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Updated recommendations on preseason heat safety in high school (HS) athletics ("2021 Consensus Statements") were published in April 2021. This cross-sectional survey study explored the initial roll-out of the 2021 Consensus Statements, including their visibility among United States HS athletic trainers (ATs) and perceived levels of confidence in implementing them. Recruitment occurred first, from a random selection of ATs from the Board of Certification, Inc., and second, an open invitation via social media. An online cross-sectional questionnaire had participating ATs note whether they had seen the 2021 Consensus Statements. If yes, ATs reported their perceived level of confidence in implementing them (5-point-ordinal scale from "not at all confident" to "very confident); if no, ATs disclosed (open-ended) why they had not yet seen them. Descriptive statistics were calculated for quantitative variables; template analysis identified codes related to visibility of and confidence in implementing 2021 Consensus Statements. Nearly half (45.7%) of 116 responding HS ATs reported having seen at least one 2021 Consensus Statements; 23.3% had reviewed all three. Common reasons among the 63 that had not seen them included: not aware they were published (n = 22), have yet to read them (n = 19), and believed they could not access the journal (n = 10). Of the 53 ATs having seen at least one of the 2021 Consensus Statements, 67.9% (n = 36) were very/fairly confident in implementing them at their HS. Reasons for confidence included their schools ensuring up-to-date EHI prevention and management practices (n = 18) and athletics constituent support (n = 8). This exploratory study observed proportions of surveyed HS ATs that had not seen the 2021 Consensus Statements and were not confident in implementing them. Findings highlight the need to continue improving messaging about access to best-practice recommendations. Further, continued efforts inclusive of active and passive dissemination strategies across all athletics constituents are needed to aid proper implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although research indicates that the key to minimizing the effect of musculoskeletal injury, improving care, and mitigating long-term effects is to improve early injury care seeking, little is known about barriers to early musculoskeletal injury disclosure and care seeking. To identify which determinants predicted sport-related musculoskeletal (MSK) injury disclosure by adolescent athletes. Cross-sectional study. Online survey. A total of 564 adolescent athletes (58% male, age = 15.81 ± 1.8 years). Online survey exploring determinants of age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, injury knowledge, attitudes, perceived social norms, and perceived behavioral control surrounding MSK injury disclosure, intention to disclose MSK injury, and actual behavior of disclosing MSK injury. Of the respondents, 457 (80.2%) reported having sustained ≥1 (mean = 3.2 ± 2.2; range = 1–10) MSK injuries related to sport. Those who endorsed having experienced an MSK injury disclosed not reporting or purposefully hiding 77% of their suspected MSK injuries. Several factors influenced a high intention to disclose MSK injury. Specifically, for each unit increase in total MSK injury knowledge (Exp[β] = 1.061, β=0.054, P =.020, 95% CI = 1.031, 1.221) and attitude (Exp[β] = 1.070, β = 0.064, P <.001, 95% CI = 1.027, 1.115) score, 6% and 7% increases in the likelihood of a high intention to disclose an MSK injury, respectively, were observed. Moreover, for each unit increase in the social norm score (Exp[β] = 1.178, β=0.164, P <.001, 95% CI = 1.119, 1.241), an 18% increase in the likelihood of a high intention to disclose an MSK injury was noted. Designing interventions geared toward increasing the knowledge of signs and symptoms of MSK injury, improving attitudes surrounding disclosure, and better understanding the social context of disclosing MSK injuries may improve MSK injury disclosure behavior and reduce the associated social and economic burdens of these injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Athlete transition from American collegiate sport participation, to non-sport careers or professional sport, has been a contemporary topic in sport science research but it is still not well understood, especially in female athlete populations. Informed by athlete transition and identity theory, the current study's purpose was to describe the transition experiences of former women's collegiate soccer athletes, including both positive and negative contributing factors. Using a deductive conceptual content analysis, results showcase both positive (i.e., social support, career goals, recreational sport play) and negative (i.e., lack of a team/support, lack of soccer/competition, lack of direction) contributors to the post-collegiate sport transition for female soccer athletes. The importance of athletic identity and potential transition resources were identified. Specifically, participants endorsed career guidance, physical activity/exercise, mentorship programming, and mental health resources as potentially helpful to future athletes. Study findings expand upon relevant transition theory and former female athlete research. Our study results may inform future research and program development efforts aimed at former female collegiate athletes from soccer and other sports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) injury after a concussion, little is known about the determinants of such a risk. Moreover, the authors of previous reports of increased risk of MSK injury after a concussion have neglected to account for the high level of undisclosed concussions. To explore the association between the intention to disclose a possible concussion and the intention to disclose an MSK injury. Cross-sectional study. Online survey. One hundred seven National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes (females = 79%, age = 19.4 ± 1.4 years). Online survey exploring determinants such as injury knowledge, attitudes, perceived social norms, and perceived behavioral control surrounding concussive and MSK injury disclosure. A significant association between high intention to disclose a concussion and high intention to disclose an MSK injury (χ2 = 19.276, P <.001, Cramer V = 0.482) was observed. Spearman rank correlations suggested no correlation between concussion nondisclosure (25%) and MSK injury nondisclosure (52%). Multivariate binomial regressions indicated that perceived social norms were the strongest determinant (β = 1.365, P =.002) of high intention to disclose concussion, while attitudes toward MSK injury (β = 1.067, P =.005) and perceived social norms (β = 1.099, P =.013) were the strongest determinants of high intention to report MSK injury. Individuals with high intention to report concussion symptoms also demonstrated high intention to report MSK injury. Strong positive associations were seen between known determinants of intention to disclose concussion and adapted versions of those same determinant domains in intention to disclose MSK injury. As those with high intention to disclose concussion also displayed high intention to disclose MSK injury, intention to disclose injuries generally may play a role in explaining the increase in MSK injury after a concussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Updated epidemiology studies examining sports-related concussions (SRCs) are critical in evaluating recent efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of SRCs in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports. Purpose: To describe the epidemiology of SRCs in 23 NCAA sports during the 2014/15-2018/19 academic years. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: SRC and exposure data collected in the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program were analyzed. Injury counts, rates, and proportions were used to describe injury characteristics by sport, event type (practices, competitions), injury mechanism (player contact, surface contact, equipment/apparatus contact), and injury history (new, recurrent). Injury rate ratios (IRRs) were used to examine differential injury rates, and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) were used to examine differential distributions. Results: A total of 3497 SRCs from 8,474,400 athlete-exposures (AEs) were reported during the study period (4.13 per 10,000 AEs); the competition-related SRC rate was higher than was the practice-related SRC rate (IRR, 4.12; 95% CI, 3.86-4.41). The highest SRC rates were observed in men's ice hockey (7.35 per 10,000 AEs) and women's soccer (7.15 per 10,000 AEs); rates in women's soccer and volleyball increased during 2015/16-2018/19. Player contact was the most prevalently reported mechanism in men's sports (77.0%), whereas equipment/apparatus contact was the most prevalently reported mechanism in women's sports (39.2%). Sex-related differences were observed in soccer, basketball, softball/baseball, and swimming and diving. Most SRCs reported in men's sports (84.3%) and women's sports (81.1%) were reported as new injuries. Conclusion: Given the increasing SRC rates observed in women's soccer and volleyball during the latter years of the study, these results indicate the need to direct further attention toward trajectories of SRC incidence in these sports. The prevalence of equipment/apparatus contact SRCs in women's sports also suggests that SRC mechanisms in women's sports warrant further investigation. As most SRCs during the study period were reported as new injuries, the prevalence of recurrent SRCs in men's and women's ice hockey is also noteworthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]