Hand and wrist injuries among collegiate athletes vary with athlete division

Background The rates, severity and consequences of hand and wrist injuries sustained by National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes are not well characterized. This study describes the epidemiology of hand and wrist injuries among collegiate athletes competing in different divisions. Methods The National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) was accessed from 2004 to 2015 for the following sports: baseball, basketball, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, field hockey, gymnastics, softball and volleyball. The data were used to identify all hand and wrist injuries, the specific injury diagnosis, mean time loss of activity following injury, and need for surgery following injury. These were then stratified by gender. Descriptive statistics were performed to examine the association between sports, event type and division. Student's t test was used to calculate p-values for independent variables. Chi-Square test was used to calculate odds ratio. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results 103,098 hand and wrist injuries were reported in in the studied NCAA sports from 2004 to 2015. Male athletes sustained 72,423 injuries (6.01/10,000 athlete exposure) and female athletes sustained 30,675 injuries (4.13/10,000 athlete exposure). Division I athletes sustained significantly more injuries compared to divisions II and III. Overall, 3.78% of hand and wrist injuries required surgical intervention. A significantly higher percentage of division I athletes (both male and female) underwent surgical intervention compared to divisions II and III. The mean time lost due to hand and wrist injury was 7.14 days for all athletes. Division I athletes missed the fewest days due to injury at 6.29 days though this was not significant. Conclusions Hand and wrist injuries are common among collegiate athletes. Division I athletes sustain higher rates of injuries and higher surgical intervention rates, while tending to miss fewer days due to injury. Improved characterization of divisional differences in hand and wrist injuries can assist injury management and prevention.

Coronavirus Pedagogy in the Zoomoscape

The COVID-19 pandemic emptied universities, colleges, and schools across the United States in March 2020, forcing instructors into an unavoidable culture in which a networked commercial technology mediated teaching and learning. In the tradition of critical pedagogy, this article argues that students and instructors alike engaged through the artificial lenses and screens of Zoom. The “pinhole intimacy” of the Zoomscape is assessed using conscientization, the concept offered by the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, to describe most pedagogy as an oppressive apparatus that can be overcome with direct engagement between students and instructors. In such an opticentric context, the Zoomosphere’s intimacy is used to explore how the emancipation proposed by conscientization might be applied to the culture of pedagogy in a college with a diverse student population, including pedagogical interventions to address the challenges associated with teaching Division I athletes. The context of a large communication department at Boston College provides the empirical foundation for the exploration of coronavirus pedagogy.

Food Choice Decisions of Collegiate Division I Athletes: A Qualitative Exploratory Study

Limited research has examined athletes’ food and health beliefs and decisions and the congruence of these decisions with recommendations from nutrition professionals. This study aimed to improve understanding of athletes’ food-related beliefs and practices to enable nutrition professionals to more effectively enhance performance while protecting athletes’ health. Division I college athletes (n = 14, 64% female) from a variety of sports were recruited to participate in 20-min semi-structured phone interviews about food and nutrition-related behaviors and cognitions. Data were content analyzed to identify themes and trends. Prominent factors influencing athletes’ food choices were potential benefits to health and performance, availability of foods, and recommendations from sports dietitians. Foods commonly consumed by athletes, including fruits, vegetables, and lean protein, were generally healthy and aligned with sports nutrition recommendations. Athletes avoided energy-dense nutrient-poor foods, such as fast food and fried foods, with the goal of improving performance. Some athletes took supplements (i.e., multivitamin, iron, protein) on the premise that they would improve health and enhance performance or recovery. While athletes’ nutrition behaviors are generally congruent with current recommendations, findings highlighted misconceptions held by athletes related to the benefits of some supplements and the belief that packaged/processed foods were inherently less healthy than other options. Nutrition misconceptions held by athletes and incongruities between athletes’ nutrition knowledge and behaviors suggest that dietitians should aim to dispel misconceptions held by athletes and provide additional guidance and information to support athletes’ current healthful behaviors to ensure these behaviors extend beyond their college athletic career.

Hand and Wrist Injuries Among Collegiate Athletes Vary with Athlete Division

Background: The rates, severity and consequences of hand and wrist injuries sustained by NCAA athletes are not well characterized. This study describes the epidemiology of hand and wrist injuries among collegiate athletes competing in different divisions. Methods: The National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA-ISP) was accessed for various sports from 2004 to 2015. Data was stratified by hand and wrist injuries sustained, mean loss of activity time following the injury, male and female sport, need for surgery following injury and division. Descriptive statistics were performed to examine the association between sports, event type and gender. P < 0.05 was considered significantResults 103,098 hand and wrist injuries were reported in all NCAA sports from 2004-2015. Male athletes sustained 72,423 injuries (6.01/10,000 athlete events) and female athletes sustained 30,675 injuries (4.13/10,000 athlete events). Division I athletes sustained significantly more injuries compared to divisions II and III. Overall, 3.78% of hand and wrist injuries required surgical intervention. A significantly higher percentage of division I athletes (both male and female) underwent surgical intervention compared to divisions II and III. The mean time lost due to hand and wrist injury was 7.14 days for all athletes. Division I athletes tended to miss fewer days due to injury, though this was not significant.Conclusions Hand and wrist injuries are common among collegiate athletes. Division I athletes sustain higher rates of injuries and higher surgical intervention rates, while tending to miss fewer days due to injury. Improved characterization of divisional differences in hand and wrist injuries can assist injury management and prevention

A - 30 Executive Function in Division-I Collegiate Athletes and Recreationally Active College Students

Objective High-level cognitive performance is important for navigating the complex environment of sport. The executive function domain may be of particular importance because it focuses on flexible thinking and self-control. It is unclear if high-level athletes exhibit similar executive function compared to recreational athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare executive function between male and female Division-I collegiate athletes and recreationally active peers. Methods Thirty-seven Division-I athletes (16 females, 21 males) and 30 recreationally active college students (19 females, 11 males) participated. Participants completed the Flanker Inhibitory Control and Attention Test (FICA) and Dimensional Change Card Sort Test (DCCS) from the National Institute of Health Toolbox Cognitive Battery on a tablet to assess cognitive flexibility and attention and inhibitory control, respectively. Demographically-corrected T-scores were used for analysis. Two-way ANOVAs compared cognitive performance based on group and sex (p ≤ 0.05). Results There was a significant group-by-sex interaction for the FICA (p = 0.005). Female recreational athletes (50.68 ± 10.18) demonstrated higher FICA scores compared to female Division-I athletes (40.88 ± 7.35; p = 0.003, ES = 1.06). Male Division-I athletes (48.67 ± 10.39) also exhibited greater scores compared to female Division-I athletes (p = 0.015, ES = 0.83). There was no significant group-by-sex interaction (p = 0.84), group effect (p = 0.35), or sex effect (p = 0.43) for the DCCS. Conclusions Female Division-I athletes demonstrated poorer performance on the FICA compared to male Division-I athletes and recreational female athletes which may indicate a decreased ability to suppress motor responses caused by internal or external distractions. The significance of these findings for mitigating injury risk and improving athletic performance should be explored.

Injury Epidemiology and Time Lost From Participation in Women’s NCAA Division I Indoor Versus Beach Volleyball Players

Background: Beach volleyball officially became a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I sport in 2015-2016. Few studies have examined the epidemiology of injuries in indoor versus beach volleyball in NCAA Division I athletes. Purpose: To compare the epidemiology of injuries and time lost from participation between female NCAA Division I athletes who participate in indoor versus beach volleyball. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Injury surveillance data (2003-2020) were obtained using an institutional database for all NCAA Division I women’s beach or indoor volleyball athletes. The total injury rate was expressed per 1000 hours played. The injury rate per body site was calculated by dividing the number of injuries in each body region by the total number of injuries. The frequency of injury per body site was also expressed as number of injuries per 1000 hours of practice or number of injuries per 1000 hours of game. The injury rate (total and per body site) and time lost from participation were compared between indoor and beach volleyball athletes. Results: Participants were 161 female NCAA Division I volleyball athletes (53 beach volleyball and 108 indoor volleyball athletes). In total, 974 injuries were recorded: 170 in beach volleyball and 804 in indoor volleyball. The injury rates for beach versus indoor volleyball were 1.8 versus 5.3 injuries per 1000 hours played ( P < .0001). Indoor volleyball athletes had significantly higher injury rates compared with beach volleyball players for concussion (7.5% vs 6.5%; P < .0001) and knee injury (16.7% vs 7.6%; P = .0004); however, the rate of abdominal muscle injury was significantly higher in beach versus indoor volleyball (11.8% vs 4.7%; P = .0008). Time lost from sport participation was significantly longer in beach versus indoor volleyball for knee (24 vs 11 days; P = .047), low back (25 vs 17 days; P = .0009), and shoulder (52 vs 28 days; P = .001) injuries. Conclusion: Based on this study, injury was more likely to occur in indoor compared with beach volleyball. Sport-related concussion and knee injuries were more common in indoor volleyball, but the rate of abdominal muscle injury was higher in beach volleyball. Beach volleyball players needed longer time to recover after injuries to the knee, low back, and shoulder.