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Limited research exists on the health and injuries of South African senior netball players. Senior netball players may be at greater risk of injuries and chronic disease due to their age. To treat these conditions, they may use prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications and, therefore, may be more vulnerable to unintentional doping. The primary aim of this study was to determine the health status, medication use and attitudes towards doping of South African senior netball players. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed to collect data by means of an online survey. The validated 8-item Performance Enhancement Attitudes Scale (PEAS) was used to gather information on the netball player's attitudes towards doping. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the data using proportions (categorical), means (normally distributed, continuous) and medians (non-normal distributed, continuous). Doping prevalence and accompanying 95% confidence interval were calculated. Sixty senior netball players consented and completed the self-report questionnaire. The prevalence of chronic disease was 11.67%. Asthma and other conditions such as depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) had the highest prevalence of 3.33%. The prevalence of chronic prescription medication use was 8.33% and 66.67% of the netball players reported receiving prescription injections, medications or utilizing OTC medications for treating injury or illness suffered 1–6 weeks before or during competition. The netball players do not have a lenient attitude towards doping. The prescription and OTC medication use could put this cohort of netball players at risk of unintentional doping. Anti-doping education aimed at senior athletes may be beneficial to reduce the risk of unintentional doping due to prescription and OTC medication use for injury or illness.

The concept of ego has various meanings in the field of psychology, depending on the paradigmatic and theoretical framework point of departure. The ego phenomenon as operationalized and measured in the theoretical framework of goal orientation will be the contextual framework for a historical conceptual analysis. In the past three decades, research in the theoretical framework of goal orientation has revealed a positive relationship between ego involvement and the tendency to use the prohibited substances to enhance performance in sport. The concept of the ego phenomenon as operationalized within goal orientation theory and meanings attached to the concept can be connected to the historic oriental writings that were written ~2,500 years ago. These attached meanings to the ego phenomenon include elements of extreme competitiveness and outcome orientation, as well as social comparisons and the external norms for the measurement of success and failure. These meanings can be traced back to the classical works involving the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, and the Eastern Origins of Mindfulness that are part of the broader Buddhist philosophical system. Meister Eckhart, a 12th century German theologian, in his significant contribution on the analysis of the having mode as opposed to the being mode also provides insight into the ego phenomenon that can explain why the ego phenomenon can be linked to some of the deeper psychological motives of using the prohibited substances. The researchers in psychology do not yet have a full understanding of why certain athletes dope or have a susceptibility to use the prohibited substances or performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and thus the motivation for this historical conceptual analysis of the ego phenomenon. Therefore, this article aimed to deepen the understanding of psychological motives of the athletes who exhibit tendencies toward cheating in general and the proclivity to use the prohibited substances.

Background: Exercise forms an important component in the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). The objective of our study was to determine the effects of a 6-month swimming, land-based stretching, strengthening and breathing exercise intervention in AS patients. Methods/design: A total of 29 (14 females, 15 males) patients diagnosed with AS according to the Modified New York Criteria participated in our study. Participants were randomly assigned to an exercise group (ASE) (16 participants) and a control group (ASC) (13 participants). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein (CRP); anthropometric measurements; pulmonary function; aerobic capacity; balance; Bath AS Metrology Index; Bath AS Disease Activity Index and the Bath AS Functional Index were assessed. Discussion: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP did not change notably within or between the groups from pre- to post-intervention. The between group analyses of the physical assessments favoured the ASE with observable improvements in chest expansion (p = 0.002), forced expiration volume (p = 0.012), absolute (p = 0.017) and relative (p = 0.003) maximal oxygen consumption, absolute (p = 0.028) and relative (p = 0.001) physical work capacity. Within the ASE, there is statistical evidence of improvements in 11 of the 19 physical variables. Within the ASC, five of the physical variables deteriorated substantially (p between 0.004 and 0.037) and only balance overall stability on the right improved (p = 0.016). The three functional assessments in the ASE improved (p 0.007) compared with the ASC post-intervention. A 6-month combined exercise programme may improve physical and functional capacity of AS patients. Conclusion: A multimodal exercise intervention may be useful in the management of ankylosing spondylitis. Clinical implications: An unsupervised well -explained exercise programme combining swimming, land-based strengthening and stretching exercises and breathing exercises may be an option for patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Trial registration: Registration not undertaken at the time of writing.

Abstract Background It remains unclear if ad libitum water drinking, as a hydration strategy, prevents exercise-associated hyponatremia (EAH) during prolonged exercise. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of EAH within the broader context of fluid regulation among soldiers performing a 40-km route-march ingesting water ad libitum. Methods Twenty-eight healthy male soldiers participated in this observational trial. Pre- and post-exercise body mass, blood and urine samples were collected. Blood samples were assessed for serum sodium ([Na+]), glucose, creatinine, urea nitrogen (BUN), plasma osmolality, creatine kinase (CK), and plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) concentrations. Plasma volume (PV) was calculated using hematocrit and hemoglobin. Urine samples were analyzed for osmolality and [Na+]. Water intake was assessed by weighing bottles before, during and after the march. The mean relative humidity was 55.7% (21.9–94.3%) and the mean dry bulb temperature was 27.1 °C (19.5 °C - 37.0 °C) during the exercise. Results Twenty-five soldiers (72 ± 10 kg) (Mean ± SD) completed the march in 09:11 ± 00:43 (hr:min). Participants consumed 736 ± 259 ml/h of water and lost 2.8 ± 0.9 kg (4.0% ± 1.4%, P 1000 mOsmol/kg H2O) and plasma AVP. No single hydration strategy likely prevents EAH, but hypernatremia (cellular dehydration) was not seen despite > 2% body mass losses and high urine osmolality.

Background: The FitTrack Index is a web-based programme developed in South Africa and widely used by athletes to indicate their fitness. A need exists for a self-managed, non-invasive tool to evaluate and categorise health-related fitness in different population groups. The aim of this study was to compare the FitTrack Index with a reliable measure of cardio-respiratory fitness as indicated by maximal oxygen uptake (direct VO2max). Methods & results: During a 12-week cross-sectional, descriptive pilot study the direct laboratory tested VO2max indicated a moderate to strong correlation with the FitTrack Index (Spearman's rho = 0.439, p = 0.089 at baseline; Spearman's rho = 0.853, p