Range of Motion Measurements of the Hip Joint Are Useful in Screening for Acetabular Dysplasia in Healthy Young Japanese Women.

The purpose of this study is to clarify whether a hip range of motion (ROM) measurement is useful in screening for early hip osteoarthritis with acetabular dysplasia (AD). Subjects were 58 healthy Japanese women volunteers (21.1 ± 0.7 (20 - 22)). We evaluated a total of 116 hip joints in these 58 cases. Sharp angle and centeredge angle were 44.1° ± 3.1° (37.0° - 51.5°) and 30.7°± 6.2° (19.5° - 47.0°), respectively. AD was present in 47.4%, but there were no severe cases. First, we compared the ROM of the hip joints with AD (AD group) and without AD (control group) according to the Mann-Whitney U test. Extension angles and external rotation angles in the AD group were significantly smaller than in the control group (18.9°± 6.1° VS. 22.1°± 4.2°, p= 0.01636, 26.3°± 8.9° VS. 34.1°± 8.8°, p= 0.001362, respectively). Next, we evaluated the following factors associated with AD by logistic regression analysis after adjustment for age: flexion, extension and internal and external rotation angles of the hip joint. As a result, internal rotation and external rotation were extracted as related factors. The area under the ROC curve was determined to have a moderate accuracy (0.72996). Cut off values of internal rotation and external rotation angles were 50 degrees and 35 degrees, respectively. Our findings suggest that ROM measurement of the internal and external rotation angles would be useful as a screening for AD in healthy young Japanese women without symptoms.

Successful Reboot of High-Performance Sporting Activities by Japanese National Women's Handball Team in Tokyo, 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Initiative Using the Japan Sports-Cyber Physical System (JS-CPS) of the Sports Research Innovation Project (SRIP).

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted sporting activities across the world. However, practical training strategies for athletes to reduce the risk of infection during the pandemic have not been definitively studied. The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of the challenges we encountered during the reboot of high-performance sporting activities of the Japanese national handball team during the 3rd wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Tokyo, Japan. Twenty-nine Japanese national women's handball players and 24 staff participated in the study. To initiate the reboot of their first training camp after COVID-19 stay-home social policy, we conducted: web-based health-monitoring, SARS-CoV-2 screening with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, real-time automated quantitative monitoring of social distancing on court using a moving image-based artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, physical intensity evaluation with wearable heart rate (HR) and acceleration sensors, and a self-reported online questionnaire. The training camp was conducted successfully with no COVID-19 infections. The web-based health monitoring and the frequent PCR testing with short turnaround times contributed remarkably to early detection of athletes' health problems and to risk screening. During handball, AI-based on-court social-distance monitoring revealed key time-dependent spatial metrics to define player-to-player proximity. This information facilitated appropriate on- and off-game distancing behavior for teammates. Athletes regularly achieved around 80% of maximum HR during training, indicating anticipated improvements in achieving their physical intensities. Self-reported questionnaires related to the COVID management in the training camp revealed a sense of security among the athletes that allowed them to focus singularly on their training. The challenges discussed herein provided us considerable knowledge about creating and managing a safe environment for high-performing athletes in the COVID-19 pandemic via the Japan Sports-Cyber Physical System (JS-CPS) of the Sports Research Innovation Project (SRIP, Japan Sports Agency, Tokyo, Japan). This report is envisioned to provide informed decisions to coaches, trainers, policymakers from the sports federations in creating targeted, infection-free, sporting and training environments.