Concerns for cardiovascular sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including myocardial injury or myocarditis, brought about recommendations for evaluating athletes after infection with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). 1Assessments that were based on symptoms, disease severity, and cardiovascular testing were refined to guide decision making and safe return to play in various groups. 2However, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) findings of myocarditis in athletes have ranged from as high as 15% (4 out of 26 athletes in one study) to as low as 1.4% (2 out of 145 athletes in another study), many of whom had no or only mild symptoms, have raised concerns around testing in this population. 3,4 CMR is a recognized tool for diagnosing myocarditis yet is not generally recommended for athletes after COVID-19 without an elevated index of suspicion. 2,5 Given limited data in competitive athletes after infection with SARS-CoV-2, we report our initial experience with an algorithmguided screening of collegiate athletes and intermediate-term follow-up.Collegiate athletes were evaluated in sports cardiology clinic no sooner than 10 days after testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.A 12-lead ECG, transthoracic echocardiogram, and conventional cardiac troponin I (cTn) level were obtained from all athletes regardless of symptom history or illness severity.Anyone with an abnormal test result or clinical evaluation of concern was referred for CMR.Those with normal evaluations and negative testing results or negative CMR were returned to full participation after a graduated reintroduction of exercise.Clinical follow-up occurred through communication with university athletic staff.The study was approved by the University of Tennessee Institutional Review Board.The data will be made available on reasonable request.We evaluated 137 athletes from July 9, 2020, to October 21, 2020.Athletes were young adults (median, 20 years; range, 18-27 years), majority male (n=93, 68%), and of various racial/ethnic backgrounds (Black, n=66, 48%; White, n=65, 47%; Hispanic, n=10, 7%).Median time to evaluation was 16 days (interquartile range, 12-34).A broad range of athletics was represented: football (n=51, 37%), dance (n=18, 13%), basketball (n=16, 12%), baseball (n=13, 10%), tennis (n=8, 6%), softball (n=7, 5%), soccer (n=7, 5%), cheer (n=6, 4%), track (n=5, 4%), volleyball (n=4, 3%), and golf (n=2, 1%).Students represented 3 universities and competed across National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions 1 (majority), 2, and 3.Most athletes were symptomatic (n=112, 82%) and experienced only mild (n=75, 67%) or moderate (n=37, 33%) symptoms.The most frequent symptoms were loss of smell/taste (n=65, 58%), fever (<2 days, n=47, 42%), headache (n=46, 41%), and fatigue (n=45, 40%).Less frequently, shortness of breath (n=14, 12%) and chest pain/tightness (n=13, 11%) were reported.Black and
The effectiveness of strength and conditioning programs in male and some in elite female athletes is well reported. However, few studies have examined the effect of a summer training program in high school female athletes. PURPOSE To determine the effectiveness of a short-term strength and conditioning program in enhancing the physical fitness profile of high school female athletes in preparation for a regular sports seasons. METHODS Twenty three high school female athletes with a mean age of sixteen (range 13–17 years old), of different baseline fitness conditions (trained-ten and untrained-thirteen) were enrolled in a seven- week program. The schedule consisted of a strength and plyometric training regimen three days per week – on Mondays (legs, shoulder/arms plus core conditioning exercises), Tuesdays (chest/back, core and jumps), and Thursdays (legs, core and jumps). Performance improvement was measured pre and post training by 9 indicators used in our study. Muscular strength was tested by: 1 repetition maximum (RM) Parallel Squat and 1RM Bench Press, muscular endurance was measured by: the number of push-ups and sit-ups, muscular power by: the Vertical Jump and Standing Long Jump, speed/agility skills by: the timed T-test and Hexagon drills, and flexibility by: the Sit and Reach test. RESULTS Statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvement was found in terms of magnitudes and percentages of changes for most indicators of strength, power, endurance, flexibility, speed, and agility. In particular, an average of 27% increase (p < 0.01) was found in squats. In our multivariate analyses, however, we found that the effect of the total number of days in training did not significantly (p > 0.10) affect most of the outcome indicators. CONCLUSION A short-term pre-season strength and conditioning program in high school female athletes was found to be effective in improving performance of these athletes.
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