Validity and reliability evidence for the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire with Romanian professional athletes

Background Despite the importance attributed to athletes’ motivation in sports performance and well-being; no measures of motivation toward sport were found in the Romanian sport context. Objective Grounded in self-determination theory, this research aimed to adapt and to gather validity and reliability evidence supporting the use of the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ) in the Romanian sport domain. Method The participants were 596 Romanian professional athletes (age: M = 22.91, SD = 5.84; sports experience: M = 11.14, SD = 5.03), who 273 practiced individual sports and 323 team sports. They completed an online questionnaire survey assessing their perception of behavioral regulation, resilience and burnout in sport. Results Confirmatory factor analysis supported the six-factor correlated model, which was invariant across age and sport. Correlations among latent factors configured a simplex structure, underpinning the self-determination continuum. Average variance extracted values from .50 to .70 endorsed convergent validity. Scores for heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations as high as .88, as well as 95% confidence intervals of each interfactor correlation that did not include 1.00 supported discriminant validity. Values over .70 for Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and Raykov’s coefficients showed a good level of reliability for each factor. Linear regression analysis revealed that while intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation and identified regulation positively predicted resilience, introjected regulation, external regulation and amotivation positively predicted burnout. Conclusions The BRSQ is shown to be a valid and reliable measure of the six types of behavioral regulation in the Romanian sport context.

Adherence to Mediterranean Diet and Tendency to Orthorexia Nervosa in Professional Athletes

Among many lifestyle components that professional athletes have to follow, nutrition is gradually growing to be one of the key factors for achieving and maintaining optimal sport performance. The Mediterranean diet (MD) is recognized as one of the healthiest dietary patterns worldwide; however, data regarding adherence to the MD among professional athletes are still scarce. Moreover, with the imposed need for a healthy diet among professional athletes, orthorexia nervosa (ON) could become a rising issue. This cross-sectional study included 150 professional athletes and 150 matched recreational athletes from Croatia. Four questionnaires were used for the assessment: general information, a test for the diagnosis of ON (ORTO-15), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS). Significantly more professional athletes were adherent to the MD (p < 0.001) and had a tendency to ON (p < 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant negative correlation between the ORTO-15 score and the total MET min/week score (r = −0.524, p < 0.001) and a significant positive correlation between the MDSS score and the total MET min/week score in the professional athlete group (r = 0.478, p < 0.001). All of these results imply that professional athletes are more concentrated on their dietary patterns than recreational athletes, and that due to this dedication, they possibly have a higher adherence to the MD but also possibly a higher risk for developing ON. However, the association between ON and the MD should be further addressed in the future.

Exercise-Based Injury Prevention in High-Level and Professional Athletes: Narrative Review and Proposed Standard Operating Procedure for Future Lockdown-Like Contexts After COVID-19

In regular times, implementing exercise-based injury prevention programs into the training routine of high-level and professional athletes represents a key and challenging aspect to decrease injury risk. Barriers to implementing such prevention programs have previously been identified such as lack of resources, logistic issues or motivation. The COVID-19 pandemic associated with restrictions on daily life dramatically impacted sports participation from training to competition. It is therefore reasonable to assume that such lockdown-like context has exacerbated the challenge to implement exercise-based injury prevention programs, potentially leading to a greater musculoskeletal injury risk. In this narrative review, recommendations are proposed for building an expertise- and evidence-based Standard Operating Procedure for injury prevention in lockdown-like contexts for high-level and professional athletes. The following recommendations can be provided: (1) assess the global and sport-specific risks in the light of the ongoing cause of isolation; (2) adapt remote training materials and programs; (3) ensure regular quality communication within the staff, between athletes and the staff as well as between athletes; (4) follow the athlete's mental well-being; and (5) plan for a safe return-to-sports as well as for an ongoing monitoring of the load-recovery balance. These key domains should further be addressed to comply with local policies, which are subject to change over time in each individual country. The use of these recommendations may improve the readiness of athletes, coaches, physicians and all sports stakeholders for future lockdown-like contexts.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical Performance and Mental Health—A Retrospective Case Series of Belgian Male Professional Football Players

Rationale: As every season, physical performance of players of Royal Antwerp FC's first team was regularly tested and mental well-being and mood were assessed during football season 2020–2021. Just like in the general population, several professional athletes were infected by SARS-CoV-2 during that season. COVID-19 is a complex disorder affecting multiple body systems, potentially damaging lungs, affecting the cardiovascular system or causing muscle weakness. Therefore, the impact of COVID-19 on performance was a major concern for the affected football players and their entourage.Objectives: To retrospectively examine the influence of COVID-19 on physical performance and mental health in professional football athletes during the season 2020–2021.Methods: Thirty-three professional athletes (age: 25.37 ± 4.11 years; height: 182.75 ± 7.62 cm; weight: 78.90 ± 8.97 kg) of a Belgian first division football club were assessed weekly during the 2020-2021 season. Weekly assessments comprised strength values of the hamstrings, hip abductors and hip adductors, jump performance, a modified Hooper questionnaire to assess mental status and nose swab PCR tests for COVID-19. Data analysis was performed from 2 weeks prior to COVID-19 contamination up to 8 weeks after the first positive test. Post-hoc Bonferroni correction was applied when performing statistical analysis.Results: Eleven players tested positive for COVID-19. Duration of contamination was 13 ± 7 days. There was no statistically significant difference before and after COVID-19 infection for jump performance, and adductor and abductor muscle strength (p &gt; 0.05). Functional hamstring strength improved significantly 2 weeks (MD: 41.48; 95%CI: −3.79 to 86.75; p = 0.009) and 4 weeks (MD: 34.76; 95%CI: −8.91 to 78.42; p = 0.019) after COVID-19, whereas mood (MD: −0.60; 95%CI: −1.46 to 0.26; p = 0.041), stress levels (MD: −0.83; 95%CI: −1.85 to 0.20; p = 0.020) and total wellness (MD: −2.41; 95%CI: −5.25 to 0.43; p = 0.015) showed a significant reduction 8 weeks after confirmed COVID-19.Conclusion: Physical performance varied considerably across outcomes before and 8 weeks after COVID-19 contamination in a sample of first division football players. However, affected football players' overall well-being, stress levels and mood diminished after a positive COVID-19 test.

Professional Age: On the Issue of Sociological Conceptualization (On the Example of Professional Athletes)

The article presents a sociological conceptualization of the category "professional age" in relation to the field of professional sports. Based on the interpretation of the terms "age" and "professional athlete", the author's vision of the category "professional age" is proposed. The interpretation of the concept of "professional age" is carried out through the prism of chronological, biological, social, and psychological ages, as a result of which the specifics of professional age are determined on the example of professional athletes. The specific features of integration of athletes into the professional environment, which is associated with the specific functioning of this sphere of activity that affects the process of formation of their professional age, are shown. In turn, the professional age of athletes is determined, firstly, by the earlier entry of the individual into the professional sports environment and, consequently, by a faster entry into professional age; secondly, a shorter work experience depending on the sport compared to other areas of work and, accordingly, a faster completion of professional age. Factors leading to the formation of perceptions of professional age are established: discrepancy between the chronological and social functioning of the individual; effects of biological ageing on the course of professional age; effect of psychological aging on the duration of professional age. The characteristics of the professional age of athletes that have a changeable nature of existence are revealed: heterochronicity, variability, normativity, multidimensionality, linearity and cyclicality. The professional age of athletes is analyzed as a multivariate social phenomenon, in particular, the significance of biographical, ideological, social-stratificational, ethnological, historical, aesthetic research aspects is revealed. The socio-cultural features of the professional age of the representatives of elite sport are for egrounded, firstly, the construction of the sports self-awareness of the individual / community, which is specific depending on the kind of sport; secondly, the construction of a sports subculture based on a constant stressful situation. On the basis of theoretical developments, the author's conceptualization of the professional age of athletes is proposed.

Surgical correction of posttraumatic nasal deformities in adolescent athletes

Nasal breathing is of great importance for professional athletes because of the peculiarities of carbon dioxide metabolism in the body. Problems with nasal breathing caused by post-traumatic deformities of the nose can be successfully corrected with the help of rhinoseptoplasty, but the possibility of performing this surgery on patients under 18 years of age is a discussed matter. This study aimed to analyze the results of the effect functional rhinoseptoplasty has on nasal breathing, consider rhinoseptoplasty as the preferred method of treatment for adolescents with post-traumatic deformities of the structures of the nose. The study involved 15 professional athletes aged 15–18 years with post-traumatic deformities of the external nose and troubled nasal breathing. Five of them (33.3%) were female, 10 (66.7%) were male; all underwent open rhinoseptoplasty. The NOSE and SCHNOS questionnaires were used to assess the symptoms of nasal obstruction before and after surgery. Post-surgery, all patients subjectively noted that their nasal breathing improved, which was confirmed by the filled questionnaires. There were no significant complications registered during the follow-up period. Functional rhinoseptoplasty is a viable surgical option for adolescents under 18 years of age.

A descriptive study of sports chiropractors with an International Chiropractic Sport Science Practitioner qualification: a cross-sectional survey

Background This paper describes the education and case management profile of sports chiropractors with the Federation of International Sports Chiropractors (FICS) postgraduate qualification: International Chiropractic Sport Science Practitioner (ICSSP). The ICSSP is the predominant international sports chiropractic qualification. Methods A cross-sectional survey, carried out between 22/10/2014 and 22/12/2014,was utilized with a 39-item web-based survey examining practitioner, practice and clinical management characteristics, and was distributed via email to all sports chiropractors who held an ICSSP qualification (n = 240) in 2014. Results The survey response rate was 64% (n = 154). 36% of chiropractors were aged between 31 and 40 years, just over three quarters were male, and 27% had been in practice for 5–10 years. The majority of respondents were based in North America. All sports chiropractors surveyed reported treating neuromusculoskeletal conditions outside of the spine. 91% utilized a multimodal approach in most of their treatments, prescribing rehabilitative exercises in 76% of consultations. Almost 64% of respondents reported current treatment of professional athletes, and 78% reported current treatment of semi-professional athletes, whilst the vast majority of those surveyed endorsed past treatment of professional (91%) and semi-professional (95%) athletes. All respondents reported referring to a range of conventional and allied health providers. Conclusions This study of ICSSP-qualified sports chiropractors describes a small but well-educated workforce treating high-level athletes, managing a wide range of spine and non-spinal neuromusculoskeletal conditions, utilising multimodal approaches (including active and passive strategies), and referring to and co-managing with other health practitioners.

Behind the Curtain: Ballet Dancers’ Mental Health

Using Moustakas’s modification of Van Kaam’s systematic procedures for conducting transcendental phenomenological research, we explored ballet culture and identity and their impact on ballet dancers’ mental health. Participants included four current professional ballet dancers and four previous professionals. Four main themes emerged: (a) ballet culture—“it’s not all tutus and tiaras”; (b) professional ballet dancers’ identity—“it is a part of me”; (c) mental health experiences—“you have to compartmentalize”; and (d) counseling and advocacy—“the dance population is unique.” Suggestions for counselors when working with professional ballet dancers and professional athletes, such as fostering awareness about ballet culture and its impact on ballet dancers’ identity and mental health, are provided. We also discuss recommendations to develop future research focusing on mental health treatment for this population.

No effect of acute exercise on the dynamic change in the expression of genes involved in epigenetic modification in professional athletes

Background:The adaptation of the organism to exercise in the context of gene expression profile is an interesting phenomenon. Exercise can change the expression of individual genes due to changes in the degree of DNA methylation, changes in miRNA expression, or through methylation or acetylation of histones.Hypothesis:Acute exercise increases the expression of genes such as HDAC1, DNMT1, and JHDM1D that can affect epigenetic modifications in PBMCs.Methods:The aim of this study was to determine whether there was a change in gene expression in the blood cells during acute exercise and after a 1-hour recovery. The transcriptions of genes involved in epigenetic modifications (HDAC1, HDAC1 and JHDM1D) were examined in 9 professional athletes at rest, during consecutive stages of a treadmill exercise until exhaustion, and following recovery.Results:No significant differences in the level of transcript were observed in the course of the experiment in the tested PBMC cells. On the other hand, a significant (p = 0.007) correlation was observed in the level of the JHDM1D gene transcript and the number of monocytes in the samples obtained after reaching peak exercise intensity, but in the initial samples this correlation was not significant (p = 0.053).Conclusion:Acute physical exercise does not rapidly alter the transcript levels of the JHDM1D, DNMT1 and HDAC1 genes in PBMCs. The observed correlation between the level of JHDM1D mRNA and the level of monocytes and HDAC1 with lymphocytes requires further investigation.