Investigation of supplement use and knowledge among Japanese elite athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic games and the Beijing 2022 winter Olympic/Paralympic games.

Elite athletes frequently invest in the use of supplements to optimize their dietary regimens and enhance their athletic performance. However, unregulated and unplanned use of supplements can lead to adverse consequences, including anti-doping rule violations or health issues. Thus, athletes should verify their diets, consider scientific evidence, and take necessary precautions regarding supplements before use. To date, no study has explored whether athletes check these factors before using supplements. This study aimed to investigate supplement use using a questionnaire administered to 1,392 athletes (including candidate athletes) who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic/Paralympic Games. Participants were categorized as follows: 1,040 participants in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, 83 in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, 239 in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, and 30 in the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. We collected data on supplement use and gained further knowledge through interviews with the athletes. Approximately 70% of Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic athletes and approximately 50% of Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympians used supplements. Over 50% of athletes had not received a doctor's diagnosis or a dietitian's evaluation before supplement use. Moreover, only 50% of the athletes who used dietary supplements reviewed the scientific evidence for the dietary supplements before using them and justified their choice based on their own investigation, while those who did not use dietary supplements cited either a lack of need or fear of an anti-doping rule violation. Considering the holistic health and performance of athletes, as well as the risk associated with unregulated use, such as overdose and anti-doping rule violations, there is a need for nutritional education on supplement use for athletes and their entourages.

Corrigendum: Investigation of supplement use and knowledge among Japanese elite athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic/Paralympic Games and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic/Paralympic Games.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1258542.].

Establishment of a novel rehabilitation program for patients with dropped head syndrome: Short and intensive rehabilitation (SHAiR) program.

The pathophysiology of dropped head syndrome (DHS) remains unknown, and its treatment algorithm and indication are not standardized. Here, we established a novel rehabilitation program, short and intensive rehabilitation program for DHS (SHAiR program), consisting of cervical paraspinal muscles exercise, range of motion exercise, cervical and thoracic mobilization, deep cervical flexor muscle exercise, hip lift exercise, anterior pelvic tilt exercise, and walking exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of this program. We reviewed clinical outcomes for five consecutive patients with DHS who underwent the SHAiR program (SHAiR group). The outcomes were compared with those of other five patients with DHS who received exercise instruction (control group). Demographic data, the duration from onset of DHS, the apex of sagittal kyphosis on the lateral radiographs, and clinical outcomes including the ability to maintain normal horizontal gaze, chin brow vertical angle, and numerical rating scale (NRS) were evaluated at the initial visit and final follow-up at 7.5 months. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic and radiographic data. The ability of horizontal gaze and NRS of cervical pain improved rapidly for all five patients in the SHAiR group as compared to no improvement for all patients in the control group. Rehabilitation for DHS was considered effective not only for localized rehabilitation such as exercise for training cervical extensor muscle function but also exercises for thoracolumbar posture improvement and the psoas muscle.

Reliability and validity of classification of senile postural deformity in mass examinations.

Nakada (1988) divided senile postural deformities into four types by visual observation: an extended type, an S-shaped type, a flexed type, and a hand-on-the-lap type. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inter-rater reliability and the discriminant validity of assessing the elderly spinal posture using a posture-measuring device developed by us and dividing postural deformities into the four types of Nakada's classification. Seventy-seven elderly persons (52 women and 25 men) who lived independently participated in the study. The average age of the subjects was 73 years (range, 65 to 84 years). The type of the senile postural deformity was determined by three judges using our posture-measuring device in combination with Nakada's classification. The rate of agreement of the classification was 92.2%. This method had a significantly high rate of inter-rater reliability. The thoracic kyphotic angle was larger in the S-shaped type than in the normal, extended type, and flexed type. The lumbar lordotic angle was also larger in the S-shaped type than in the extended type, flexed type, and hand-on-the-lap type. In the hand-on-the-lap type, the mean of the lumbar lordotic angle was much smaller. The lumbosacral angle was smaller in the extended type than in the normal, S-shaped type, and flexed type. With the analysis of x-ray photographs, this method appeared to have discriminant validity as a measure of senile postural deformity. The combination of our posture-measuring device and Nakada's classification would be useful to classify senile postural deformities in mass examinations.