Montenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine

5-12

Authors: Omer Ozkan, Serife Seyma Torgutalp, Levend Karacoban, Gurhan Donmez, Feza Korkusuz

Longstanding groin pain is a non-infectious and inflammatory chronic condition that causes inguinal pain in athletes. We compared dextrose prolotherapy (15% dextrose solution) and platelet-rich plasma (autologous platelet gel, plasma rich in growth factors, platelet concentrate) injections in male soccer players with longstanding groin pain. Forty elite male soccer players, ages between 13 and 33, with longstanding groin pain were treated. Patients were randomly divided into the dextrose prolotherapy (n= 9) and platelet-rich plasma injection (n= 6) groups. Following three injections, all patients were enrolled in the 12-week progressive home exercise protocol. Pain and function were assessed using the visual analogue (VAS) and Nirschl Pain Phase Scale (NPPS) scores before, one month after, and six months after the injection, respectively. VAS and NPPS scores decreased in both of the dextrose prolotherapy and the platelet-rich plasma injection groups. A decrease in pain and improvement in function were evident at a month after injection, and they remained favourable at the end of six months (VAS overall, p <0.001 and p= 0.003, respectively) (NPPS overall, p <0.001 and p= 0.007, respectively). A difference between the dextrose prolotherapy and the platelet-rich plasma injection groups was not observed at both time points (VAS, p= 0.3, p= 0.7, and p= 0.6 respectively) (NPPS, p= 0.6, p= 0.9, and p= 0.9 respectively). Dextrose prolotherapy and platelet-rich plasma injections decreased pain and improved function in longstanding groin pain treatment of male soccer players. These treatments should be considered in patients who are not responding to conservative treatment modalities.

21-26

Authors: Walaa M. Elsais, Walaa S. Mohammad

Although normalizing the EMG signals is necessary for physiological interpretation and comparison between muscles and between subjects, no EMG study has investigated the standardized position to achieve maximal contraction for the adductor magnus muscle. Accordingly, it is necessary to employ a maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) position that elicits the highest activation to increase the validity of EMG studies and provide accurate comparisons between studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the peak electromyography (EMG) of the most commonly used positions in the literature (i.e., the fully extended hip and knee, hip-flexed 45°, and knee at 90°) to a novel position: prone hip extension with 90° knee flexion. An ultrasound imaging system was used to guide the surface EMG electrode placement on the adductor magnus (AM) muscle, for a group of ninety-four recreational runners. AM demonstrated the greatest MVIC activity in both prone and hip-flexed 45° positions with no significant differences between them (p < 0.05). However, significant differences were displayed between the AM activities while performing the fully extended hip position and the other two positions. Based on these results, it is recommended that the prone and hip-flexed 45° positions can be used to measure the MVIC of the AM interchangeably. Furthermore, the prone position can be considered to be a position of the greatest MVIC of AM, particularly when the position of hip-flexed 45° is limited as well as it can be used to quantify MVIC for both AM and hip extensor muscles simultaneously.

35-41

Authors: Mohammad Fayiz AbuMoh'd, Samir Qasim, Nesreen Bataineh, Loay Salman

This study aimed to investigate whether cabergoline therapy alone for six months or in combination with a light exercise programme for an additional three months can attenuate hyperprolactinemia in 13 male patients (range: 22 to 45 yrs.) through measuring pituitary-gonadal hormones including prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and total testosterone. The exercise programme consisted of walking, brisk walking, jogging, and running for three months, during which the intensity and duration of exercise were gradually increased. All the patients performed the exercise programme at 6.30 AM to exclude the effects of the circadian rhythm. The exercise programme was performed at an intensity below 160 beats per min to ensure filling of the heart with blood during ventricular diastole. Blood samples were collected from each patient on three occasions: before treatment, at the end of cabergoline therapy, and after the combination of light exercise and cabergoline. At the end of cabergoline therapy, descriptive data revealed that serum prolactin levels were decreased while the other hormones were increased but without returning to the normal range, except for one patient. However, at the end of the combination procedure, most hormones, namely prolactin and testosterone, were returned to the normal range in most patients. In conclusion, light exercise combined with cabergoline therapy for additional 3 months after 6 months of cabergoline therapy alone returned hormones in most patients to normal range probably due to improved mood and decreased hostility as a result of tuberoinfundibular pathway activity.

51-58

Authors: Gonca Ozyurt, Kursat Ozcan, Cagla Dinsever Elikucuk, Ugur Odek, Selçuk Akpınar

Equine-assisted activities (EAA) have emerged as a new method of treatment for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in recent years. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of EAA in the areas of social functioning, autistic behaviours, family functioning, and clinical severity for children diagnosed with ASD. The participants were 24 children (4-12 years old) diagnosed with ASD and their mothers. Subjects were randomized into two groups, and the programme consisted of eight sessions of EAA. A social communication questionnaire and clinical global impression scale were used to evaluate the severity of autistic behaviours, and family assessment device was used for family functioning, while the Beck Depression Inventory was used to evaluate the severity of maternal depression. The results suggested that the severity of ASD decreases and improvements in maternal mental health and family functioning were observed in the experimental group, while no significant results were observed in the control group. This study provided preliminary evidence that an eight-week EAA can provide significant improvements in terms of both family and child functioning for children diagnosed with ASD. Further studies in larger samples are needed to investigate these effects.

65-71

Authors: Michele Lastella, Zozan Onay, Aaron T. Scanlan, Nathan Elsworthy, Nathan W. Pitchford, Grace E. Vincent

Although sports officials are essential in the adjudication of rules during competitions, research into officiating populations is preliminary. This review explores existing research on the effects of sleep loss on decision-making in athlete populations, to gain relevant insight into sports officials and the growing decision- making demands of their role. Specifically, cognitive factors that influence decision-making are identified, and the potential relationship between sleep/wake behaviours and decision-making in sports officials were examined. Particular focus was granted to sleep, specifically sleep restriction in athlete populations, and the hypothesized relationship between sleep/wake behaviours and decision-making in sports officials. Impaired sleep duration and quality has been shown to impair cognitive performance. In the context of sport, impairments to sleep can negatively impact motivation, physical strength, reaction time, and decision-making, all of which are imperative to the role of the sports official. Despite numerous studies demonstrating that sleep loss reduces cognitive performance in athletes, this review revealed that similar research in sports officials has surprisingly yet to be conducted. Since sports officials require a high level of cognitive and physical skills to make correct decisions, an inquiry into the influence of sleep on cognitive performance may encourage research that facilitates improved performance training methods for decision-making in officials. Such findings are important to maintain the standard of officiating and allow for the development of guidelines and strategies to manage sleep and optimize decision-making across various sporting codes.