Sports medicine

Pain and injuries are considered a common problem among elite athletes and recreational lifters performing the squat, bench press and deadlift. Since all three lifts engage multiple joints and expose the lifters' bodies to high physical demands often several times a week, it has been suggested that their injuries might be related to the excessively heavy loads, the large range of motion during the exercises, insufficient resting times between training sessions and/or faulty lifting technique. However, no previous article has summarised what is known about specific injuries and the injury aetiology associated with the three lifts...

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BACKGROUND: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has a significant psychological effect, and a negative psychological state is a commonly cited reason for a reduction or cessation of sports participation after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) surgery. PURPOSE: To identify factors that contribute to an athlete's psychological readiness to return to sport (RTS) after ACLR. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: A cohort of 635 athletes (389 male, 246 female) who underwent ACLR and had been cleared to RTS completed the Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Return to Sport After Injury (ACL-RSI) scale at an average 12 months (range, 11-24 months) after surgery...

Background Return-to-sport protocols after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) often include assessment of hop distance symmetry. However, it is unclear whether movement deficits are present, regardless of hop symmetry. Objectives To assess biomechanics and symmetry of adolescent athletes following ACLR during a single-leg hop for distance. Methods Forty-six patients with ACLR (5-12 months post surgery; 27 female; mean ± SD age, 15.6 ± 1.7 years) were classified as asymmetric (operative-limb hop distance less than 90% that of nonoperative limb [n = 17]) or symmetric (n = 29) in this retrospective cohort...

BACKGROUND: Patellar tendinopathy is a condition characterized by anterior knee activity-related pain. It has a high incidence among athletes engaged in jumping sports and may become a chronic condition. Nonoperative management is the first choice in these patients, and several nonsurgical treatment options have been proposed. Nonetheless, clear indications on the most effective approach to address patellar tendinopathy are still lacking. PURPOSE: To analyze the evidence on nonoperative options to treat chronic patellar tendinopathy through a systematic review of the literature and to perform a meta-analysis to identify the most effective nonsurgical option...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Programs to prevent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female basketball players are scarce. Also, ACL injury prevention training that focuses on hip joint function has not been reported. PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of a hip-focused ACL injury prevention program in female basketball players. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: A prospective intervention study was conducted for 12 years...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Physicians counseling athletes on the prognosis of sport-specific performance outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) depend on the published literature. However, critical appraisal of the validity and biases in these studies is required to understand how ACLR affects an athlete's ability to return to sport, the athlete's sport-specific performance, and his or her ability to achieve preinjury levels of performance. PURPOSE: This review identifies the published prognostic studies evaluating sport-specific performance outcomes after ACLR...

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The return to sport from injury is a difficult multifactorial decision, and risk of reinjury is an important component. Most protocols for ascertaining the return to play status involve assessment of the healing status of the original injury and functional tests which have little proven predictive ability. Little attention has been paid to ascertaining whether an athlete has completed sufficient training to be prepared for competition. Recently, we have completed a series of studies in cricket, rugby league and Australian rules football that have shown that when an athlete's training and playing load for a given week (acute load) spikes above what they have been doing on average over the past 4 weeks (chronic load), they are more likely to be injured...

BACKGROUND: The ability to monitor training load accurately in professional sports is proving vital for athlete preparedness and injury prevention. While numerous monitoring techniques have been developed to assess the running demands of many team sports, these methods are not well suited to throwing-dominant sports that are infrequently linked to high running volumes. Therefore, other techniques are required to monitor the differing demands of these sports to ensure athletes are adequately prepared for competition...

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OBJECTIVE: To determine if any differences exist between the rolling averages and exponentially weighted moving averages (EWMA) models of acute:chronic workload ratio (ACWR) calculation and subsequent injury risk. METHODS: A cohort of 59 elite Australian football players from 1 club participated in this 2-year study. Global positioning system (GPS) technology was used to quantify external workloads of players, and non-contact 'time-loss' injuries were recorded. The ACWR were calculated for a range of variables using 2 models: (1) rolling averages, and (2) EWMA...

BACKGROUND: A variety of medications are administered to the intra-articular space for the relief of joint pain. While amide-type local anesthetics have been extensively studied, there is minimal information regarding the potential chondrotoxicity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioid medications. PURPOSE: To investigate the in vitro chondrotoxicity of single-dose equivalent concentrations of ketorolac, morphine, meperidine, and fentanyl on human chondrocytes...

Pain is a common problem among elite athletes and is frequently associated with sport injury. Both injury and pain interfere with peak performance. Pain management should be based on the physiological, anatomical and psychosocial influences on the individual's pain and is not equivalent to injury management, which focuses on musculoskeletal recovery and return-to-play. This narrative review provides a foundation for understanding the differing causes and types of pain in elite athletes, thereby serving as a springboard for comprehensive pain management...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Elbow injuries cause significant disability for the throwing athlete. Scant data are available on the distribution and characteristics of these injuries in elite baseball players. No study exists that focuses solely on the epidemiological characteristics of elbow injuries in professional baseball players using a comprehensive injury surveillance system. HYPOTHESIS: Professional baseball players have a high occurrence of elbow injuries influenced by factors including length of time playing, time period within the annual baseball season, and specific position played...