Injuries in soccer athletes continues to rise and there is a cause for concern. Collegiate athletes have physically demanding workloads and struggle to sleep an adequate amount each night. A potential association is how sleep could play a role in an athletes’ injury. 24 NCAA DI women’s soccer athletes were utilized during the Fall 2019 season. Athletes self-reported their daily hours slept and the athletic trainer tracked and classified athletes’ injury and illness status: no-injury, medical attention injury, or time loss injury. K-mean clustering was utilized to classify the athletes into 3 groups: injury/illness-free group (n=12), mild-to-moderate injury/illness group (n=7), and heavy injury/illness group (n=5). Sleep was statistically significantly lower in the heavy-injury group than other groups and small effect sizes were detected (d31 = .282, p < .001; d32 = .278, p < .001). Based on the data, it appears hours slept plays a factor in female soccer athletes’ risk of injury.

This study examined the relationship between training load, mileage, and session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE) as predictors of injury and illness in Division I women’s soccer players. Twenty-four athletes were monitored over a 13-week season including 69 athlete exposures (49 training sessions and 20 matches). Internal and external load were measured during each athlete exposure. Player injury and illness status were documented daily by medical staff and categorized as healthy, medical attention, or time-loss. Associations between athlete exposures and injury/illness status were analyzed using a mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression model with player ID as a random intercept. A total of 1560 athlete observations were included. Higher daily mileage was associated with increased odds of injury or illness (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.19–2.34). Training load was associated with reduced odds of injury or illness, with each unit increase lowering the odds by 42% (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41–0.83). Session-RPE was not significantly associated with injury or illness (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.65–1.42). These findings indicate that accumulated mileage elevates injury and illness risk, while structured increases in training load enhance athlete resilience, and reduce injury and illness risk. Monitoring both internal and external workload provides performance staff with a practical approach to optimize training stress, augment recovery, and prepare athletes for the demands of competition in women’s soccer.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition characterized by inattention, impulsivity, and executive dysfunction, which may influence both the risk and clinical course of sport-related concussion (SRC). This narrative review aimed to synthesize current evidence on the relationship between ADHD and SRC in athletic populations, with a focus on injury risk, symptom presentation, assessment challenges, and recovery trajectories. A targeted narrative review of the literature was conducted to synthesize current evidence on ADHD and sport-related concussion, with emphasis on literature published within the past 10 to 15 years. Studies were selected based on relevance to concussion risk, neurocognitive and symptom assessment, and recovery outcomes in athletes with ADHD, with priority given to methodologically rigorous research involving athletic populations. Available evidence suggests that athletes with ADHD are at an increased risk of SRC, with some studies reporting an approximately twofold increase, potentially due to impairments in inhibitory control and attention regulation. ADHD is also associated with elevated baseline symptom reporting, lower neurocognitive performance, and higher rates of invalid baseline testing, complicating post-injury assessment. Findings regarding recovery are mixed; however, emerging evidence indicates that ADHD may be associated with prolonged return-to-learn and return-to-sport timelines in some populations. Stimulant medication may influence risk and recovery, though results remain inconsistent. Overall, ADHD presents unique challenges in the clinical management of SRC, necessitating individualized, multidisciplinary approaches. Integrating neurocognitive and behavioral considerations into concussion protocols may improve diagnostic accuracy and optimize recovery in this population.

Introduction: In pursuit of achieving and maintaining military readiness, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets must adhere to the standards of body composition and physical fitness respective to their service. Healthy habits such as adequate nutrition, sleep, and physical activity are essential for supporting these outcomes in service members, but evidence suggests that ROTC cadets may face challenges achieving optimal dietary intake and quality, in addition to having lower scores of nutrition knowledge, and are at increased risk of disordered eating. Methods: Sixty-eight cadets (85 percent male; mean age 19.1±1.1 years) from a southeastern university completed the Military Eating Behaviors Survey (MEB-S). This study reported descriptive statistics of the survey responses related to nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. Further correlations among nutrition knowledge, diet quality, frequency of meal consumption, physical activity and sleep were analyzed. Results: The mean HES-7 score was 16.9±6.6, indicating suboptimal diet quality. More than half the sample reported supplement use within the past 30 days. Average sleep duration was 6.9±2.1 hours per night, and vigorous physical activity reported 41.8 days out of the week for 1.5±0.9 hours while moderate activity reported an average 3.5±2.1 days a week for 1.3±1.0 hours. Nutrition knowledge scores (14.5±3.0) were not significantly correlated with diet quality, meal frequency, frequency of meal consumption, physical activity or sleep. Data reports a moderate statistically significant negative association between diet quality and hours of sleep (HES-5, Pearson’s r = -0.414, p < .001; HES-7, Pearson’s r = -0.389, p = .002; HES-9, Pearson’s r = -0.449, p < .001). Conclusions: These findings suggest that ROTC cadets exhibit generally poor diet quality and high supplement use. This sample reported an average nutrition knowledge, although they had formal nutrition education provided. However, analysis suggests nutrition knowledge alone may not predict healthier eating patterns. Multifaceted interventions addressing environmental and behavioral factors may better support cadet readiness and performance.