A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Sports-related mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) have become an increasingly popular topic. Cognitive and physical rest are the mainstays of management, but effective evidence-based therapies do not exist. Very few studies report mean recovery times from mTBI and even less for intercollegiate athletes. The primary aim is to retrospectively compare the recovery time in athletes from a large Division I University that suffered a sports-related mTBI during 2010 - 2012 to published data for quality assessment and improvement. Since the institution's concussion management follows current guidelines, no significant difference was expected. Secondary aims included comparing recovery times between gender, sport, and league. As reported in current literature, no significant gender differences were expected. 53 athletes with sports-related mTBI (27 male and 26 female) showed a mean recovery time of 10.11 days (95 % confidence interval [CI] = 8.58 - 11.65 days), statistically different than the time reported in 1 study of 7 days, but not in another of 7 - 10 days. Mean recovery time in males and females was 9.74 days (95 % CI = 7.38 - 12.1 days) and 10.5 days (95 % CI = 8.4 - 12.6 days), respectively. Mean recovery time in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and non-NCAA (club) athletes was 9.91 days (95 % CI = 8.27 - 11.55) and 11.25 days (95 % CI = 5.87 - 16.63), respectively. A nonparametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test showed no significant variation between genders and between NCAA and non-NCAA athletes. Subgroup statistics of 13 sports were inconclusive due to inadequate power. However, the subgroup of male football athletes showed a mean recovery time of 6.5 days (95 % CI = 4.86 - 8.14 days), which was not significantly different than published rates. Multiple confounding variables were not well controlled for including: sport, gender, concussion severity, multiple concussions, etc. However, this study did highlight areas for quality improvement in the institution's concussion management plan. Further investigation with increased power and confounding variable control is indicated for a more definitive mean time to recovery. This study is the first to detail the mean time to recovery from sports-related mTBI in an intercollegiate athletic program. Similar studies should be done at other institutions for quality assessment and improvement of 4 concussion management. Such data will be useful in establishing a baseline for measure of efficacy in future investigations of therapeutic interventions.

The purposes of this study were to investigate effects of partial block periodized strength training on physical performance and to examine relationships between initial muscle strength measured with isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) and performance changes after 7 weeks of strength training. Seventeen collegiate male soccer players participated. Initial muscle strength was determined using IMTP while physical performance included 10 m and 20 m sprints and static vertical jump with a polyvinyl chloride pipe (SJ0), 20 kg barbell (SJ20), and barbell loaded to 40 kg bar (SJ40). Performance testing was performed at three points: before first week (baseline), fourth week (T1), and seventh week (T2). Statistically small to moderate changes were found from baseline to T2 in peak power (PP; < 0.001, ES = 0.49), net impulse (NI; < 0.001, ES = 0.49), peak velocity (PV; < 0.001, ES = 0.62), allometrically scaled PP (PPa; < 0.001, ES = 0.62) in SJ20 and jump height (JH) in SJ40 ( < 0.001, ES = 0.36). Moderate to large correlations were found between isometric peak force and the changes from baseline to T2 in SJ20 PP ( = 0.04, = -0.49), SJ20 PF ( = 0.03, = -0.52), PPa ( = 0.04, = -0.50), and SJ20 allometrically scaled peak force ( = 0.04, = -0.49). Properly structured strength training maximizes task-specific physical performance. Initial muscle strength negatively affects the magnitudes of adaptations to physical performance.

The purpose of this study is to identify which characteristics of student-athletes are most helpful in making administrative decisions about intercollegiate athletic programs, and then to develop a descriptive profile of a group of student-athletes at a particular university. Additional purposes include comparing these descriptive data with other group data and with perceptions of the same group of student-athletes by faculty administrators at the same university. Data were collected in four phases. First, a jury of three experts developed a list of student-athlete characteristics they believed to be helpful in making administrative decisions regarding those athletes. Next, information was gathered to develop a descriptive profile of a selected group of eighteen student-athletes based on the identified characteristics. Next, statistical comparisons were made with available data from other groups of students and from the eight Athletic Council members' perceptions of the study group. Major findings include the identification of useful characteristics, inconsistencies between student-athlete high school ranks in class and SAT scores, high scores in hostility, and accurate perceptions of student-athletes by Athletic Council members.

Urinary incontinence is a health condition that is associated with involuntary leakage of urine. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) describes involuntary leakage of urine on effort or exertion and can impact one’s ability to participate in activities and affect quality of life. Furthermore, clinical management of this health condition is challenging as individuals who experience urinary incontinence often do not report this concern to a health care provider. Stress urinary incontinence is not typically a health concern associated with young, healthy athletes. However, researchers have begun to examine the presence of this health condition amongst both a younger population and in athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence in collegiate female athletes. This study involved the development of an electronic survey tool to assess the prevalence of SUI in the female collegiate athlete. Female collegiate athletes from six different NCAA Division I schools were asked to complete the survey. The overall response rate for the survey was 32.6% (333/1020). Results indicate that SUI does in fact occur in NCAA Division I collegiate female athletes. Overall, 68.5% of female collegiate athletes surveyed reported ever experiencing SUI. During daily life activities (cough, sneeze, laugh), 54.2% of female collegiate athletes reported experiencing SUI. During participation in their sport, 40.0% of female collegiate athletes reported experiencing SUI, referred to as sports-related SUI. When reporting SUI experienced during either sport participation or during other exercise-based activities, 58.2% of female collegiate athletes reported SUI. The proportion of female athletes reporting sports-related SUI varied by sport. The highest prevalence of leakage in sport was reported by gymnasts (80%) and the lowest prevalence was reported by those who participated in rifle (0%). Over half (52.3%) of female athletes who reported sports-related SUI said their symptoms first began in high school. While majority of female collegiate athletes stated they did not avoid their sport because of SUI, one-fifth (20.5%) of athletes with sports-related SUI reported they alter how they move in their sport out of concern for leakage. The impact of sports-related SUI on other aspects of life (family, social, or school life) were reported to be minimal. Athletes who experience sports-related SUI are most likely to tell either a teammate (49%) or no one (36%). Very few female athletes have told someone in healthcare about this concern: doctor (3%), athletic trainer (4%); physical therapist (1%). Furthermore, only 3% of female collegiate athlete with sports-related SUI reported ever seeking treatment and only 25.8% reported they would find value in seeing a healthcare provider to discuss SUI. Most (76.7%) female collegiate athletes, whether they reported SUI or not, stated they had never been instructed on exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and 60.6% reported they would find educational programs involving exercises to decrease or prevent SUI beneficial. In conclusion, SUI does occur in the female collegiate athlete and is often not reported to healthcare providers. Based on this information, the general practice of screening athletes for relevant health conditions during pre-participation physicals may need to include additional questions for SUI. Further investigation needs to explore how to best engage and educate female collegiate athletes on the subject of SUI and how to successfully communicate with and address those with the condition.

No description available.

In this master's thesis, I studied the migration of Lithuanian swimmers to the United States. This study covered the period from 1990 when Lithuania regained its independence from the Soviet Union to 2004 when it joined the European Union and opened up to the free labor market movement.  In the 20th century, sports activity grew into a global and multi-billion-dollar industry. Currently, research into the sports migration process is becoming increasingly important in the scientific discourse of sports science. However, it is still a relatively rare occurrence.  Various research and insights into this phenomenon can only be discovered in the context of professional sports such as football, basketball, hockey, rugby, and other popular sports. However, in the area of ​​non-revenue sports, migration is a relatively unexplored area. In this way, my master's study analyzing migration in swimming will be one of the first steps in further research. This master's study tried to fill the gap in the academic discourse by deepening and gaining data on the narrow field of Lithuanian swimmers. As swimming is not a commercially successful sport, the United States was the only destination to migrate for Lithuanian swimmers. Research by Bale (1991) showed that the one main reason for the migration of international student-athletes to American universities is academic sports scholarships, which provide free participation in sports and higher education. This study will help strengthen prior findings and unveil other factors and reasons affecting the migration of international students to U.S. universities. The findings of this study contributed to a deeper understanding of the situation and motivation of migrants athletes in non-revenue sports. The study results also provide insights and context for a better understanding of the reasons for migration from the small post-Soviet country. The research showed that most Lithuanian swimmers recognized better conditions to improve abroad than in Lithuania. The quality of most of their sports training conditions was poor or insufficient. The recruitment process and contacts played an essential role in establishing connections with university coaches; only after establishing relationships with coaches in America, Lithuanian swimmers opened their way to the United States.  The study utilized a qualitative case study methodology, including twelve semi-structured interviews. Eight interviews were done with swimmers who went to the United States to compete in sports and receive education, and four interviews were done with athletes who remained to develop their talents in Lithuania. All the interviews were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. This master's thesis applied world-systems theory (Wallerstein, 1974) as a framework for exploring and understanding the experiences and motivations of research participants from their experienced perspective.

Administrators and coaches in universities and colleges have focused on their students' moral development since the beginning of the higher education system. Students who participate in sports activities have acknowledged that they develop many life skills, including ethical behaviors, that can translate to non-sport environments, such as the classroom. Students who participate in organized sports programs in college often acknowledge their coach as a significant source of their development, due to the amount of time athletes and coaches spend with each other. Recently, instances of cheating have become widespread throughout American higher education. In this dissertation, I seek to evaluate the role that coaches, and overall sports participation has on the development of students' ethical behaviors both within sports and outside of the sport environment. I conducted three quantitative studies to evaluate the role that coaches play in the development of ethical behaviors in sports (as measured through sportsmanship), the similarities and differences in sportsmanship between participation in varsity or club sports, and the role that sports participation has on self-reported instances of cheating. I find that coaching behaviors that instill sportsmanship behaviors are similar to behaviors identified in youth sports and that the coaching behaviors are more predictive of coaches caring that their athletes act in a sportsmanlike way within varsity athletes than club athletes. Lastly, this study also indicates that participation in recreational sports programs is related to self-reported instances of cheating. The three studies identify that sports participation influences the development of ethical behaviors within college students.

Group cohesion has been operationalized in the literature by measures which tend to focus only upon limited aspects of the phenomenon, usually interpersonal attraction or attraction to the group. In sport, it is imperative that instruments developed to assess group cohesion reflect factors associated with the goals and objectives the group is striving to achieve as well as factors associated with the development and maintenance of harmonious positive interpersonal relationships. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to develop a valid and reliable group cohesion instrument that measures both task related forces as well as social related forces that exist in sport groups.

No description available.