ACSM PARTNERSHIP WILL COMBAT CHILDHOOD OBESITY, GET KIDS ACTIVE

ACSM and Youth Fitness Coalition join to promote youth fitness

INDIANAPOLIS– In an effort to decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity and promote physical activity to children, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has announced a partnership with the Youth Fitness Coalition (YFC). This partnership will feature ACSM’s Exercise is Medicine™ initiative, designed to encourage America’s patients to incorporate physical activity and exercise into their daily routine, and YFC’s signature program, Project ACES (All Children Exercise Simultaneously).

Created in 1989 by physical education teacher Len Saunders as a method of motivating children to exercise, Project ACES Day takes place on the first Wednesday each May as part of National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and National Physical Education Week. In the past, it has been labeled as “the world's largest exercise class.” Project ACES Clubs continue to promote physical activity all year long by pledging to create youth fitness programs in their schools.

"For more than 20 years, Project ACES’ programs have been organized and conducted by the YFC and have involved millions of children, parents and teachers in every state and more than 45 countries,” said H.J. Saunders, YFC Founder and President.

Project ACES Day on May 6 coincides with Exercise is Medicine™ Month, a time for physicians, health and fitness professionals, the public, and supporting organizations and their constituents to recognize, emphasize and celebrate the valuable health benefits of exercise on a national scale.

In 2008, many states, including Florida, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Connecticut and Iowa proclaimed May as Exercise is Medicine™ month. Several cities also have pledged support by creating events featuring the initiative's principles, including Indianapolis; Tallahassee, Fla.; Eugene, Ore.; and several cities in Texas.

“The principles of Exercise is Medicine center around the importance of physical activity,” said Robert Sallis, M.D., FACSM. “Project ACES really fits well with the goals of Exercise is Medicine, and I think this will be a very valuable tool in our effort to reach out to children and their parents worldwide.”

The 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 engage in 60 minutes or more of physical activity each day, including aerobic, muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening exercises.

“This partnership is an important action item in a long list of steps we’re taking to address the issue of youth fitness and health, and is indicative of our commitment to the issue at large,” said James R. Whitehead, ACSM Executive Vice President. “Exercise is Medicine is the perfect venue for our involvement with Project ACES.”

For more information on Exercise is Medicine™ and how to get involved with Project ACES, visit www.exerciseismedicine.org and www.projectaces.com.

The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 35,000 international, national, and regional members and certified professionals are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science and sports medicine.

The Youth Fitness Coalition is a New Jersey-based non-profit organization committed to combating childhood obesity by making exercise programs fun and by educating children, parents and teachers about the importance of lifelong fitness and making healthy lifestyle choices.

Stingers

Volume 90, Issue 3, Pages 402-406 (March 2009)

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Christopher J. Standaert, MD, Stanley A. Herring, MD

Stingers are a common injury in contact sports and are characterized by acute lancinating pain in 1 upper extremity with or without associated weakness and neck pain. Appropriate on-field evaluation is necessary to identify the extent of injury and rule out structural injuries to the head, spine, or shoulder girdle. Although athletes can often return to play after a single acute event that resolves rapidly, those who have recurrent events, persisting pain, or strength deficits require a thorough diagnostic evaluation before return-to-play decisions can be made. In some circumstances, players sustaining a single stinger or multiple recurrent stingers may be permanently removed from participation in collision or contact sports.

A Prospective Study of Postconcussive Outcomes After Return to Play in Australian Football.

Am J Sports Med. 2009 Feb 9.

Makdissi M, McCrory P, Ugoni A, Darby D, Brukner P.

University of Melbourne.

BACKGROUND: Decisions regarding safe return to play after concussion in sport remain difficult. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a concussed player returned to play using an individual clinical management strategy is at risk of impaired performance or increased risk of injury or concussion. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: All elite Australian football players were followed for 4 seasons. Players were recruited into the study after sustaining a concussive injury. Outcome measures included performance statistics (disposals per hour match-time), injury rates, and recurrence of concussion on return to play. A subset of players had brief screening cognitive tests performed at baseline and after their concussion. Noninjured players matched for team, position, age, and size were chosen as controls. RESULTS: A total of 199 concussive injuries were observed in 158 players. Sixty-one concussive injuries were excluded from analysis because of incomplete data (45 players) or presence of concurrent injury (16 players). Of the 138 concussive injuries assessed, 127 players returned to play without missing a game (92%). The remainder of concussed players returned to play after missing a single game (8%). Overall, there was no significant decline in disposal rates in concussed players on return to competition. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in injury rates between concussed and team, position, and gamematched controls. In the subset of players who had completed screening cognitive tests, all had returned to their individual baseline performance before being returned to play.

CONCLUSION: Return to play decisions based on individual clinical assessment of recovery allows safe and appropriate return to sport following a concussive injury.

Return-to-Play Criteria After Athletic Concussion

Lester Mayers, MD

Arch Neurol. 2008;65(9):1158-1161.

Management of a sport-related concussion, especially involving return-to-play decisions, is one of the most important challenges confronting sports medicine professionals. Current guidelines result from thoughtful consensus recommendations by expert committees but are chiefly based on the resolution of symptoms and the results of neuropsychological testing, if available. Adherence to this paradigm results in most injured athletes resuming competition in 1 to 2 weeks.

Author Affiliation: Athletics Department, Goldstein Fitness Center, Pace University, Pleasantville, New York.

RELATED LETTERS

National Football League Experiences With Return to Play After Concussion
Ira R. Casson, Elliot J. Pellman, and David C. Viano
Arch Neurol. 2009;66(3):419-420.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT

Convolutions of the Silent Sports Concussion: A Neuropsychologist’s Response to the Dark Ages of Rule-Based Return-to-Play Decisions
Ann B. Shuttleworth-Edwards
Arch Neurol. 2009;66(3):420-421.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT

Convolutions of the Silent Sports Concussion: A Neuropsychologist’s Response to the Dark Ages of Rule-Based Return-to-Play Decisions—Reply
Lester Mayers
Arch Neurol. 2009;66(3):421.
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Alterations to locomotor navigation in a complex environment at 7 and 30 days following a concussion in an elite athlete.

Brain Inj. 2009 Mar 9:1-8

Alterations to locomotor navigation in a complex environment at 7 and 30 days following a concussion in an elite athlete.

Fait P, McFadyen BJ, Swaine B, Cantin JF.

Faculty of Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.

Primary objective: To compare the locomotor capacity during (1) unobstructed walking and (2) the circumvention of fixed obstacles with and without a simultaneous visual task in an elite athlete before and after a sports-related concussion. Research design: Case report. Methods and procedures: Gait analysis and clinical neuropsychological measures were taken pre- and at 7 and 30 days post-injury in an 18 year old male junior hockey player. The task consisted of walking along an unobstructed or obstructed path with or without a visual interference task. Measurements included dual tasks costs, response errors, maximal gait speed and minimal clearance with the obstacle. Main outcome and results: Although the athlete was symptom-free and neuropsychological test results returned to baseline relatively quickly, he showed continued errors in the interference task, abnormally small obstacle clearance distances and decreased maximal gait speed up to 30 days after the concussion.

Conclusions: Concussion can result in persistent planning and attention deficits in ecologically valid, complex environments. This report suggests that functional assessment within an ecological context could be an innovative way to evaluate concussed athletes before sending them back to play, even in the absence of medically related symptoms or abnormal neuropsychological test results.