farzin halabchi

Medial gastrocnemius strain (MGS), is the most common cause of mid-calf pain in athletes due to the stretch of the gastrocnemius muscle when the knee is in extension and the ankle is in dorsiflexion. Chronological age and previous calf injury are the most substantial risk factors for MGS, including high body mass index, previous lower limb injuries, L5 radiculopathy, and inadequate warm-up. The dominant presentation of MGS is a pain that can be diverse from acute to latent, which is felt in the posteromedial aspect of the calf and is often preceded by a feeling of a pop. The signs of MGS include antalgic gait, ecchymosis, swelling, local tenderness, and sometimes a palpable gap felt along the muscle. Passive dorsiflexion of the ankle or resistive ankle plantarflexion with knee extension can indicate a more severe injury, while functional tests can illicit milder injuries of calf muscles—including gastrocnemius. The diagnosis of MGS is usually made by clinical evaluation. However, imaging modalities—including magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound—can be helpful in case of suspicion. In most cases of MGS, the cornerstone of treatment is nonoperative rehabilitation, which can be performed as a 4-phase program and should be tailored individually. Some instances of MGS are referred for early or later surgical treatment if indicated. In this article, we review the literature about various aspects of MGS, from diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation, and propose a structured approach to this injury.

Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) aids the physicians in early management of concussion among suspected athletes and its 6th version was published in 2023 in English. This study aimed to describe the translation and validation process of SCAT6 from English to Persian.

The Persian translation of SCAT6 and its evaluation has been done in seven stages: initial translation, appraisal of the initial translation, back translation, appraisal of the back-translation, validation (face and content validities), final reconciliation and testing by simulation.

Initial translation, was done by two bilingual translators followed by an initial appraisal, which was made by both translators and one general physician. Back translation was done by two naïve translators who were unfamiliar with SCAT6, followed by its appraisal by initial translators. Face and content validity of the translation were surveyed by medical professionals and athletes and the results of the validation process were provided to the reconciliation committee and this committee made the modifications needed. Finally, the use of Persian SCAT6 was simulated and the mean time needed to complete the Persian SCAT6 was roughly a little more than 10 minutes.

The present study provides the readers with the translation and cross-cultural adaptation process of SCAT6 from English to Persian. This translated version will be distributed among the Iranian sports community for assessing concussions among athletes.

Obesity and overweight are among serious global epidemics that significantly threaten human health, especially among women.

This study aimed to assess the concurrent effects of 6-week caffeine supplementation with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on weight and body fat among overweight women.

Thirty overweight females (age: 36.47 ± 6.48 years; BMI: 27.61 ± 1.54 kg/m2 ; mean ± SD) with a sedentary lifestyle were recruited to the study. The participants were randomly allocated to the experimental group, EC (exercise + caffeine) group, who took 100 milligrams of caffeine of the “API” brand supplement 30 minutes before exercise training (n = 15) or control group, EP (exercise + placebo) (n = 15). All participants performed moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with an intensity of 40 to 60% of heart rate reserve based on the individual’s exercise test for 30 minutes, three days a week for six weeks. Measurements, including the percentage of body fat, waist circumference, and skinfold (suprailiac, abdominal), were done two times, at baseline and after six weeks of exercising.

There were no significant differences between control and experimental groups related to weight (P = 0.22), percentage body fat (P = 0.88), and other measurements after six weeks.

6 weeks of caffeine supplementation combined with moderate-intensity aerobic exercise without dietary interventions couldn’t make a significant reduction in weight and central or total body fat among overweight women.

Context:

 Growing evidence highlights the importance of physical activity as a critical element for the prevention and control of diabetes. However, there is no clinical practice guideline focusing on the different aspects of exercise in patients with diabetes, especially for the Iranian population.

 We aimed to prepare and adopt a clinical practice guideline to provide well-defined, simple, and concise responses to certain questions related to physical activity and exercise in all patients with diabetes, including type 1, 2, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Evidence Acquisition:

 A multidisciplinary team of experts in various fields (sports medicine specialists, endocrinologists, and cardiologists) developed the guideline. This group did the task in four stages: (1) identifying and refining the subject area using 17 clinical questions; (2) appraising evidence through a systematic review of the literature; (3) extracting recommendations from evidence and grading them as A, B, C, or D based on the quality, quantity, and consistency of existing evidence; and (4) subjecting the guideline to external review and finally selecting the recommendations with high scores of appropriateness and agreement. The final version was evaluated and approved by the National Deputy for Curative Affairs - Ministry of Health and Medical Education and has also been endorsed by the Iran Endocrine Society (IES) and Iranian Association of Sports and Exercise Medicine (IASEM).

 The guideline consists of 52 recommendations addressing 17 important questions concerning different aspects of exercise prescription in Iranian patients with diabetes.

 The guideline provides evidence-based information that may help physicians to prescribe exercise for Iranian patients with diabetes safely and effectively.

Due to widespread use of supplement among athletes, determining the prevalence and pattern of dietary supplement consumption and its moderators will be a road map for developing a strategic planning in the national level to achieve healthy lifestyle and avoid harmful nutritional approaches.

A systematic search of the electronic resources including Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and National Persian Databases including Magiran, SID, IranDoc and CIVILICA (between 1979 and November 2019 in Persian and English language) was accomplished. Inclusion criteria were (a) studies containing the prevalence rate of dietary supplement consumption, specifically (b) studies were conducted in athletes. Finally, 32 articles were included.

The prevalence rate of supplement use in overall Iranian athletic population was 64.8% (95% CI, 55.8%‑73.8%) with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 99.7%, P < 0.001). The prevalence rate was reported to be higher in male athletes, athletes aged 25 and older and elite athletes (P < 0.05). The most prevalent source of information about supplement use among athletes were trainers, followed by physicians, friends‑teammates and dietitians.

According to the high prevalence of supplement consumption among Iranian athletes, policy making for educational programs is mandated. Trainers are the most popular source to provide information about supplements and educational programs should be conducted for this target population.

Due to widespread abuse of anabolic-androgenic steroids among professional athletes and amateur sportsmen and their health-related problems, determining the prevalence and the pattern of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse at the national level seems to be vital for designing efficient preventive and educational measures.

This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted via comprehensive searches of the electronic databases including PubMed, MedLine, Scopus, Google Scholar and National Persian Databases including SID, Magiran, IranDoc (between 1980 and Dec 2019 in English and Persian languages) and also from citations in the selected papers. Overall, 39 articles met the criteria and were included in qualitative and quantitative synthesis.

The overall prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse in the Iranian athletic population was 36.2% (95% confidence interval (CI), 29-43) with significant heterogeneity between studies (I2=99.0%, P<0.001). Prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse among elite, male and younger athletes was higher (P<0.05). Moreover, prevalence rate of anabolic-androgenic steroid misuse among body-building athletes (36.3%) was higher compared to other athletes (30.9%), (P<0.001).

Due to the higher prevalence of anabolic-androgenic steroids misuse in Iran compared to global statistics and the potential for serious adverse effects, preventive strategies and policies should be regarded as a real concern for public health.

Voluntary Response Index (VRI) is used as a measure of motor control to study abnormalities of voluntary movements. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of voluntary response index analysis in subjects with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR).

Using surface electromyography, the VRI components of both groups of 15 ACLR and 15 healthy controls were assessed during the functional task (sit-stand-sit). The outcome variables of VRI included the magnitude and similarity index.

In sit to stand phase, high reliability was found (ICC=0.80-0.89) for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups. In the standing phase, high to very high reliability was found for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups (ICC=0.75-0.91). In stand to sit phase, high to very high reliability was found (ICC=0.78-0.92) for the magnitude and similarity index in both groups.

Surface electromyographic measurements of VRI analysis demonstrated high to very high reliability in athletes with ACLR during the functional task (sit-stand-sit). The results of the current study showed that the VRI analysis in athletes after ACLR was a reliable method and can be used to evaluate motor control before and after ligament injury in these patients.

Special attention is needed to assess constant wrist pain to avoid missed carpal bone fractures subsequent to traumatic events. Also, the consideration of avascular necrosis of carpal bones such as scaphoid bone after a traumatic or stress fracture is very important. We hereby report a young elite wrestler who has been complaining about pain in his both wrists for about two years before his visit to our clinic. The interesting point about this athlete is bilateral involvement and that the second pathology was probably overuse without any trauma.

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread worldwide, which greatly endangers the global health and economy. Due to vast limitations in hospital resources, some countries have encountered serious problems for fair access to hospital beds. An interesting letter in this journal recommended 6-minute walk test (6MWT) as a proper clinical test to determine the necessity for going to the hospital in patients with suspected COVID-19. 6MWT is a field exercise test in which, patient should walk for 6 minutes as far as possible. It is usually used to compare pre- and post-treatment conditions in many pulmonary and cardiac disorders or to estimate functional status of individuals with some pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. This test may be applied as a predictor of morbidity and mortality in these patients. Although the idea of finding an applicable and feasible clinical test to do at home is valuable by itself, but in our opinion, there are great concerns to use 6MWT for this purpose. Here, we will discuss about some serious concerns about the practical, judicious and scientifically justified use of this test in patients with suspected COVID-19.

Exercise and physical activity have well known physical and mental benefits, especially during students' life. This study was conducted to evaluate physical activity among students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). We have randomly recruited students of TUMS in the 2017-2018 academic year to report their routine physical activity through filling out the Persian version of the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire as well as demographic characteristics among 12 different schools. Accordingly, we classified the physical activity of participants into three groups (high, moderate, and low). From a total of 425 students, data from 417 were analyzed. The age range of students was from 18 to 48, with a mean (SD) of 25.8 (5.43) years. 53.5% and 46.5% of participants were male and female, respectively. Students were classified into 3 categories of high (41%), medium (38%), and low (21%) physical activity. In the present study, 87.3% and 12.7% of students were active and inactive, respectively. There was a significant difference in the overall activity level between genders and work-related activity between students of clinical and non-clinical settings. No significant differences were found between physical activity level and other demographic data. Our results showed that the majority of students had a physical activity of more than 600 MET-min/week. No significant relationship was found between physical activity and age, school, GPA, and BMI. Compared to the national activity report, students of TUMS were at the proper level of physical activity. However, further research is needed to confirm these results.

The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) is a valid instrument for determining the presence and severity of functional ankle instability. This questionnaire was recently cross-culturally adapted into Persian; however, the reliability of the Persian version has not been examined in athletes. CAIT has also been used with various independently-selected cut-off scores to determine instability. The present study was conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of CAIT and to determine its optimal cut-off score in athletic populations. One-hundred and sixteen athletes (volleyball, basketball and track and field players) over 18 years old both with and without ankle instability completed the Persian version of the CAIT. The internal consistency, test-retest reliability and discriminative ability of the tool were assessed. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to confirm the cut-off point of the Persian version of CAIT using the Youden index. The average CAIT score was 25.14±4.98 for the right and 25.76±4.94 for the left ankle. The Persian version of CAIT had a good internal consistency (Cronbach's α of 0.78 for the right ankle and 0.79 for the left ankle) and substantial reliability (ICC2, 1 = 0.88; 95% CI: 0.86 – 0.90) in athletes. No ceiling or floor effects were observed. The optimal cut-off score for discriminating between athletes with and without FAI was 24. The Persian version of CAIT was shown to be a reliable tool for assessing functional ankle instability among Iranian athletes.

  Body composition and dietary pattern in athletes are important factors in improving performance. The athletes use a wide range of supplements, most of which are not prescribed by specialists. The aims of the present study were the assessment of body composition and food frequency questionnaire of elite Iranian soccer players in Tehran province. The type and frequency of used supplements were assessed. The study was a cross-sectional study on 10 - 34 year-old male soccer players. Body composition was measured by body impedance analyzer. Dietary pattern was assessed by food frequency questionnaire. The type and frequency of used supplements assessed was evaluated by an open-ended questionnaire with the main supplement groups. In total, 3839 soccer players from Tehran leagues participated in this study. The mean ± SD height, age, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of the participants were 170.7 ± 10.6 cm, 17.8 ± 4.2 years, 61.9 ± 12.9 kg and 21.0 ± 2.8 Kg/m2, respectively. The most frequently used in the main food groups was bread in grain group (82%, 4 - 7 times/week). Skeletal muscle mass had a significant relationship with the frequency of high protein containing foods consumption (P: 0.007) (CI: 0.004 - 0.02). Energy drinks (11.4%), antioxidant and vitamins supplements (6.4%), carbohydrate supplements (6.3%) and protein supplements (5.7%) were the more frequent supplements used. The present study showed that body composition of Iranian young male soccer players had some differences in relation to that in the other countries. The soccer players should be educated in the field of healthy nutrition and best food groups and supplement selection.

The growing tendency to anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and prohibited substances misuse by female athletes is a new public health concern. Epidemiological studies in this field are necessary to introduce an effective preventive drug control program in gyms. This study directed to evaluate the prevalence of AAS and other banned substances use and assess its association with some psycho-social and also demographic parameters among Iranian female recreational bodybuilders. This study was done from January to March 2017 and 289 recreational female bodybuilders from 41 randomly-selected fitness and sports clubs in different geographic parts of Tehran, Iran, were included. Age, education level, months of sport involvement, frequency of sport participation in a week (hour), body image assessed by Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ), and history of AAS and substances intake as the psycho-socio-demographic parameters were recorded by interviews using questionnaires. Subjects were all recreational female bodybuilders [mean and standard deviation (SD) of age: 26.3 ± 6.3, range: 15–52 years]. Self-report of AAS abuse was recorded in 70 bodybuilders (24.2%). Among prohibited substances, the use of stimulants (amphetamine or methamphetamine) and other illicit drugs was recorded in 10(3.5%) and 95(32.9%) athletes, respectively. 112 (38.8%)participants reported somatotropin use. Cigarette smoking, hookah use, and alcohol intake were reported by 42 (14.5%), 162 (56.1%), and 49 (17.0%) female bodybuilders, respectively. Among different evaluated parameters, merely the frequency of sport participation in a week and sport experience was inversely associated with AAS consumption. Based on the subjects’ self–statement, AAS and substance misuse was surprisingly common in recreational female bodybuilders. Some factors including weekly frequency of sport participation and the duration of sport involvement may influence the prevalence of AAS abuse.

Today, more than ever before we need to encourage people for behavior change toward healthy behaviors and active lifestyle. Using the power of branding, we launched a health campaign to send out health messages to the population.
The aim of this report was to present data from a new experience in science communication of health concerns for adults.
The “health and life” campaign covered different areas of physical, psychological, social and environmental health issues to promote an active lifestyle. Generally, in monthly sessions, we presented 45 - minute talks by health experts on a specific health topic (e.g., smoking, healthy diet) and people with an interesting experience related to the topic were given a time to talk about their story. Participants and lecturer’s information were gathered between January 2013 and July 2017 by on-site registration.
Until July 2017, a total of 54 events have been held with a total number of 41566 audiences. Preliminary results indicated that 86-92 % of participants have reported a high level of satisfaction about the quality of health talk program.
Through this paper, we presented a new health campaign (health and life campaign) that uses social marketing strategies to promote healthy lifestyle among a wide range of population.

Sudden cardiac death in sport, although rare, but is a tragic event, attracting the media and public attention. Sport and exercise may act as a trigger for sudden cardiac death. Risk of sudden death in young athletes with cardiovascular disease is 2.5 times more frequent than non-athlete individuals. More than 90% of cases of sudden death occur during or immediately after training or competition. Incidence of sudden cardiac death in any population, including athletes, is related to multiple factors such as gender, age, race, nationality, diagnostic screening methods and preventive measures for sudden cardiac death. Otherwise, incidence rate of sudden cardiac death is linked to the used definition and method of diagnosis. Different cardiovascular disorders may result in death of young athletes and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, congenital coronary anomalies, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and aortic rupture are among the most common causes. Marfan syndrome, dilated cardiomyopathy, viral myocarditis, Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome, congenital long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome and commotio cordis are reported as other etiologies. In older athletes (more than 35 years), ischemic coronary heart disease is responsible for majority of the cases similar to the general population. Because the outcome of sudden cardiac arrest in sports is very poor except in few cases, proper national strategies are needed to diminish the burden of sudden death in young athletes. It seems that there are two main strategies to achieve this goal: A) Primary prevention with use of purposeful pre-participation evaluation programs. This evaluation should focuss on the proper history and physical examination. Nevertheless, there is significant debate between American and European countries regarding the use of paraclinical investigations (especially ECG). American heart association does not recommend ECG as an essential part of evaluation. In contrast, European society of cardiology and international olympic committee advocate ECG for all athletes younger than 35 years. However, all evaluations should be based on national, generally accepted standards and done by well-educated experts. B) Setting evidence-based and updated protocols for early and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), attendance of well equipped medical staff and early access to automated external defibrillator (AED) in all sport events and implementing CPR education in all coaching training courses.

In this article, we investigated the effectiveness of inhaled salbutamol withtherapeutic dose on the sport-specific performance of non-asthmatic young football players. In a double-blinded, randomised placebo controlled trial with 2-treatment, 2-period crossover design, twenty participants who were non-asthmatic junior professional football players were randomly allocated to two groups. Fifteen minutes before sport-specific fitness testing, each group randomly received 2 inhalations (200 micrograms) of salbutamol or placebo, respectively. After 1 week wash-out period, each participant has tested again, this time with the alternative inhaler. The primary outcomes were the differences between salbutamol and placebo groups in six tests of 7×30-m repeated sprint, Loughborough soccer dribbling, vertical jump, agility, Loughborough soccer passing, 20-m multistage shuttle run. A total of twenty players did two test batteries completely. There was no significant difference between salbutamol and placebo users in the tests [Treatment effect (CI95%); 7×30 sprint: -2.4 (-7.6-2.9), dribbling: -3.8 (-12.2-4.5), vertical jump: -1.2 (-3.7-1.3), agility: -0.4 (-0.9-0.1), passing: 0.2 (-12-12.4), shuttle run distance: -112 (-503.2-279.2)]. Furthermore, no period or carry-over effects were detected. It seems that single therapeutic dose of inhaled salbutamol (200 micrograms) does not appear to improve football related performance.

Obesity is a growing problem in the world due to an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Evidences show relation between negative energy balance following physical activity and weight loss. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effect of high intensity dynamic exercise on 24-hour energy intake, macronutrient preferences and appetite indices.
Eighty-seven sedentary overweight, 25-40 aged women underwent an acute high intensity exercise session on the treadmill under Bruce protocol. Dietary intake was evaluated by using 24-hour food record, before and after the interval. An appetite questionnaire was filled during 30 minutes before and after the exercise. The data were analyzed by SPSS 17 software. The level of significance for comparing the results of before and after trial was considered at p Absolute energy intake along 24-hour after interval was significantly decreased (p=0.004). Daily intake of carbohydrate and protein was decreased significantly (respectively p=0.015, p=0.023) after trial. The reverse relation was seen between carbohydrate intake and intensity of exercise (p=0.008). No significant change was found in daily fat intake (p=0.079). Significant changes were found in the tendency of the participants into salty and savory foods (respectively p=0.003, p=0.001). However, appetite behavior in relation to fullness, satiety, hunger, prospective food consumption, and tendency to sweet and fatty foods did not change significantly (p >0.05).
One session of high intensity dynamic exercise could decrease 24-hour calorie intake as well as carbohydrate and protein intake in overweight and obese women.

Context: Today, different kinds of non-invasive body contouring modalities, including cryolipolysis, radiofrequency (RF), low-level laser therapy (LLLT), and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) are available for reducing the volume of subcutaneous adipose tissue or cellulite. Each procedure has distinct mechanisms for stimulating apoptosis or necrosis adipose tissue. In addition to the mentioned techniques, some investigations are underway for analyzing the efficacy of other techniques such as whole body vibration (WBV) and extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT). In the present review the mechanisms, effects and side effects of the mentioned methods have been discussed. The effect of these devices on cellulite or subcutaneous fat reduction has been assessed..
Evidence Acquisition: We searched pubmed, google scholar and the cochrane databases for systemic reviews, review articles, meta-analysis and randomized clinical trials up to February 2015. The keywords were subcutaneous fat, cellulite, obesity, noninvasive body contouring, cryolipolysis, RF, LLLT, HIFU, ESWT and WBV with full names and abbreviations..
We included seven reviews and 66 original articles in the present narrative review. Most of them were applied on normal weight or overweight participants (body mass index Some of the noninvasive body contouring devices in animal and human studies such as cryolipolysis, RF, LLLT and HIFU showed statistical significant effects on body contouring, removing unwanted fat and cellulite in some body areas. However, the clinical effects are mild to moderate, for example 2 - 4 cm circumference reduction as a sign of subcutaneous fat reduction during total treatment sessions. Overall, there is no definitive noninvasive treatment method for cellulite. Additionally, due to the methodological differences in the existing evidence, comparing the techniques is difficult..

Lateral ankle sprains (LAS) are among the most common sports- related injuries and the reinjury rate is very high..
This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of some intrinsic risk factors among professional football and basketball players with or without history of acute or recurrent ankle sprain..
Patients and One hundred and six professional football and basketball players who were referred for pre-participation examinations were recruited in this study. Prepared checklist was completed for each participant. Athletes were asked for any history of previous ankle sprain and the severity (based of self-description of signs and symptoms by the athlete), level and number of injuries in the last two years. All players were assessed for measures of foot posture index- 6, foot length and width, Beighton generalized joint laxity score, anterior drawer and talar tilt tests, star excursion and single leg balance tests and goniometric assessment of ankle plantarflexion, ankle dorsiflexion and first metatarsophalangeal dorsiflexion..
Forty eight basketball players (45.3%) and 58 football players (54.7%) with mean (SD) age of 19.8 (4.5) years participated. About 58.5% and 14.2% of athletes had a history of ankle sprain and recurrent sprain in at least one extremity, respectively. Sprains were more prevalent in basketball players and in dominant leg. There was no significant difference in assessed risk factors between athletes with and without history of ankle sprain, except for positive single leg balance test which was more prevalent in athletes with history of ankle sprain and also for positive talar tilt test and decreased ankle plantarflexion range of motion in acute and recurrent injury of left ankle..
Some intrinsic risk factors including lateral ankle ligaments laxity, balance and ankle plantarflexion seem to be related to acute or recurrent LAS in athletes. Further research is needed to reveal the role of different arthrokinematics following lateral ankle sprain..

Due to biomechanical differences, various patterns of muscle contraction are expected to occur while walking over ground versus when walking on a treadmill..
This study aimed to compare amplitude and duration of activation of selected trunk and lower extremity muscles during over-ground and treadmill walking..
Through a simple sampling method, 19 sedentary healthy men within the age range of 20 - 40 were selected. Surface electromyography of rectus abdominis, external oblique, longissimus and multifidus muscles as the selected trunk muscles and vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and hamstrings as the selected lower limb muscles were recorded..
In each gait cycle, there were no statistically significant differences in duration of selected trunk as well as lower limb muscles activity between treadmill and over-ground walking. However the mean amplitude of rectus abdominis (P = 0.005), longissimus (P = 0.018) and multifidus (P = 0.044) as the selected trunk muscles as well as the mean amplitude of vastus lateralis (P = 0.005) and vastus medialis (P Due to the stabilizing role of trunk and lower limb muscles during walking, these muscles seem to be active throughout the entire gait cycle. The increased muscle amplitude on treadmill can demonstrate that more motor units may be recruited during the contraction, which can be helpful in prescribing the appropriate type of exercise especially for patients with core muscle weakness..

Musculoskeletal disorders are common problems among dentists. These conditions may lead to inappropriate postures and impairment in physical and psychological function. On the other hand, poor postures and inappropriate ergonomic may result in a wide variety of musculoskeletal disorders.
The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of common postural disorders of the spine and shoulder girdle among the dentists and possible correlations between demographic, anthropometric and occupational characteristics with these abnormal postures.
Patients and In a cross-sectional study, 96 dental staff including academic staff, residents and senior students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences was enrolled. Data were collected using a questionnaire and posture assessment tools such as plumb-line, checkerboard and flexible ruler. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 17.
The prevalence of the forward head posture (FHP), rounded shoulder posture (RSP), scoliosis and hyperlordosis were reported in 85.5%, 68.8%, 18.8% and 17.3% of the participants, respectively. A significant correlation was found between gender and FHP (P = 0.04) and also scoliosis (P = 0.009). On the other hand, a significant correlation was seen between weight and hyperlordosis (P = 0.007).
Our study revealed a high prevalence of postural disorders especially FHP, RSP and scoliosis among Iranian dental staff. The female dentists were less susceptible to FHP and scoliosis.

The elite-level referee is exposed to similar physical demands to those placed on a midfield soccer player. They have an important responsibility to implement the rules of the game. So, good health and performance of soccer referees have a great importance..
The purpose of this study was to assess the cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition of all 78 soccer referees officiating at the Iranian Premier League and determine the correlation between these parameters and performance..
Patients and In a cross-sectional study, all referees selected for the competitions were enrolled. Participants underwent exercise stress test, pulmonary function test and body composition assessment. Then the weekly scores of each referee, assessed by qualified supervisors of national federation were obtained using the FIFA standard form throughout the season (34 weeks) and registered..
Among 78 participants (including 32 center and 46 side referees), mean and standard deviation of age, body mass index, percent of body fat, VO2max and performance scores were 37 ± 3.8, 23.6 ± 2.1, 20.7 ± 3.9, 59.9 ± 7.1 and 85.8 ± 0.25, respectively. No significant correlation between referees’ mean score and selected parameters were found..
It seems that the acquired scores of top-class referees may be influenced by multiple factors other than the laboratory findings of cardiopulmonary fitness and body composition..