This review of whether mouthguard use reduces dental trauma included 14 cross-sectional studies demonstrating an association between the prevalence of dental trauma and mouthguard use.
[read the full story...]Mouthguards: Do they affect athletic performance?
This review of the effect of mouthguards on performance in athletes identified 15 small low quality studies. The findings suggest that made mouthguards does not interfere with sport performance but they should be interpreted cautiously.
[read the full story...]Exercise may help prevent depression for all ages, genders & nationalities

Donncha Mullin summarises a recent meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies, which establishes a strong link between exercise and depression.
[read the full story...]Clinical commissioning for key health challenges in English cities

Caroline Storer summarises a recent NHSCC report, which defines how clinical commissioning groups in England’s core cities are responding to the Five Year Forward View.
[read the full story...]Rehabilitation for hamstring injuries

I was watching the Liverpool v Manchester United football match yesterday and was interested in the pre-match warm up the players were doing. There was lots of stretching of the hamstrings going on. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes and frequently result in long delays in return to sport. So what is the comparative effectiveness [read the full story…]
A review of systematic reviews on anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction rehabilitation

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the primary stabilising structure within the knee, limiting anterior translation of tibia on the femur as well as tibial internal rotation. Injuries are more common in high demand sports and usually follow non- contact trauma such as landing incorrectly from a jump, pivoting or decelerating suddenly, but can occur [read the full story…]
Return to sport concerns following injury rehabilitation

The World Sports Trauma Congress 17th -20th October 2012, London is being held this week with international speakers discussing topics such as “footballer’s ankle” and “sport after joint replacement”. The congress is connected to the Summer Olympics Games and occurs every four years. This year in London delegates, like us Elves, will undoubtedly be celebrating [read the full story…]
British Journal of Radiology Olympic special feature

Continuing with our London 2012 Olympic theme the British Institute of Radiology have produced an Olympic special feature looking at the impact and uses of imaging and radiology in sports medicine. The Olympic medical teams at London 2012 are involved in caring for elite athletes as they prepare for their chance at gold. The Musculoskeletal [read the full story…]
Neuromuscular warm-up strategies can reduce lower extremity injury incidence

Today’s blog continues our London 2012 Olympic theme and some of the comments in response to our blog on running related musculoskeletal injuries on 1st August. The old adage that ‘prevention is better than cure’ appears to be true according to the results of a systematic review, published in BMC Medicine. The review evaluated the [read the full story…]
Integrated sports for people with learning disabilities offer benefits but barriers still exist

The authors of this study were interested in looking at the use of integrated sports as one strategy for promoting health and social participation of adolescents with learning disabilities. They set out to improve understanding of the factors associated with such integration by carrying out individual interviews with 40 adolescents with learning disabilities and their [read the full story…]