing the timing of single-sport specialization in soccer.

Hypothesis: The majority of surveyed athletes will have participated in multiple sports prior to specialization and specialized primarily as a result of a coach's recommendation, with no significant impact on specialization timing stemming from birth or high school location, obtaining a collegiate scholarship, MLS experience, or position. Read More

J Pediatr Health Care 2020 May - Jun;34(3):222-229. Epub 2020 Jan 15.

Introduction: Pediatric obesity has reached an epidemic status. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in patients and how often and how accurately a diagnosis was coded. The population for this study included children aged 3-18 years. Read More

J Surg Orthop Adv 2019 ;28(3):201-208

Northwell Health-Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, New York.

The objective of this study was to determine which plane of hip motion (rotational or sagittal) is more predictive of lower extremity (LE) injury in elite soccer players. A total of 69 athletes (43 professional and 26 collegiate) were examined (mean age, 22.6 years). Read More

J Pediatr Health Care 2020 Mar - Apr;34(2):109-116. Epub 2019 Sep 21.

Introduction: We sought to describe primary care providers' perceived barriers and facilitators to addressing health-risk behaviors during preparticipation examinations (PPEs; i.e., "sports physicals"). Read More

J Sci Med Sport 2019 Apr 6;22(4):484-487. Epub 2018 Nov 6.

Department of Family Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, USA; Department of Family Medicine Research Division, University of Kansas Medical Center, USA.

Objectives: Professional athletes undergo annual pre-season laboratory screening, although clinical evidence supporting the practice is limited and no uniform set of guidelines on pre-season laboratory screening exists. The aim of this study was to assess the clinical value of annual pre-season laboratory screening tests for a major professional sports team over multiple years.

Design: Retrospective chart review. Read More

Fam Med 2018 11;50(10):779-781

Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ.

Background And Objectives: The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson TotShots clinic is a student-developed, student-directed free clinic that provides sports physicals and vaccines to uninsured pediatric patients in Tucson, Arizona. TotShots runs under the greater umbrella of the Commitment to Underserved People Program, which aims to teach medical students how socioeconomic and cultural factors impact health and access to health care. Our objective was to study cost savings and patient satisfaction of this clinic. Read More

Sports Health 2018 Jul-Aug;10(4):303-310. Epub 2018 May 31.

Public Health Sciences, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois.

Background: The effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on rates of sports specialization and injury among youth athletes has not been described previously.

Hypothesis: Young athletes from lower socioeconomic status will have lower rates of sports specialization and subsequently lower risk of overuse injuries.

Study Design: Cohort study. Read More

J Sch Nurs 2018 Apr 6;34(2):139-148. Epub 2017 Mar 6.

2 Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Pre-participation physical exams (PPEs) hold great potential for addressing adolescents' health-risk behaviors. School nurses may be well positioned to assist with PPEs, yet little is known about their involvement. In this mixed methods study conducted in 2015, we collected data from school nurses in Texas (surveys, n = 208; key informant interviews, n = 10) to explore their roles and attitudes toward being involved in PPEs and addressing health-risk behaviors. Read More

Clin J Sport Med 2018 11;28(6):530-532

Background: Preparticipation physical examinations (PPEs) are required for children and adolescents before sports participation to identify at-risk athletes. These evaluations can be completed in a traditional office-based setting or in a station-based format. It is unclear if one format is superior to the other in identifying at-risk athletes. Read More

Clin J Sport Med 2018 11;28(6):538-539

Division of Sports Medicine, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.

Objective: Quantify physical activity in healthy student athletes.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Five Central Ohio schools during mass preparticipation physicals. Read More

J Electrocardiol 2017 May - Jun;50(3):316-322. Epub 2017 Jan 16.

Department of Medicine/Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States.

Background: Recent Expert consensus statements have sought to decrease false positive rates of electrocardiographic abnormalities requiring further evaluation when screening young athletes. These statements are largely based on traditional ECG patterns and have not considered computerized measurements.

Objective: To define the normal limits for Q wave measurements from the digitally recorded ECGs of healthy young athletes. Read More

J Child Neurol 2016 12 12;31(14):1607-1610. Epub 2016 Sep 12.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Westat Biostatistics and Data Management Core, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

The authors enrolled 95 patients in a primary care office who presented with a concussion. Of these patients, 63% were sport concussions. The authors matched 90 of these patients to children in the authors' practice presenting for sports physicals or regular check-ups in the following demographics: age, participating in a particular sport, having attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, gender, and grade. Read More

Optom Vis Sci 2017 01;94(1):89-95

*OD, MBA, FAAO †OD, MSPH, FAAO ‡OD, FAAO §MPH, MD ‖MEd. ATC/L The University of Alabama at Birmingham Sports Medicine Clinic at Children's of Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama (all authors).

Purpose: The King-Devick test (KD) has been studied as a remove-from-play sideline test in college-age athletes and older; however, studies in younger athletes are limited. A cross-sectional study of the KD and other vision correlates was completed on school-aged athletes during pre-season physicals for a variety of sports to determine the repeatability of the KD. The study also evaluated how convergence, alignment, or pupil function contributed to a slower King-Devick baseline reading. Read More

Pediatr Ann 2015 Sep;44(9):354-8

In the pediatric office, the summer months are filled with well-child visits and sports physicals. It is during these visits that it is important to evaluate our patients as a whole, remembering to discuss both physical and emotional concerns. It is also important to discuss the upcoming school year so concerns by both parents and children can be addressed. Read More

J Adolesc Health 2015 Aug;57(2):218-21

Department of Orthopedics, Sports Medicine Program, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado.

Purpose: Adolescent athletes undergo preparticipation screening for long QT syndrome. Medications that are associated with QT interval prolongation are increasingly being prescribed to precollege students. The side effect profile of these medications during exercise is unknown. Read More

J Optom 2015 Apr-Jun;8(2):131-9. Epub 2015 Jan 31.

Wheaton College Sports Medicine, Wheaton, IL, USA.

Purpose: Sports-related concussion has received increasing attention as a result of neurologic sequelae seen among athletes, highlighting the need for a validated, rapid screening tool. The King-Devick (K-D) test requires vision, eye movements, language function and attention in order to perform and has been proposed as a promising tool for assessment of concussion. We investigated the K-D test as a sideline screening tool in a collegiate cohort to determine the effect of concussion. Read More

Am J Sports Med 2015 Apr 2;43(4):794-801. Epub 2015 Feb 2.

Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA.

Background: Data are lacking regarding the independent risk of injury related to intense single-sport training or growth rate in young athletes.

Purpose: To determine whether sports specialization, weekly training volumes, and growth rates are associated with increased risk for injury and serious overuse injury in young athletes.

Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Read More

Subst Abus 2015 31;36(4):400-6. Epub 2014 Dec 31.

a Institute for Research on Women & Gender (IRWG) , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA.

Background: Despite numerous studies examining the association between competitive sports participation and substance use behaviors among adolescents and young adults, the use of standardized measures to assess potential substance use disorders has been largely neglected. The objective of this study was to examine if past involvement in interscholastic sports (competitive school-sponsored sports) was associated with potential substance use disorders in young adulthood.

Methods: Data for this study were taken from the Student Life Survey (SLS). Read More

Pediatrics 2014 Nov 6;134(5):957-64. Epub 2014 Oct 6.

Department of Pediatrics, and Children's Outcomes Research Program, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado; Colorado Health Outcomes Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado;

Objective: School-based health centers (SBHCs) have been suggested as possible patient-centered medical homes. Our objectives were to determine, in a low-income, urban population, adolescents' reasons for visiting SBHCs and the value parents place on SBHC services, and adolescents' and parents' assessment of how well SBHCs fulfill criteria for a medical home as defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Methods: A cross-sectional, mailed survey of a random sample of 495 adolescent SBHC users and 497 parents of SBHC users from 10 SBHCs in Denver, CO from May to October 2012. Read More

J Electrocardiol 2014 Nov-Dec;47(6):769-74. Epub 2014 Aug 2.

VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Unlabelled: Controversy regarding adding the ECG to the evaluation of young athletes centers on the implications of false positives. Several guidelines have been published with recommendations for criteria to distinguish between ECG manifestations of training and markers of risk for cardiovascular (CV) sudden death. With an athlete dataset negative of any CV related abnormalities on follow-up, we applied three athlete screening criteria to identify the one with the lowest rate of abnormal variants. Read More

Front Public Health 2014 21;2:69. Epub 2014 Jul 21.

Mood and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA ; Institute of Sports Chronobiology , Washington, DC , USA ; Veterans Integrated Service Network 19, Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center , Denver, CO , USA ; Tuning, Inc. , Silver Spring, MD , USA.

Despite increased interest regarding the potentially long-term negative impact of chronic traumatic brain injury, limited research has been conducted regarding such injuries and neurological outcomes in real world settings. To increase understanding regarding the relationship between sparring (e.g. Read More

J Pediatr Health Care 2015 Jan-Feb;29(1):17-27. Epub 2014 Jul 17.

Introduction: Preparticipation examinations (PPEs), or sports physicals, present opportunities for health care providers to identify and discuss common adolescent health-risk behaviors. We sought to examine the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among high school athletes and the proportion of providers who address these behaviors during PPEs.

Method: For this descriptive study we used data from two statewide surveys: a survey of adolescents (n = 46,492) and a survey of nurse practitioners and physicians (n = 561). Read More

Prehosp Disaster Med 2014 Apr 10;29(2):195-9. Epub 2014 Apr 10.

3 Section of Disaster Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts USA.

Introduction: On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti. Data regarding the prevalence of medical and psychosocial needs after the earthquake is scarce, complicating informed targeting of aid. Read More

FP Essent 2014 Feb;417:30-7

Bayfront Sports Medicine Fellowship, 700 6th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701,

Millions of children seek sports physicals from their family physicians or team physicians every year. The preparticipation physical evaluation has evolved over the past 40 years. Physicians performing these evaluations need to be familiar with current guidelines regarding components of the evaluation and criteria for clearance for participation in sports. Read More

Int J Sports Phys Ther 2013 Aug;8(4):531-6

Physical Therapy Services, Elizabethton, TN, USA.

Unlabelled: The role of the Sports physical therapist (PT) as a part of the sports medical team at marathon-type events varies widely. The PT can assume the role of an emergency medical responder (EMR) whose primary role is the management of the athlete in emergency type situations. The role of the EMR extends beyond the care of the athlete to the care and safety of the spectators. Read More

Pediatr Ann 2013 Nov;42(11):224-8

Scoliosis is defined as a lateral curvature of the spine greater than 10 degrees on radiography that is typically associated with trunk rotation. The three major types of scoliosis are congenital, idiopathic, and neuromuscular. Idiopathic scoliosis is divided into three subcategories based on the age of onset. Read More

Crit Care Nurs Clin North Am 2013 Jun 4;25(2):263-72. Epub 2013 Apr 4.

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a complex cardiovascular disorder particularly sensitive to environmental changes and physiologic stress. Warm weather and strenuous activity can be a dangerous combination for people that have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Often sudden cardiac death is the first symptom of the disorder. Read More