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Objective: A diagnosis of Parkinson's often leads to uncertainty about the future and loss of perceived control. Peer support may offer a means to address these concerns and promote self-management. Design: A programme evaluation of the feasibility and potential effects of 'First Steps', utilising a pragmatic step wedge approach. Comparing First Steps (intervention) to (control) conditions. Setting: In the community at four sites in southern England. Participants: Newly diagnosed (≤ 12months) people with Parkinson's. Intervention: First Steps was a 2-day peer-conceived, developed and led intervention to support self-management. Main measures: At 0, 12 and 24 weeks anxiety and depression (Hospital, Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS), daily functioning (World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule, WHODAS), physical activity, quality of life (EQ5D), carer strain and service utilisation were assessed. Results: Between February 2018 and July 2019, 36 participants were enrolled into intervention and 21 to control conditions, all were included in statistical analysis. Lost to follow up was n = 1 (intervention) and n = 1 adverse event was reported (control, unrelated). Of the 36 allocated to the intervention n = 22 participants completed both days of First Steps during the study period. Completion of outcome measures was >95% at 24 weeks. Small effects favouring the intervention were found for HADS (odds ratio (OR) = 2.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.24:17.84), Carer Strain Index (OR = 2.22, 95% CI 0.5:9.76) and vigorous (d = 0.42, 95% CI −0.12:0.97) and total physical activity (d = 0.41, 95% CI −0.13:0.95). EQ5D, WHOSDAS and service utilisation, was similar between groups. Conclusions: First Steps was feasible and safe and we found potential to benefit physical activity, mental health and carer strain. Further research with longer-term follow up is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Training camps are utilised in the selection process of Dragon Boat crews. Due to low funding in this sport, paddlers work full time and train around work hours, which may lead to rapid shifts in training load when attending camps. The objective was to detail the training loads of two elite dragon boat paddlers prior to and during a national training camp. An online system was used to collect training details and internal training loads. Data was extracted for the week leading into a camp, and the week of a camp, giving two, seven-day blocks. Weekly training loads for each paddler leading into the camp and during camp were 1680 units and 1600 units, respectively, and 5670 and 5050 units, respectively. This equated to more than a three-fold increase in training load from week-to-week. One paddler sustained an injury on the last day of this camp which negatively affected them for the rest of the season. Training load shifts can be managed by both the athlete and coach to minimise injury and illness risk. It is recommended that athletes utilise best practice guidelines, which recommend a 10% increase in load per week when preparing for intensive training blocks. Camp coaches and planners must consider the impact of shifts in load on the athletes and reduce the duration or number of sessions across a camp when an athlete has not completed sufficient training. This two-fold proactive approach to reducing rapid shifts in training load around national camps may reduce the risk of injury and illness while still maintaining the overall quality of the training camp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic methods are increasingly being used to manage health-related data among sporting populations. Collection of such data permits the analysis of injury and illness trends, improves early detection of injuries and illnesses, collectively referred to as health problems, and provides evidence to inform prevention strategies. The Athlete Management System (AMS) has been employed across a range of sports to monitor health. Australian combat athletes train across the country without dedicated national medical or sports science teams to monitor and advocate for their health. Employing a Web-based system, such as the AMS, may provide an avenue to increase the visibility of health problems experienced by combat athletes and deliver key information to stakeholders detailing where prevention programs may be targeted. Objective: The objectives of this paper are to (1) report on the feasibility of utilizing the AMS to collect longitudinal injury and illness data of combat sports athletes and (2) describe the type, location, severity, and recurrence of injuries and illnesses that the cohort of athletes experience across a 12-week period. Methods: We invited 26 elite and developing athletes from 4 Olympic combat sports (boxing, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling) to participate in this study. Engagement with the AMS was measured, and collected health problems (injuries or illnesses) were coded using the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (version 10.1) and International Classification of Primary Care (version 2). Results: Despite >160 contacts, athlete engagement with online tools was poor, with only 13% compliance across the 12-week period. No taekwondo or wrestling athletes were compliant. Despite low overall engagement, a large number of injuries or illness were recorded across 11 athletes who entered data--22 unique injuries, 8 unique illnesses, 30 recurrent injuries, and 2 recurrent illnesses. The most frequent injuries were to the knee in boxing (n=41) and thigh in judo (n=9). In this cohort, judo players experienced more severe, but less frequent, injuries than boxers, yet judo players sustained more illnesses than boxers. In 97.0% (126/130) of cases, athletes in this cohort continued to train irrespective of their health problems. Conclusions: Among athletes who reported injuries, many reported multiple conditions, indicating a need for health monitoring in Australian combat sports. A number of factors may have influenced engagement with the AMS, including access to the internet, the design of the system, coach views on the system, previous experiences with the system, and the existing culture within Australian combat sports. To increase engagement, there may be a requirement for sports staff to provide relevant feedback on data entered into the system. Until the barriers are addressed, it is not feasible to implement the system in its current form across a larger cohort of combat athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]