Health Issues In Athletics
Health issues of athletics concern the health and well-being of athletes who participate in an organized sport. If athletes are physically and mentally underdeveloped, they are susceptible to mental or physical problems. Athletes trying to improve their performance in sports can harm themselves by overtraining, adopting eating habits that damage them physically or psychologically, and using steroids or supplements. Female Athlete Triad The Female Athlete Triad is a condition among women that consists of three related health irregularities: disordered eating habits, irregular menstruation, and premature bone loss or osteoporosis. The term was coined in the early 1990s when researchers from the National Institutes of Health noticed unusual health patterns among female athletes. These researchers observed increases in eating habit disorders in young female athletes. Exercising intensely while getting inadequate nutrition can lead to amenorrhea - or irregular menstrual cycles - whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Organized Sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, through casual or organized participation, improve participants' physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a ''match'') is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Androgens
An androgen (from Greek ''andr-'', the stem of the word meaning "man") is any natural or synthetic steroid hormone that regulates the development and maintenance of male characteristics in vertebrates by binding to androgen receptors. This includes the embryological development of the primary male sex organs, and the development of male secondary sex characteristics at puberty. Androgens are synthesized in the testes, the ovaries, and the adrenal glands. Androgens increase in both males and females during puberty. The major androgen in males is testosterone. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and androstenedione are of equal importance in male development. DHT ''in utero'' causes differentiation of the penis, scrotum and prostate. In adulthood, DHT contributes to balding, prostate growth, and sebaceous gland activity. Although androgens are commonly thought of only as male sex hormones, females also have them, but at lower levels: they function in libido and sexual arousal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possibly defibrillation are needed until further treatment can be provided. Cardiac arrest results in a rapid loss of consciousness, and breathing may be abnormal or absent. While cardiac arrest may be caused by heart attack or heart failure, these are not the same, and in 15 to 25% of cases, there is a non-cardiac cause. Some individuals may experience chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, an elevated heart rate, and a light-headed feeling immediately before entering cardiac arrest. The most common cause of cardiac arrest is an underlying heart problem like coronary artery disease that decreases the amount of oxygenated blood supplying the heart muscle. This, in turn, damages the structure of the muscle, which can alter its function. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Warm-up
'Warming up' is a part of stretching and preparation for physical exertion or a performance by exercising or practicing gently beforehand, usually undertaken before a performance or practice. Athletes, singers, actors and others warm up before stressing their muscles. It is widely believed to prepare the muscles for vigorous actions and to prevent muscle cramps and injury due to overexertion. Exercise A warm-up generally consists of a gradual increase in intensity in physical activity (a "pulse raiser"), joint mobility exercise, and stretching, followed by the activity. For example, before running or playing an intensive sport, athletes might slowly jog to warm their muscles and increase their heart rate. It is important that warm-ups be specific to the activity, so that the muscles to be used are activated. The risks and benefits of combining stretching with warming up are disputable, although it is generally believed that warming up prepares the athlete both mentally and phy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nutrients causes malnutrition. Nutritional science is the study of nutrition, though it typically emphasizes human nutrition. The type of organism determines what nutrients it needs and how it obtains them. Organisms obtain nutrients by consuming organic matter, consuming inorganic matter, absorbing light, or some combination of these. Some can produce nutrients internally by consuming basic elements, while some must consume other organisms to obtain preexisting nutrients. All forms of life require carbon, energy, and water as well as various other molecules. Animals require complex nutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, obtaining them by consuming other organisms. Humans have developed agriculture and cooking to rep ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heat Illness
Heat illness is a spectrum of disorders due to increased body temperature. It can be caused by either environmental conditions or by exertion. It includes minor conditions such as heat cramps, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion as well as the more severe condition known as heat stroke. It can affect any or all anatomical systems. Classification A number of heat illnesses exist including: * Heat stroke - Defined by a body temperature of greater than due to environmental heat exposure with lack of thermoregulation. Symptoms include dry skin, rapid, strong pulse and dizziness. * Heat exhaustion - Can be a precursor of heatstroke; the symptoms include heavy sweating, rapid breathing and a fast, weak pulse. * Heat syncope - Fainting or dizziness as a result of overheating. * Heat edema * Heat cramps - Muscle pains that happen during heavy exercise in hot weather. * Heat rash - Skin irritation from excessive sweating. * Heat tetany - Usually results from short periods of stress i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Muscle Cramps
A cramp is a sudden, involuntary, painful skeletal muscle contraction or overshortening associated with electrical activity; while generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant pain and a paralysis-like immobility of the affected muscle. A cramp usually goes away on its own over a period of several seconds, or minutes. Cramps are common and tend to occur at rest, usually at night (nocturnal leg cramps). They are also often associated with pregnancy, physical exercise or overexertion, age (common in older adults), in such cases, cramps are called idiopathic, because there is no underlying pathology. In addition to those benign conditions cramps are also associated with many pathologic conditions. Skeletal muscle cramps may be caused by muscle fatigue or a lack of electrolytes such as sodium (a condition called hyponatremia), potassium (called hypokalemia), or magnesium (called hypomagnesemia). Some skeletal muscle cramps do not have a known cause. Motor neuro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heat Syncope
Heat syncope is fainting or dizziness as a result of overheating (''syncope'' is the medical term for fainting). It is a type of heat illness. The basic symptom of heat syncope is fainting, with or without mental confusion. Heat syncope is caused by peripheral vessel dilation, resulting in diminished blood flow to the brain and dehydration. Signs and symptoms Faintness, dizziness, headache, increased pulse, restlessness, nausea, vomiting, pale/clammy skin, and brief loss of consciousness. Causes Heat syncope occurs in a warm environment when blood pressure is lowered as the body dilates (widens) arterioles (small blood vessel Blood vessels are the structures of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away from ...s) in the skin to radiate heat. This condition occurs within five days of heat acclimatization, b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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College Athletics
College athletics encompasses non- professional, collegiate and university-level competitive sports and games. World University Games The first World University Games were held in 1923. There were originally called the ''Union Nationale des Étudiants Français''. In 1957, following several previous renames, they became known in English as the World University Games. Continents and countries North America United States College athletics is a major enterprise in the United States, with more than 500,000 student athletes attending over 1,100 universities and colleges competing annually. The largest programs are: * National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) * National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Among many other sports, the most-watched competitions are college football and college basketball, though there are competitions in many other sports, including badminton, baseball, s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Catastrophic Injury
Catastrophe or catastrophic comes from the Greek κατά (''kata'') = down; στροφή (''strophē'') = turning ( el, καταστροφή). It may refer to: A general or specific event * Disaster, a devastating event * The Asia Minor Catastrophe, a Greek name for the 1923 Greek defeat at the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) and the population exchange between Greece and Turkey after the defeat * The Holocaust, also known by the Hebrew name ''HaShoah'' which translates to "The Catastrophe" * The Chernobyl Catastrophe, a name of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster * Blue sky catastrophe, a type of bifurcation of a periodic orbit, where the orbit ''vanishes into the blue sky'' * Catastrophic failure, complete failure of a system from which recovery is impossible (e.g. a bridge collapses) * Climatic catastrophe, forced transition of climate system to a new climate state at a rate which is more rapid than the rate of change of the external forcing * Cosmic catastrophe, thought experiment ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the Glossary of American football#drive, drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins. American foot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sports Injury
Sports injuries are injuries that occur during sport, athletic activities, or exercising. In the United States, there are approximately 30 million teenagers and children who participate in some form of organized sport. Of those, about three million athletes age 14 years and under experience a sports injury annually. According to a study performed at Stanford University, 21 percent of the injuries observed in elite college athletes caused the athlete to miss at least one day of sport, and approximately 77 percent of these injuries involved the knee, lower leg, ankle, or foot. In addition to those sport injuries, the leading cause of death related to sports injuries is traumatic head or neck occurrences. When an athlete complains of pain, injury, or distress, the key to diagnosis is a detailed history and examination. An example of a format used to guide an examination and treatment plan is a S.O.A.P note or, subjective, objective, assessment, plan. Another important aspect of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |