TWO-THIRDS OF SEVERE SPORTS INJURIES DUE TO CHEERLEADING

A new report on severe sporting injuries among high school and college athletes shows that high school cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all catastrophic sports injuries among high school females over the past 25 years.

Previously, the figure was believed to be 55%, but new data from the latest annual report from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill-based National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research indicates that the true number of cheerleading injuries appears to be higher.

The difference is due to a new partnership between the UNC center and the National Cheer Safety Foundation, a California-based not-for-profit body created to promote safety in the sport and collect data on injuries, which provided the center with previously unreported data. The addition of new information compiled by the foundation saw the inclusion of an additional 30 injury records from high schoolers and college students. Beforehand, the number of direct catastrophic injuries in all sports totaled 112.

"A major factor in this increase has been the change in cheerleading activity, which now involves gymnastic-type stunts," says the center's director, Frederick O. Mueller, PhD, professor of exercise and sports science in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences, who has authored the report since it was first published in 1982. "If these cheerleading activities are not taught by a competent coach and keep increasing in difficulty, catastrophic injuries will continue to be a part of cheerleading."

CHRONIC PAIN IN WOMEN MAY BE DUE TO LOW VITAMIN D LEVELS

Low vitamin D levels may contribute to chronic pain among women, suggests research published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The findings are based on the blood analyses and pain scores of almost 7,000 45-year-old men and women from across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The extent of chronic widespread pain did not vary among men according to vitamin D levels. However, this was not the case for women.

Women with vitamin D levels between 75 and 99 mmol/L had the lowest rates of this type of pain, at just over 8%. Women with levels of less than 25 mmol/L had the highest rates, at 14.4%.

But by way of possible explanations, the authors point to osteomalacia, a disease of extreme vitamin D deficiency that is associated with isolated or generalized bone pain. The hormonally active form of vitamin D is also involved in the regulation of immune-system responses.

APTA LAUNCHES WEB-BASED APPLICATION TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Physical Therapist Centralized Application Service (PTCAS) for prospective PT students and professional education programs is now available from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

The Web-based tool simplifies the application process for prospective PT students and facilitates the admissions process for professional PT educational programs by allowing applicants to use a single Web-based application and one set of materials to apply to multiple physical therapy programs.

Approximately one-third of all professional physical therapy programs recognized by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education will participate in PTCAS during the 2008-'09 admissions cycle. Further information can be found at www.ptcas.org.

RESEARCH ADVANCEMENTS IMPROVE QUALITY OF REHABILITATION ROBOTICS

Robots may be the solution for people with disabilities who are struggling to regain the use of their limbs, thanks to a research team from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Rochester, NY.

The study utilizes physiological information, or biosignals, produced by the human body, to improve the performance of external assistive devices, called orthoses, which help individuals with physical disabilities, such as strokes or major spinal cord injuries, regain the use of their arms and legs.

The project is funded through the National Science Foundation Computer, Information Science and Engineering Directorate, and includes researchers and students from RIT; Georgia Tech, Atlanta; and Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

"The data collected through this project will assist designers and engineers in developing more sophisticated assistive aids for individuals suffering from various neuromuscular diseases and musculoskeletal injuries," says Edward Brown, assistant professor of electrical engineering at RIT and director of the Biomechatronics Learning Laboratory.

"Better orthotic technologies could ultimately help people suffering from this disease greatly enhance the quality of their life," Brown says.