Who's Afraid of Electrical Stimulation? Let's Revisit the Application of NMES at the Knee.

: Restoring quadriceps strength is essential for successful rehabilitation of knee injuries, but many athletes return to their previous activity with persisting muscle weakness. Strong evidence supports using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to improve quadriceps strength; however, there is a lack of widespread clinical implementation. We believe there is a critical need to provide clinical approaches that promote using NMES to improve patients' quadriceps strength and ensuring clinicians provide high-value rehabilitation care.

ACL Reconstruction Rehabilitation: Clinical Data, Biologic Healing, and Criterion-Based Milestones to Inform a Return-to-Sport Guideline.

Context: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) and postoperative rehabilitation continues to be a multidisciplinary focus in both research and clinical environments. Recent research on ACLR warrants a reexamination of clinicians' current rehabilitation practices to optimize the strikingly variable clinical outcomes after ACLR and return to sport. The purpose of the article and updated guidelines is to use contemporary evidence to systematically revisit our practice guidelines and validate our clinical milestones with data from our university-based practice.

Physical Therapy Evaluation and Treatment After Concussion/Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Over the last decade, numerous concussion evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), consensus statements, and clinical guidance documents have been published. These documents have typically focused on the diagnosis of concussion and medical management of individuals post concussion, but provide little specific guidance for physical therapy management of concussion and its associated impairments. Further, many of these guidance documents have targeted specific populations in specific care contexts.

How Do We Meet the Challenges of Assessing and Managing Concussion?

Despite advances in the assessment, diagnosis, prognosis, and management of the patient with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion, the condition continues to frustrate clinicians and researchers. The November 2019 special issue of the () supports and represents an interdisciplinary approach to assessment, management, and treatment of mTBI/concussion. The articles further highlight the evolving role of the physical therapist throughout the clinical course post concussion.

A Treatment-Based Profiling Model for Physical Therapy Management of Patients Following a Concussive Event.

Concussions are a public health concern that affects individuals across the life span. The multifaceted effects of concussion warrant an interdisciplinary management strategy that may include physical therapy. However, physical therapists may feel underprepared for clinical decision making following a concussive event.

PROGRESSIVE REHABILITATION AFTER TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY: A PILOT AND FEASIBILITY STUDY.

Background: The incidence of total hip arthroplasty (THA) has increased, due in part to younger individuals undergoing the procedure. Surgical techniques and biomaterials have improved, but rehabilitation has not kept pace with the needs of a changing demographic.

Hypothesis/purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a progressive strengthening and functional retraining intervention after THA.

Ultimate frisbee injuries in a collegiate setting.

Purpose/background: Ultimate Frisbee (Ultimate) is a limited-contact team sport growing in popularity, particularly as a collegiate club sport. In 2011, over 947,000 people played Ultimate. Sex, age, skill level, and physical demands of the sport place each player at risk for injury, yet there is limited information on the number of injuries with regard to clinical research.

Functional testing to determine readiness to discontinue brace use, one year after acl reconstruction.

Background: While the use of functional knee braces for return to sports or high level physical activity after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) is controversial, brace use is still prevalent.(1,2,3,4,5) All active patients in the practice are braced after ACLR and must pass a battery of sports tests before they return to play in their brace. Criteria include a 90% score on 4 one-legged hop tests(9) burst superimposition strength test,(10) Knee Outcome Survey Activities of Daily Living Scale,(8) and a global rating of knee function.

Current concepts for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a criterion-based rehabilitation progression.

Unlabelled: The management of patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction should be evidence based. Since our original published guidelines in 1996, successful outcomes have been consistently achieved with the rehabilitation principles of early weight bearing, using a combination of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing exercise focused on quadriceps and lower extremity strength, and meeting specific objective requirements for return to activity. As rehabilitative evidence and surgical technology and procedures have progressed, the original guidelines should be revisited to ensure that the most up-to-date evidence is guiding rehabilitative care.

Data-based interval hitting program for female college volleyball players.

Context: Interval sports programs are a critical rehabilitation element when preparing the injured athlete for a return to preinjury activities. There is currently no published interval hitting program to guide a return to unrestricted play for the volleyball athlete. Therefore, data-based, position-specific overhead hitting programs that control for intensity, time, and number of ball strikes were developed for female college volleyball players.