Using your head in sport

Article Outline

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The term “using your head in sport” is often and foremost associated with athletes employing some form of psychological or mental skills intervention to improve performance. Yet, when we think more laterally (also a psychological technique relevant to sport), we can uncover the many other ways in which athletes “use their head” in a sporting environment. In football (soccer), players’ heads are use to propel the ball, often into a scoring situation. In springboard and platform diving, the head is used to partially reduce acceleration on entry to the water. In gymnastics and figure skating, changing head position (often rapidly) will determine the speed and direction of rotation. In boxing, the head is used as a target for an opponent's contact, often with the aim being to knock the participant down. Watching sport bloopers, which are now so commonly accessible via the internet, a predominant focus of “humour” (not my idea of humour) are those that capture accidents in sport where falls and crashes impact on the head and neck.

Given the common physical use of the head in a variety of sports, we often need to focus on methods to protect one of the most vital components of the body, to accurately assess any injuries that involve the head, and to robustly manage such events. We are delighted to include in this issue of the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport the most recent Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport that came out of the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich in November 2008. This consensus statement is being concurrently published in several journals including British Journal of Sports Medicine, Neurosurgery, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport. Given the importance of this work and the associated Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, they are not subject to copyright and readers are encouraged to copy and freely distribute the documents. The Consensus Statement led by Paul McCrory and colleagues focuses specifically on definition, evaluation, investigation, and management of concussion. As well, the statement addresses child and adolescent populations, injury prevention, and future directions for concussion assessment, surveillance, and management.

To complement the lead article in this issue we also include a paper by Mihalik et al. that examines the effects of menstrual cycle phase on clinical measures of concussion. In the area of biomechanics Leblanc and colleagues report on arm–leg coordination in recreational and competitive swimmers and point out differences in the propulsive phase of strokes. Our motor control and learning section includes a paper by Erban on muscular activation patterns in archery to improve performance. We include two papers under physical activity in health: the first by Leicht and Crowther that studied pedometer accuracy in non-level walking, and the second by Bush that demonstrated that not only does participation in high school athletics improve bone mineral density but that it assists in establishing later-life exercise frequency patterns.

In our sports injury section Gianotti et al. report on an evaluation of a national rugby union injury prevention program and its effects on reducing reported injury rates in New Zealand. Also from New Zealand, Smartt and Chalmers report epidemiological data on horse-related sport and recreation injury. In the sports medicine section of this issue Broglio et al. examined the influence of ankle support on postural control and draws reference to measurement consistency. Athlete burnout is the focus of Cresswell's prospective study with rugby players. This study found that perceived rugby and money hassles were positively associated with burnout characteristics, while adequate social support was negatively associated.

This issue includes four papers in the sport science section. Buchheit and colleagues studied the cardiorespiratory responses during running and other exercises in handball players, Clark examined the effect of anaerobic fatigue and training status on joint stiffness of the lower limbs, and Di Cagnio et al. looked at gender differences in the factors that effect performance in rhythmic gymnastics. This paper is of particular interest given that male participation in rhythmic gymnastics is still in its infancy. We conclude this issue with a paper by Ingram and his team regarding the effects of water immersion methods on post-exercise recovery.

Once again, I have really enjoyed bringing together an international feast of research, evidence, opinion, and review from authors in 13 countries around the world.