OSIC is the regional sports information centre that's headquartered at The University of the South Pacific and funded by the Oceania National Olympic Committees.
Oceania Highlights
November 2018
Bula Vinaka, Oceania Community,
This month we have posted some of the latest research available this year. Let OSIC know if you need any special research. You can always contact OSIC at osic@onoc.org.fj. Vinaka vakalevu.
Anti-Doping
Establishing an anti-doping internal whistleblower policy in China. Performance enhancement is considered an essential part of sport. However, in the world of competitive and high-performance sports, there is increasing evidence of a high prevalence of performance-enhancing drug abuse. The use of drugs—that is, banned substances—has become a serious problem with significant social, ethical, policy, and personal consequences and consequently compromises the integrity of sports and sportsmanship at all levels of competition, as well as the health and well-being of individual athletes and public health in general.
Sport, doping and male fertility. It is universally accepted that lifestyle interventions are the first step towards a good overall, reproductive and sexual health. Cessation of unhealthy habits, such as tobacco, alcohol and drug use, poor nutrition and sedentary behavior, is suggested in order to preserve/improve fertility in humans. However, the possible risks of physical exercise per se or sports on male fertility are less known. Being “fit” does not only improve the sense of well-being, but also has beneficial effects on general health: in fact physical exercise is by all means a low-cost, high-efficacy method for preventing or treating several conditions, ranging from purely physical (diabetes and obesity) to psychological (depression and anxiety), highly influencing male reproduction.
Sport motivation and doping in adolescent athletes. Although performance-enhancing drugs appear to be prevalent in adolescent sports, relatively little attention has been paid to why adolescent athletes decide to use these drugs. In this study, we examine doping among adolescents from a motivational perspective and explore how motivational variables, such as achievement goal orientations and the perceived self-determination of sports activities, may be related to moral attitudes, doping intentions and doping behavior in adolescents who participate in competitive sports.
Force awakens: a new hope for athletic shoulder strength testing. At present, there are few objective markers to support return to performance decisions in athletes following shoulder operation or injury. The athlete with a shoulder injury requires a testing protocol that is appropriately challenging, yet sensitive enough to inform decisions along the full return to play continuum.
Muscle Strength Variations of Knee Joint Muscles in Elite Female Handball Players after Pre-Season Conditioning. Monitoring seasonal variations in strength performance and the relative risk of injury indicators related to strength of hamstring (H) and quadriceps (Q) in female elite athletes is beneficial for the training process. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the level of muscle strength, the conventional ratio (HCONC/QCONC) as well as two functional and strength ratios reflecting the movement of knee extension (HECC/QCONC) and flexion (HCONC/QECC), and the bilateral percentage strength deficit (BSD) in elite female handball players.
Utility of FMS to understand injury incidence in sports: current perspectives. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is a popular movement screen used by rehabilitation, as well as strength and conditioning, professionals. The FMS, like other movement screens, identifies movement dysfunction in those at risk of, but not currently experiencing, signs or symptoms of a musculoskeletal injury. Seven movement patterns comprise the FMS, which was designed to screen fundamental movement requiring a balance between stability and mobility. The 7 movement patterns are summed to a composite FMS score.
