Identification of Neuromusculoskeletal Variables Associated With Injury Risk and Performance in High School Athletes.

This study involves a test - re-test design. Subjects will be tested in their physical performance. These measures include a general assessment of joint mobility, muscle strength, motor coordination, and performance assessment utilizing functional movement screens. The physical examination is similar to a physical examination performed clinically in sports performance testing and also in the practice of Physical Therapy. The initial baseline measure will provide objective scores that can be utilized to assess for change over time. Additional information to be gathered includes demographic information on the subject including age, previous injury history, and level of exposure to physical performance training. These variables are associated with injury risk and also impact the potential for change with physical performance training. In addition, information on mental factors including stress, fear of failure, and burnout will be collected. It is hypothesized that these variables also factor into athletic performance. It is not known how these variables impact injury risk. Information on training load will be gathered weekly during the training period. Training load has a direct impact on muscle performance, and is hypothesized to impact injury risk. The subjects will be re-tested at the end of the training period to measure changes in physical performance and injury risk.

Project Procedures

Study population: High school athletes, ages 14 to 18, who are participating in an organized sports training program. The target subject enrollment is 250 high school athletes.

Inclusion criteria will be athletes who have completed a pre-participation sports physical, are enrolled in a sports elective or a member of a sports team, and have volunteered to participate in the study providing both verbal and written consent.

Exclusion criteria for participation include athletes who have not submitted a pre-participation sports physical to the high school training staff, student athletes who are currently suffering from an acute neuromusculoskeletal injury with restrictions on athletic participation, an athlete who has undergone surgery within a 3 month period of the program start date, an athlete who presents with a cardiovascular condition that would exclude exercise participation (systolic BP > 180, diastolic BP > 100), or athletes who are currently pregnant.