Marelise Badenhorst

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Verified

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• PhD Exercise Science; MSc Physiotherapy
• Research Associate at Auckland University of Technology

Objectives Rugby-related spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are rare but life altering and traumatic events. Little is known about the long-term consequences and outcomes of players who have sustained these injuries. This study investigated current quality of life (QoL) and factors associated with QoL, among individuals with rugby-related SCI in South Afr...

Background Though rare, rugby union carries a risk for serious injuries such as acute spinal cord injuries (ASCI), which may result in permanent disability. Various studies have investigated injury mechanisms, prevention programmes and immediate medical management of these injuries. However, relatively scant attention has been placed on the player’...

Most contact sports, including rugby union, carry a risk of injury. Although acute spinal cord injuries (ASCIs) in rugby are rare, the consequences of such injuries are far-reaching. Optimal management of these injuries is challenging, and a detailed understanding of the different barriers and facilitators to optimal care is needed. In this study,...

Objectives There is a paucity of research investigating mental health in Para athletes. The aim of this study was to describe mental health concerns of a representative sample of South African Para athletes. Design A descriptive, cross-sectional survey was conducted at the 2019 National Championships for athletes with impairments. Methods Mental...

Background Concussion‐related guidelines appear to be inconsistently implemented in secondary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. The purpose of this qualitative Participatory Action Research study was to describe key school stakeholders' perceptions of their current concussion management processes. Methods Seventeen focus groups, two dyad, and nine...

Concerns around concussion highlight the need for strategies to improve the implementation and translation of concussion guidelines in community sports. This study assessed players' utilisation and compliance with New Zealand Rugby's Concussion Management Pathway (CMP). This pragmatic, mixed methods study comprised of concussion injury surveillance...

The potential adverse consequences associated with poor concussion management highlights the need to improve the translation of concussion guidelines into consistent use in real-world sport settings. To facilitate this process, New Zealand Rugby developed a community concussion management pathway to support concussion recognition, diagnosis, and ma...

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of key stakeholder groups, i.e. coaches, players, and referees, of a reduced maximum legal tackle height law variation trial in a collegiate amateur rugby competition. A pragmatic qualitative approach was used. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were performed. Thematic analysis was used to analyse t...

Objective: Concussion is a serious concern in sport, with the potential to cause short- and long-term health consequences. These concerns highlight the need for the translation of concussion management guidelines into use in real-world sports settings. This qualitative study explores community rugby players' concussion experiences as part of New Z...

Objective Understanding key stakeholders' perceptions around the value of baseline testing, as well as barriers or facilitators experienced as part of the process, may assist with the decision-making process of whether to implement baseline testing in community sport. This study explored coaches, players and physiotherapists' perceptions of the per...

Background The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical and Scientific Commission has supported collating and sharing evidence globally by developing sports medicine consensus statements (‘Statements’'). Publishing the Statements requires substantial resources that must be balanced by use and impact on policy and practice. This study aimed to...

Background Concussion baseline testing has drawn criticism regarding its clinical utility in the community setting. Recent studies have suggested that baseline testing may have additional advantages, such as improving players’ concussion-related decisions. Objective As part of New Zealand Rugby’s community concussion management pathway, this study...

Background As a collision-based sport, rugby participation has a relatively high risk of concussion. In response, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) implemented a concussion management pathway (CMP). In the context of the CMP, physiotherapists are often responsible for pre-season baseline testing, education, prevention, recognising suspected concussions, remo...

Players who lack the knowledge to recognise the signs and symptoms of concussions may be less likely to disclose their injury. New Zealand Rugby's Community Concussion Initiative includes an interactive education session highlighting peer-recognition of concussions. This mixed-method study examined the effect of an education session on high school...

Objectives To examine healthcare professionals (HCPs) attitudes, beliefs and preparedness towards the management of Para athlete mental health during the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games. Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. National Paralympic Committee’s HCPs (n=857) working at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 202...

Adolescent concussions can potentially lead to cognitive and behavioural changes, affecting concentration and performance at school and in other activities. Although the Ministry of Education provides web-based guidelines for post-concussion student support, the implementation of these in the school setting is limited. Due to the complex school env...

There is a growing concern around concussions in rugby union, at all levels of the game. These concerns highlight the need to better manage and care for players. However, consistency around concussion-related responsibilities of stakeholders across the community rugby system remains challenging. Taking a systems thinking approach, this pragmatic, q...

Introduction: The sport of rugby union, (henceforth rugby), is associated with a risk of spinal cord injury (SCI). Perceived risks can impact participation. Understanding community perspectives of rugby-related SCI may provide insight for addressing concerns around risk. The aim of this study was to explore community perspectives through social me...

Objectives: Limited research exists on the sleep profiles of South African Para athletes. The aim of this study was to describe sleep quality, day-time sleepiness and chronotype of South African Para athletes, and to compare the relationship between sleep-related outcomes and demographic factors to athletes from a higher resourced country. Design...

Objective To explore the prevalence of symptoms of mental health conditions and burnout of healthcare professionals (HCPs) working during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. Methods In this cross-sectional, observational study, HCPs working during the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games were asked...

Objectives Research evidence is commonly compiled into expert-informed consensus guidelines intended to consolidate and distribute sports medicine knowledge. Between 2003 and 2018, 27 International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statements were produced. This study explored the policy and practice impact of the IOC Statements on athlete health a...

Background: New Zealand Rugby (NZR) implemented a concussion management pathway (CMP) to improve management at the community level. Physiotherapists play an important role in the CMP. Objective: This study explored physiotherapists' experiences in the management of community rugby-related concussion as part of the CMP. Methods: We adopted a pr...

Objectives The aim of this study was to explore elite Para athletes´ and coaches´ perceptions of experiences of athlete health monitoring. Materials and Methods This study used a qualitative design, applying a phenomenographical approach. Thirteen athletes and six coaches from two different socioeconomic contexts (the Swedish and South African Par...

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) implemented a concussion management pathway (CMP), aimed at improving management at community level. General Practitioners (GPs) played a large role in the design of this process. The objective of this study was to explore GPs' perceptions of barriers and facilitators of the CMP and rugby-related concussion management in the...

Elite Para athletes report a high incidence of sports injuries, illnesses and other health issues. Despite this, there are few prevention programmes in Para sport, and many of the existing prevention programmes are not adapted to Para athletes. To improve the success of preventive measures, it has been suggested that sports safety work should facil...

Rugby union is a popular team sport, with a high rate of concussions. In adolescents, concussions are further complicated by issues of under-reporting. To encourage more responsible concussion behaviours, it is imperative to understand the factors that influence youth players’ behaviours, including the attitudes and behaviours of their coaches and...

Objective To review risk factors associated with acute respiratory illness (ARill) in athletes, including non-infectious ARill and suspected or confirmed acute respiratory infections (ARinf). Design Systematic review. Data sources Electronic databases: PubMed-Medline, EbscoHost and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria Original research articles...

Objective To determine the incidence of acute respiratory illness (ARill) in athletes and by method of diagnosis, anatomical classification, ages, levels of performance and seasons. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Electronic databases: PubMed-Medline, EbscoHost and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria Original research a...

Physical activity behaviour is complex, particularly in low-resource settings, while existing behavioural models of physical activity behaviour are often linear and deterministic. The objective of this review was to (i) synthesise the wide scope of factors that affect physical activity and thereby (ii) underpin the complexity of physical activity i...

Background Para athletes may have specific mental health challenges that, together with the demands of high-level sports performance, could put them at risk for mental health disorders.However, research in this population is limited. Objective To investigate factors associated with mental health in South African para athletes. Design Descriptive,...

Background The IOC Sports Medical and Scientific Commission has supported the development and dissemination of sports medicine consensus statements for athlete health. Evidence on the relevance and dissemination of these statements is important for the development of future statements. Objective The objective of this project was to investigate the...

Background The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical and Scientific Commission has a goal to provide guidance on athlete health for sports organisations. One strategy to meet this goal has been the development and publication of sports medicine consensus statements. It is currently unknown if there has been use of the consensus statements o...

Background One of the goals of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical and Scientific Commission is to provide guidance in relation to injury prevention and the protection of athlete health. One way of meeting this goal is the development and dissemination of sports medicine consensus statements. It is not known if, or how, these consensu...

Background There have been 27 consensus statements published under the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical and Scientific Commission with a goal of contributing to the mission of injury prevention and protection of athlete health. The success of these statements in achieving this goal has not been evaluated. Knowledge management (KM) cons...

Background The IOC Medical and Scientific commission’s mission is to provide a guiding reference for sports organisations on issues relating to the protection of the health of athletes. One strategy to achieve this mission is through supporting the development of consensus statements. Objective This study investigates the relevance and disseminati...

Background There is a paucity of research investigating the mental health profiles of para athletes globally, especially in South Africa. Objective To describe the mental health profiles of a representative sample of para athletes in South Africa. Design Descriptive, cross-sectional survey. Setting National to international level athletes compet...

Background Good sleeping habits are necessary for optimal practice and performance, as well as for athlete health. Although the sleep characteristics of elite athletes are well described, research is limited on the sleep profile of similar-level para athletes. Objective To evaluate sleep quality, sleepiness and chronotype of para athletes in South...

Introduction. The effects of healthcare-related inequalities are most evident in low-resource settings. Such settings are often not explicitly defined, and umbrella terms which are easier to operationalise, such as ‘low-to-middle- income countries’ or ‘developing countries’, are often used. Without a deeper understanding of context, such proxies ar...

In 2020, the IOC proposed a universal methodology for the recording and reporting of data for injury and illness in sport. Para sport is played by individuals with impairment, and they have a unique set of considerations not captured by these recommendations. Therefore, the aim of this addendum to IOC consensus statement was to guide the Para sport...

Background: Rugby carries a risk for serious injuries, including acute spinal cord injuries. The lifetime health consequences of these injuries may be far-reaching. Purpose: In this study, we aimed to describe barriers and facilitators to healthcare and rehabilitation, in individuals with rugby-related spinal cord injuries in South Africa. Methods:...

Para-athletes (PA) may have specific mental health (MH) challenges that, together with the demands of high-level sport performance, could put them at risk for MH disorders. However, research in this population is limited. PURPOSE: To investigate factors associated with MH in South African PA. METHODS: In this descriptive, cross-sectional study, 124...

Background South Africa has 14 Provincial Rugby regions ('Unions'). Although rugby-related catastrophic injuries have been reported at 2.0 per 100 000 players per year, the comparative risk between each of these SA Unions has not yet been quantified. Understanding the difference in injury risk between Unions is important for potential intervention...

Objectives: To compare catastrophic injury rates between the 14 South African Provincial Rugby Unions. Design: A prospective, population-based study conducted among all South African Unions between 2008-2014. Methods: Player numbers in each Union were obtained from South African Rugby's 2013 Census. Catastrophic injuries were analysed from Bok...

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability affecting gross motor function (GMF ) in early childhood. Hippotherapy is a treatment approach aimed at improving GMF in children with CP. Several systematic reviews have been published showing an improvement in Dimension E of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM ) af...