Which Are the Most Determinant Psychological Factors in Olympic Shooting Performance? A Self-Perspective from Elite Shooters.

Psychological aspects like anxiety, injuries' effects, professional psychological support (PPS), psychological training (PT), or athlete-coach relationships could influence shooters' performance. This study tried to determine which aspects were critical from the shooters' perspective. Eight elite shooters were interviewed. After using qualitative methods, the following categories were obtained: importance of PT; anxiety and competition relationship; mental preparation; PPS; stress during training; injuries' psychological effects and coach's influence. PT is important for shooter's performance, being PPS a key aspect. Moreover, anxiety levels are critical, raising during the pre-competitive period and oscillating during competition. Furthermore, shooters considered more effective the stress placed on training by the coach than by themselves. Accordingly, the coach plays a key role. Surprisingly, injuries did not affect shooters psychologically, nor in their competitive performance. We conclude that the combination of PPS, shooter competitive experience and the optimal coach's work can promote a greater performance in Olympic shooting.

Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss: Effectiveness of salvage treatment with low-dose intratympanic dexamethasone.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate hearing outcome of salvage treatment with intratympanic steroids (ITS) in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) refractory to initial systemic steroid (SS) therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective medical chart review was conducted on 54 consecutive patients with ISSNHL refractory to SS. Salvage treatment with a low dose intratympanic dexamethasone (4 mg/ml) was offered after one week of primary treatment. Patients were divided into two groups: 25 patients accepted ITS (treatment group) and 29 patients did not undergo additional treatment (control group). A pure tone average (PTA) gain of at least 10 dB was considered hearing improvement. RESULTS: Hearing improvement rate was higher in ITS group compared to control group (40% vs. 13.8%, p = 0.035). A mean PTA improvement of 8.6 ± 9.8 dB was observed in the ITS group and, whereas the control group had an average hearing gain of 0.7 ± 2 dB (p < 0.001). Audiometric analysis revealed a significant hearing gain in ITS group at all tested frequencies compared to control group (p < 0.05). Analysis of the selected variables, identified intratympanic steroid treatment as the only independent prognostic factor for hearing improvement (OR = 4.2, 95% CI: 1.1-15.7; p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Intratympanic low dose dexamethasone is effective in patients with incomplete hearing recovery after primary systemic steroid treatment.

Adult-onset Woakes' syndrome: a rare entity.

Woakes' syndrome (WS) is a rare entity, defined as severe recalcitrant nasal polyposis with consecutive deformity of the nasal pyramid. WS occurs mainly in childhood and its aetiology remains unclear. We report a case of a 68-year old woman, with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, who presented with recurrent nasal polyposis and progressive broadening of the nasal dorsum. CT scan revealed extensive bilateral nasal polyposis and diffuse osteitis, with anterior ethmoidal calcified lesions. The patient underwent revision endoscopic sinus surgery and nasal pyramid deformity was successfully managed without osteotomies.

Laryngeal oncocytic cystadenoma mimicking a combined laryngomucocele.

Laryngeal oncocytic cystadenomas are rare benign tumours lined by oncocytic epithelium and arising from the salivary glands; they usually present as a supraglottic mass. Oncocytic changes are very uncommon in the larynx and occur mainly in ventricles and false vocal cords, where seromucinous glands predominate. The authors present the case of a 62-year-old woman who reported a 6-month history of hoarseness associated with a soft and non-compressible upper left side neck swelling. Transnasal fiberoptic laryngoscopy revealed a left submucosal supraglottic mass involving the false vocal fold and the vallecula, partially obstructing the airway. CT scan showed a homogeneous isodense cystic lesion centred at the left laryngeal ventricle, with extension through the thyrohyoid membrane. The patient was successfully managed by a lateral thyrotomy approach. Histopathological examination of the specimen revealed a papillary oncocytic cystadenoma and excluded malignancy. There was no evidence of recurrence after 9 months of follow-up.

What Do Olympic Shooters Think about Physical Training Factors and Their Performance?

BACKGROUND: Many aspects affect precision sports like shooting. Skills such as strength and balance are related to shooting performance and therefore, they should be trained. Thus, planned physical workouts can help to improve Olympic Shooting performance. The main objective of this study was to determine elite shooters' perspective about fitness trainings. METHODS: Eight elite international shooters were interviewed using a semi-structured script validated by an expert shooting committee. Their responses were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. The following categories were obtained: fitness training importance on performance, fitness professional support, precompetitive fitness exercises' orientation and intensity, main motor abilities, recovery process, fitness evaluation and test and physical training influence on the psychological state. RESULTS: The results suggest that athletes consider physical training as a key factor in their performance. Shooters mainly train strength and endurance exercises, depending on the competitions schedule. However, no consensus exists regarding the professional in charge of fitness trainings, nor the recovery methods to minimize performance losses. In addition, general balance trainings or physical condition tests to evaluate the training progress do not seem to be used. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there should be greater control of fitness training and recovery processes in Olympic shooting.