No Association Between Fencing Response After Concussion and Recovery Time, Concussion Severity, or Clinical Outcomes in Professional American Football Players.

Background And Objectives: The relationship between tonic posturing (also known as the "fencing response") after concussion and clinical outcomes is unclear. The objective of this study was to compare clinical outcomes between professional American football players with a documented fencing response after concussion to players without documented fencing response after concussion.

Methods: Players with a fencing response after concussion were matched 1:2 to players without documented fencing response after in-game concussion by age, position, and concussion history from the 2018 to 2023 seasons.

Pain Medication Data from the 2021 and 2022 National Football League Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

We report 2021 and 2022 prescription drug monitoring program data that include pain medication prescriptions, including over-the-counter medications, issued to NFL players by either club physicians or external medical providers and entered in the NFL electronic medical record. Of 3142 players who signed a contract with at least one NFL Club during the 2021 season, there were 14,903 prescriptions for pain medications issued to 2207 players. During the 2022 season, there were 14,880 prescription pain medications issued to 2189 players (out of a population of 3152).

Factors associated with antibody titer levels among an occupational cohort of fully vaccinated individuals and subsequent risk of COVID-19 infection: A cohort study.

This study (1) determined the association of time since initial vaccine regimen, booster dose receipt, and COVID-19 history with antibody titer, as well as change in titer levels over a defined period, and (2) determined risk of COVID-19 associated with low titer levels. This observational study used data from staff participating in the National Football League COVID-19 Monitoring Program. A cohort of staff consented to antibody-focused sub-study, during which detailed longitudinal data were collected.

Effectiveness and use of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction point of care testing in a large-scale COVID-19 surveillance system.

Background: Rapid COVID-19 testing platforms can identify infected individuals at the point of care (POC), allowing immediate isolation of infected individuals and reducing the risk of transmission. While lab-based nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT) is often considered the gold standard to detect SARS-CoV-2 in the community, results typically take 2-7 days to return, rendering POC testing a critical diagnostic tool for infection control. The National Football League (NFL) and NFL Players Association deployed a new POC testing strategy using a newly available reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) rapid test during the 2020 season, and evaluated diagnostic effectiveness compared to other available devices using real-world population surveillance data.

Results from a Test-to-Release from Isolation Strategy Among Fully Vaccinated National Football League Players and Staff Members with COVID-19 - United States, December 14-19, 2021.

During December 2021, the United States experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases, coinciding with predominance of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.

Anatomy of an American football game: Player-to-player contact before, during and after an NFL game in context of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: To quantify levels of potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 surrounding a typical professional American football game, with a focus on interactions on-field between teammates and opposing players before, during, and immediately after competition.

Methods: We examined across-Club consecutive interactions ≥2 minutes within 6 feet [1.8 meters] between athletes on opposing Clubs for all 2020 NFL regular season games (n = 256).

Observed Versus Expected COVID-19 Infections Among National Football League Players During the 2020 Season.

Background: The National Football League (NFL) and National Football League Players Association implemented a set of strict protocols for the 2020 season with the intent to mitigate COVID-19 risk among players and staff. In that timeframe, the league's 32 teams completed 256 regular season games and several thousand meetings and practices. In parallel, community cases of COVID-19 were highly prevalent.

Secondary School Socioeconomic Status and Athletic Training Practice Characteristics.

Context: Socioeconomic status (SES) is a significant predictor of morbidity and mortality across health outcomes. Limited information exists on how school SES affects athletic training practice when a certified athletic trainer (AT) is present at secondary schools.

Objective: To describe contact frequencies and service rates provided by ATs for injuries among secondary school student-athletes and how these differ by school SES.

Methods of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program, 2014-2015 Through 2018-2019.

Background: Since 1982, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has collaborated with athletic trainers (ATs) to create the largest ongoing collegiate sports injury database in the world. This report provides an operational update of the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (NCAA ISP) during the academic years 2014-2015 through 2018-2019.

Surveillance System Structure: The NCAA ISP used a convenience sampling technique via a rolling recruitment model.

Implementation and Evolution of Mitigation Measures, Testing, and Contact Tracing in the National Football League, August 9-November 21, 2020.

The National Football League (NFL) and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) began the 2020 football season in July, implementing extensive mitigation and surveillance measures in facilities and during travel and gameplay. Mitigation protocols* were evaluated and modified based on data from routine reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19); proximity tracking devices; and detailed interviews. Midseason, transmission was observed in persons who had cumulative interactions of <15 minutes' duration, leading to a revised definition of high-risk contacts that required consideration of mask use, setting and room ventilation in addition to proximity and duration of interaction.

Methods of the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network Surveillance Program (NATION-SP), 2014-2015 Through 2018-2019.

Background: The National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network Surveillance Program (NATION-SP) was established in 2011 to provide a comprehensive appraisal of injuries sustained by high school student-athletes who received services from athletic trainers (ATs). The purpose of this article is to update the surveillance methods of the NATION-SP for data reported during the 2014-2015 through 2018-2019 academic years.

Surveillance System Structure: The NATION-SP used a rolling recruitment model to identify a convenience sample of US high schools with access to ATs.

Sex and Sport Differences in College Lacrosse and Soccer Head Impact Biomechanics.

Purpose: Sport-related head impact biomechanics research has been male-centric and focused primarily on American football and ice hockey, which do not address popular sports in which both sexes participate. The purpose of this study was to quantify college female and male lacrosse and soccer head impact biomechanics.

Methods: Head impact biomechanics were collected from college lacrosse and soccer players across two Division 1 college athletic programs (96 female athletes, 141 male athletes; age, 19.

Non-Time-Loss and Time-Loss Softball Injuries in Secondary School Athletes: A Report From the National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network (NATION).

Context: Most studies of injury trends associated with softball focus on injuries requiring at least 24 hours of missed participation time (time-loss [TL] injuries), with little focus on those that do not (non-time-loss [NTL] injuries). A better understanding of injury trends associated with softball will improve athlete care.

Objective: To describe NTL and TL injuries experienced by secondary school girls' softball players.

Trends in Recurrent Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Differ From New Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in College and High School Sports: 2009-2010 Through 2016-2017.

Background: Knee injuries are common and result in extended time missed from sports participation. Little is known regarding the comparative characteristics of recurrent versus first-time anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries sustained during athletic events and how they are influenced by sex, sports participation level, and game-time features.

Purpose: To evaluate the characteristics (sex, sports level, and game timing [ie, early vs late in the game]) of recurrent ACL injury in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and high school athletes compared with first-time ACL injury.

Head Impact Biomechanics Differ Between Girls and Boys Youth Ice Hockey Players.

The influence of sex on head impact biomechanics is unknown for youth ice hockey. We sought to determine sex differences in head impact severity and frequency in youth ice hockey players. Male (n = 110) and female (n = 25) players (13-16 years old) were recruited from a local hockey organization.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk by Season Period and Competition Segment: An Analysis of National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Data.

Context: Although fatigue has been implicated in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, few researchers have examined the timing of injury across a competitive sport season or within a competitive session to gain insight into the potential effects of fatigue on the incidence of ACL injury.

Objective: To identify the time segments across a competitive season or within an individual competition associated with the greatest ACL injury incidence.

Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

High-Intensity Telemedicine Reduces Emergency Department Use by Older Adults With Dementia in Senior Living Communities.

Objectives: Individuals with dementia have high rates of emergency department (ED) use for acute illnesses. We evaluated the effect of a high-intensity telemedicine program that delivers care for acute illnesses on ED use rates for individuals with dementia who reside in senior living communities (SLCs; independent and assisted living).

Design: We performed a secondary analysis of data for patients with dementia from a prospective cohort study over 3.

Injury Incidence in Youth, High School, and NCAA Men's Lacrosse.

Background: We compared injury incidence and mechanisms among youth, high school (HS), and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) boys' and men's lacrosse athletes for the 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 lacrosse seasons.

Methods: Multiple injury surveillance systems were used to capture 21 youth boys', 22 HS boys', and 20 NCAA men's lacrosse team-seasons of data during the 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 seasons. Athletic trainers reported game and practice injuries and athlete exposures (AEs).

Effect of Single-Leg Squat Speed and Depth on Dynamic Postural Control Under Single-Task and Dual-Task Paradigms.

Although single-leg squats are a common dynamic balance clinical assessment, little is known about the relationship between parameters that influence squat movement and postural control performance. The objective of this study was to determine the relationships between squat parameters (speed and depth) and postural control under single task and dual task. A total of 30 healthy college students performed single-leg squats under single task and dual task with Stroop.

The First Decade of Web-Based Sports Injury Surveillance: Descriptive Epidemiology of Injuries in US High School Boys' Baseball (2005-2006 Through 2013-2014) and National Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Baseball (2004-2005 Through 2013-2014).

Context: The advent of Web-based sports injury surveillance via programs such as the High School Reporting Information Online system and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program has aided the acquisition of boys' and men's baseball injury data.

Objective: To describe the epidemiology of injuries sustained in high school boys' baseball in the 2005-2006 through 2013-2014 academic years and collegiate men's baseball in the 2004-2005 through 2013-2014 academic years using Web-based sports injury surveillance.

Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.