Physical Therapy in Sport - Articles in Press

Exploring a model of asymmetric shoe wear on lower limb performance - Corrected Proof

Christopher C. Sole, Stephan Milosavljevic, Gisela Sole, S. John Sullivan — 2010-03-08

Abstract: Objectives: Asymmetric medial or lateral outer sole heel wear is often seen in worn footwear. We assessed the effect of 1 mm thick medial and lateral hindfoot wedges on the heel raise performance task.Design: Crossover trial with repeated measures.Setting: University laboratory.Participants: Thirty-eight physically active and injury free participants.Methods: A 1 mm thick tapered wedge was affixed to the medial or lateral aspect of the bare hindfoot. The main outcome measurements were maximum number of single leg heel raises (MHR) and the rate at which these were performed (RHR).Results: The geometric mean MHR for the medial wedge condition decreased by 23.4% relative to the baseline control (P < .001), however, the difference between the lateral wedge and the baseline control conditions was not statistically significant. The RHR decreased by 10.7% (P = .004) with the medial wedge compared to the baseline control condition, and 22.4% relative to the lateral wedge (P < .001). The RHR increased by 8.5% (P = .022) for the lateral wedge compared to the baseline control condition.Conclusions: Performance of the single leg heel raise task decreased when using a medial hindfoot wedge in the barefoot condition. These findings may have implications for assessment of footwear.

Corrected Proof

Colin Paterson — 2010-02-12

The use of taping techniques is seen as a key skill for all therapists working in sport, but is often a less utilised technique in other clinical situations. This book clearly meets its intentions of providing its readers with clear, logical and reasoned approaches to taping in a sporting context. Section 1 concentrates on the principles of taping; choosing the correct type of tape, the assessment process, application process and key taping techniques which later on in the book are applied to different anatomical regions, thus allowing the reader to develop their clinical reasoning skills to apply to different situations. The book concentrates on ‘traditional’ taping techniques and does not discuss specific techniques relating to current Kinesiotaping and fascial taping techniques.

Acrobatic gymnastics injury: Occurrence, site and training risk factors - Corrected Proof

Melinda Purnell, Debra Shirley, Leslie Nicholson, Roger Adams — 2010-02-11

Abstract: Objective: To determine the incidence and risk factors for injury associated with the performance of acrobatic gymnastics.Design: Retrospective injury and training survey.Setting: New South Wales acrobatic gymnastics clubs.Participants: Surveys were completed by 73 acrobatic gymnasts (69 female) aged 8–26 years.Main outcome measurements: Data on injury incidence and frequency for injury site were collected. Multiple-regression and ROC curve analysis were used to evaluate training-associated injury risk factors.Results: Half (50.7%) of the participants had sustained an injury associated with acrobatic gymnastics in the past 12 months, with 28.8% of participants affected by chronic injury at the time of the study. Age of onset for acute and chronic acrobatics-related injury averaged 13.9 (SD ± 3.03) and 14.7 (SD ± 3.85) years, respectively. Injury sites were predominately the knee, ankle and wrist. Risk factors for injury were having an age of ≥13 years and training for ≥8 h per week at age 11 years.Conclusions: The results suggest that the 11–15 years age period is critical for the occurrence of injury in acrobatic gymnasts. This is possibly due to the adolescent growth spurt which may create an increased vulnerability to injury if training volume during this time is above a certain threshold.

Visual acuity in young elite motorsport athletes: A preliminary report - Corrected Proof

2010-02-08

Abstract: Objectives: To determine whether elite motorsport athletes demonstrate superior levels of Visual Acuity than age and sex-matched controls.Design: A cross-sectional observational study.Setting: A University vision and balance laboratory.Participants: Young male motorsport athletes from the New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy and healthy age and sex-matched controls.Main outcome measures: Vision performance tests comprising; Static Visual Acuity (SVA), Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA), Gaze Stabilization Test (GST), and the Perception Time Test (PTT).Results: Motorsport athletes demonstrated superior visual acuity compared to age and sex-matched controls for all measures, and while this was not statistically significant for SVA, GST and DVA, it reached statistical significance for the PTT (p≤0.05).Conclusions: This preliminary investigation into the visual ability of motorsport athletes demonstrated that they may have superior visual performance when compared to controls. Increased visual acuity and perception time may not only act to increase performance, but may also reduce the risk of potential injury. This study highlights the need for further research into the area of visual performance, particularly in motorsport and other high-speed sports, where such skills might be integral to performance and injury reduction.

Effects of eccentric exercise on optimum length of the knee flexors and extensors during the preseason in professional soccer players - Corrected Proof

2010-01-25

Abstract: Objective: To assess the effects of eccentric exercise on optimum lengths of the knee flexors and extensors during the preseason in professional soccer.Design: Twenty-eight athletes from a professional Spanish soccer team (Division II) were randomly assigned to an eccentric exercise intervention group (EG) or a control group (CG). Over the four-week period two athletes from the control group suffered RF injuries and two athletes were contracted by other clubs. After these exclusions, both groups (EG, n=13; and CG, n=11) performed regular soccer training during the four-week preseason period.Results: After the four weeks, the optimum lengths of the knee flexors were significantly (P<0.05) increased by 2.3° in the CG and by 4.0° in the EG. The change in the EG was significantly (P<0.05) greater than that of the CG. The optimum lengths of the knee extensors were significantly increased only in the EG by 6.5°. Peak torque levels and ratios of quadriceps to hamstring (Q/H ratios) were not significantly altered throughout the study for either group.Conclusion: Eccentric exercise can increase the optimum lengths of both the knee extensors and knee extensors flexors during the preseason in professional soccer.

Drop jump landing knee valgus angle; normative data in a physically active population - Corrected Proof

Lee Herrington, Allan Munro — 2010-01-08

Abstract: Objective: Establish normative values for knee valgus angle during drop jump and step landings.Design: Observational.Setting: University biomechanics laboratory.Participants: 100 physically active asymptomatic individuals (50 male, 50 female) aged 18–28 years old.Main outcome measures: Knee valgus angle during drop jump and step landings.Results: There were no differences between genders during the step landing task (p 0.05) or between the valgus angle generated for either of the tasks (p > 0.05).Conclusion: It would appear in order to be regarded as an average “normal” performance during a drop jump landing task knee valgus angle should be symmetrical and in the range of 7–13° for females and 3–8° for males. For a unilateral step landing task knee valgus angle should be symmetrical and in the range of 5–12° for females and 1–9° for males.

Corrected Proof

Eleanor Tillett — 2009-08-25

Freely available online following the links to publications/Wellcome witnesses at www.ucl.ac.uk/histmed. This is not your standard historical text – and it is probably the better for it. Instead, it is a transcript of ‘discussion and debate’ on the history of sports medicine in the UK. For several years the Wellcome Trust has run what it terms ‘Witness Seminars’ where it gathers together clinicians, scientists and historians with an interest in particular aspect of medical history. The session is chaired, a few members are invited to give short addresses to get the ball rolling and after that, with some guidance from the chair, it's open to the floor. What has been published is an edited form of the verbatim transcript, together with four individual reminiscences as an appendix.