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Verbal or physical abuse from coaches has a negative impact on young athletes. To prevent abuse against young athletes, it is important to know the characteristics of abusive coaches. This study aimed to elucidate the characteristics of coaches who commit verbal or physical abuse in youth sports teams. A cross-sectional study was conducted with coaches of youth sport teams in Miyagi prefecture, Japan (n = 1,283), using a self-reported questionnaire (response rate was 24.0%). Multivariate logistic regression models were used for analyses. The prevalence of verbal and physical abuse towards young athletes was 64.7% (n = 830) and 6.2% (n = 79), respectively. Verbal abuse was significantly associated with lower educational attainment (odds ratio (OR): 1.32, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.03-1.69), experiences of verbal abuse by own coaches (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.37-2.50), acceptability for verbal or physical abuse (OR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.82-3.52), and dissatisfaction with athletes' attitude (OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.26-2.07). Physical abuse was significantly associated with experiences of physical abuse by respondents' coaches (OR: 2.71, 95% CI: 1.50-4.92), acceptability for verbal or physical abuse (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 2.39-6.33), and longer experience of coaching in years (OR: 2.45, 95% CI: 1.20-4.98). The results of this study show that coaches who commit verbal or physical abuse had typically experienced abuse from their former coaches, and adopted a similar style. Breaking the negative cycle of verbal and physical abuse is necessary to eliminate the abuse of young athletes.

Youth athletes are known to be at high risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. Children in developed countries are increasingly adopting a sedentary lifestyle. Although some risk factors related to sports activities have been reported, the effect of lifestyle (i.e. screen time behaviour) on MSK pain in youth athletes is not well known. This study aimed to examine the association of game playing and TV viewing with MSK pain among youth athletes. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to youth athletes belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association. The final study population included 6,143 youth athletes (male, 71.1%; age range, 6-15 years). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of game playing and TV viewing behaviour with MSK pain. The point prevalence of MSK pain was 25.5%. The longest category of game playing time (≥3 h) was significantly associated with MSK pain as compared with the shortest category (1 h) (odds ratio, 1.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-1.73, p = 0.003). There was no significant association between TV viewing time and MSK pain. These results suggest that game playing time might be an associated factor for MSK pain among youth athletes.

Low back pain is a significant problem for school-aged athletes. Although some risk factors relating to sports activities have been reported, the effect of lifestyles on low back pain in school-aged athletes is not clear. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between lifestyles, such as wake-up time, bedtime, sleeping time, and TV-viewing or video-game-playing time per day and low back pain of school-aged athletes. A cross-sectional study was conducted with school-aged athletes (aged 6–15 years, n = 6441) using a self-reported questionnaire and multivariate logistic regression models were used for analyses. Variables considered in the models were gender, age, body mass index, team levels, number of days in practice per week, number of hours in practice per day, and lifestyles. The frequency of low back pain was 5.0% (n = 322). Late bedtime, short sleeping time, and long video-game-playing time per day were significantly associated with low back pain. There was no significant association between low back pain and wake-up time or TV-viewing time per day. Unhealthy life-style choices, such as late bedtimes, short sleeping time, and longtime video-game playing, were associated with low back pain in school-aged athletes.

Serious arm injuries in youth baseball players have been increasing. Though a breakage in the kinetic chain could affect arm injuries, an association between arm injuries and insufficient support of the trunk and lower extremities is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder complaints among youth baseball players. A self-administered questionnaire and document informed consent were mailed to youth athletes belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder pain at the time of the questionnaire. Variables considered in the models were as follows: sex, age, BMI, years of athletic experience, position, team level, the amount of practice, participating day in team practice and game per week, frequency of participation in games, and practice intensity. The final study population was comprised 1582 youth baseball players (aged 6–15 years old, male 95.6 %) who had responded to the questionnaire. A total of 24.8 % (n = 381) had elbow and/or shoulder pain, whereas 8.5 % (n = 130) had low back pain and 13.1 % (n = 201) had knee pain. The prevalence of elbow and/or shoulder pain with concomitant low back and knee pain was 61.2 % (n = 82) and 51.9 % (n = 108) (p

Background Soccer is a high-intensity sport with a high injury rate. Among youth soccer players, lower extremity pain is a major problem that could be associated with trunk function. This study investigated the association between lower extremity pain and trunk pain among youth soccer players. Methods A cross-sectional study involving youth soccer players participating in the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between trunk pain and lower extremity pain. Covariates were sex, age, body mass index, height increase, number of days of training per week, practice time per day on weekdays or weekends, competition levels, frequency of participation in games, and previous injuries. Results The final study population comprised 1139 youth soccer players (age, 6–15 years; male, 94.2%). Lower extremity pain with concomitant trunk pain occurred in 61.8% (42/68). Trunk pain was significantly associated with lower extremity pain (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 6.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.99–11.67). Back pain and hip pain were significantly associated with knee pain (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 7.63 [3.70–15.76] and 3.84 [1.89–7.83], respectively), ankle pain (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 9.03 [4.42–18.44] and 5.43 [2.77–10.62], respectively), and both knee and ankle pain (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 13.67 [6.01–31.09] and 5.98 [2.56–13.97], respectively). Conclusions Trunk pain was associated with lower extremity pain among youth soccer players. Clinicians and coaches should consider comorbidities while treating those players.

Considerable research has focused on shoulder and elbow injuries among baseball players; however, although lumbar spine and knee injuries are commonly experienced, they are less frequently studied. During common motions in baseball, such as throwing, hitting, and running, energy is transferred from the lower extremities through the lower back to the upper body. Lower extremity pain, as well as lower back pain (LBP), can disrupt the kinematic chain, and it is important to understand the association between lower extremity complaints and LBP. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the association between knee pain and LBP among young baseball players. A cross-sectional study was conducted with young baseball players (aged 6–15 years, n = 1,609) using a self-reported questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression models were used for analyses. Variables considered in the models were sex, age, body mass index, team levels, number of days of training per week, number of hours in practice per day on weekdays and weekend, frequency of participation in games, practice intensity, and player position. The point prevalence of LBP and knee pain was 8.4% and 13.1%, respectively. Knee pain was significantly associated with LBP. Using the absence of knee pain as a reference, the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for LBP was 5.83 (3.93–8.65) (p

Many issues prevent elderly individuals from exercising in daily life. There is a need for a system that allows elderly individuals to engage in exercise regularly at a low cost. We developed an exergame that uses a Kinect(®) sensor (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) and conducted a randomized controlled trial of the effects of using this exergame on muscle strength and balance in healthy elderly individuals.We enrolled 57 healthy elderly individuals and randomly divided them into an intervention group (n=29) and a control group (n=28) using a table of random numbers. All participants underwent gait analyses and were examined using the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Reach Test (FRT), and the 30-second chair-stand (CS-30) test before the intervention. Participants in the intervention group played the exergame once or twice a week, up to a total of 24 times. The tests were repeated after intervention, and the scores were compared with those obtained before intervention.Our results indicated that walking, muscle strength, and motor function improved in participants in the intervention group. Decreased double standing time (P=0.03), minimum foot clearance (P=0.04), BBS scores (P0.01), CS-30 scores (P0.01), and FRT scores (P0.01) significantly improved in the intervention group compared with values in the control group.The Kinect-based exergame developed in this study was found to be effective in improving walking, muscular strength, and balance in elderly people.

Elbow or shoulder injuries are common in overhead sports. Because energy derived from the lower extremity passes through the trunk to the upper extremity in overhead motion, a break in such a kinetic chain could lead to arm injuries. However, there is only limited information about the role of the trunk and lower extremity support in preventing elbow or shoulder injuries. This study aimed to explore the association of trunk and lower extremity pain with elbow/shoulder pain among young overhead athletes. We conducted a cross-sectional study using self-reported questionnaires mailed to young athletes belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association. The final study population comprised 2,215 young athletes playing baseball (n = 1,422), volleyball (n = 546), softball (n = 14), handball (n = 28), tennis (n = 110), or badminton (n = 95). The median age of the participants was 11 years (range: 6 to 15 years). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed the higher prevalence of elbow and/or shoulder pain in athletes with back pain (OR = 5.52, 95% CI = 3.51-8.69), hip pain (OR = 6.13, 95% CI = 3.35-11.22), knee pain (OR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.48-3.51), and foot pain (OR = 3.03, 95% CI = 1.95-4.72), compared with those without pain. We propose that trunk or lower extremity pain is significantly associated with elbow or shoulder pain among young overhead athletes. Assessing for pain in trunk or lower extremity, as well as elbow and/or shoulder pain, may help prevent serious injuries in young overhead athletes.

Dental problems among athletes have been cautioned due to negative impacts not only on their oral health but also on athletic performance. Acquirement of appropriate oral health behavior mainly composed of toothbrushing in childhood can be one of the most important strategies for advancing children's athletic possibilities. Although habits of screen viewing, including game playing, and TV viewing have direct impacts on children's health and behavioral development, little is known about the association between these habits and toothbrushing frequency. A cross-sectional survey examining sports activities was conducted using a self-report questionnaire among school-aged athletic children belonging to the Miyagi Amateur Sports Association (n = 6,658). All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS, and P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The association between a lower brushing frequency (2 times a day) and screen-viewing behavior was examined using multivariate logistic models after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index (BMI), studying time, and sleep duration. After adjustment for all covariates, longer game playing (2 hrs a day), but not TV viewing, significantly correlated with lower brushing frequency (P for trend0.001). Importantly, longer game-playing behavior was also associated with unhealthy dental behavior defined as a lower brushing frequency regardless of the awareness of dental caries (P for trend0.001). In conclusion, this is the first study indicating a type-specific unfavorable impact of screen viewing on oral health behavior among athletic children. Excessive game playing may adversely affect oral health literacy more strongly than TV viewing.

Purpose: Elderly persons may benefit from regular physical exercise to maintain or improve their quality of life and health status. Low adherence to physical exercise, however, is often a problem. A new type of videogames, “exergames”, involving physical motion of the players has recently been developed and is expected to keep elderly people active. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a newly developed exergame on health benefits such as muscle strength and body balance of elderly people. Methods: We invited 24 healthy community-dwelling elderly persons aged 71.46 ± 4.8 years old (8 men and 16 women) volunteered for this study. We developed a new exergame program for using KinectTM (Microsoft Co., Ltd. Redmond, WA) motion sensor. A single exergame session lasted approximately 30 minutes including warm-up and cool-down sessions. The participants are asked to play the exergame 2 - 3 times per week for 2.5 months at our institute. Maximal isometric muscular strength of major muscles of lower extremities and functional balance were examined before and after the exergame intervention. Result: All participants completed 24 sessions of the exergame program. There were significant improvements in maximal isometric muscular strength of hip joint flexion, and knee joint extension and flexion, of ankle joint dorsiflexion. Also MFC, a significant difference was noted between Pre and Post values. However, there was no statistically significant improvement in the functional balance test. Conclusion: Exergame developed in this study was found to be effective in improving muscular strength of lower extremities.

Objectives: Serious arm injuries in youth baseball players have been increasing. Though a breakage in the kinetic chain could affect arm injuries, an association between arm injuries and insufficient support of the trunk and lower extremities have not been well understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder complaints among youth baseball players. Methods: Study participants were mostly school-aged athletes belonging to Junior Sports Club Association of Miyagi prefecture (aged 6 to 15 years old). A self-administered questionnaire and informed consent document were mailed to25,469 registered athletes. Of those, 7,333 athletes replied both written informed consent and questionnaire (response rate was 28.8%). Those who did not play baseball (n = 5,577) and played both baseball and the other sports (n = 26) were excluded from this study. Missing data on variables (n = 192) were also excluded. The final study population was comprised of 1,535 players. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to examine the association of low back and knee pain with elbow and/or shoulder pain. Variables considered in the models were sex, age, BMI, years of athletic experience, position, team level, the amount of practice, participating day in team practice and game per week, frequency of participation in games, and practice intensity. Results: The frequency of elbow and/or shoulder pain was 24.8% (n= 393); that of elbow pain, 14.3% (n = 226); that of shoulder pain, 17.3 % (n = 273); that of both elbow and shoulder pain, 6.6% (n = 105); and that of low back and knee pain were 8.4% (n= 134) and 13.1% (n = 208), respectively. The frequency of elbow and/or shoulder pain who had low back and knee pain were 61.2% (n = 82) and 51.9% (n= 108) (pConclusion: Both low back and knee pain were significantly associated with elbow and/or shoulder pain in youth baseball players. This result suggests that checking the trunk and lower extremities as well as elbows and shoulders are important for preventing sever injuries in youth baseball players.