Publications by authors named "April L McPherson"
Background: Previous research has reported higher rates of both injury and illness among Paralympic athletes compared with Olympic athletes during the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, but no studies have directly compared injury and illness incidence between Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in a Summer Games.
Purpose: To compare injury and illness rates between Olympic and Paralympic Team USA athletes competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.
Context: Epidemiological studies have shown an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury after concussion. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the reverse relationship exists, specifically whether there is an increased risk of concussion after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in a population-based cohort.
Design: Retrospective cohort.
Context: There is a well-established increased risk of lower-extremity (LE) musculoskeletal (MSK) injury following a sport-related concussion (SRC). Neuromuscular training programs improve biomechanics associated with LE MSK injury and reduce LE MSK injury incidence, but their relative effectiveness in athletes with history of SRC is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate LE MSK injury incidence in female adolescent athletes with history of SRC following a neuromuscular training intervention.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUsefulness of Current Patient-Reported Outcome Scales for ACL Injury: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of Stakeholder-Perceived Utility of Specific Constructs and Items Across the Rehabilitation Timeline.
Orthop J Sports Med
March 2024
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the effectiveness of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) used in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) recovery, highlighting overlapping themes and the complexity that makes them less useful for both patients and practitioners.
- A mixed-methods approach involved 77 participants identifying the most valuable PROM items for recovery phases, confirming strong agreement between patients and practitioners on the importance of certain measures.
- Findings emphasize psychological burden and physical function as critical aspects of recovery, with specific items rated as highly useful, underlining the need for streamlined measures to assess treatment progress and readiness to return to sport.
Objective: To report epidemiological data regarding injury and illness among the Team USA staff during the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Methods: A retrospective review of all Team USA staff (total staff, N=1703 (62.5% female); total staff days (SD)=34 489) medical encounters during the Tokyo 2020 Games and Beijing 2022 Games was conducted.
Background: Low back pain is a common cause of disability in the US with increasing financial burden on healthcare. A variety of treatment options exist to combat LBP. Home-based therapy is a low-cost option, but there is a lack of data on how it compares to therapy in clinical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The neurocognitive health effects of repetitive head impacts have been examined in many sports. However, characterizations of head impacts for sliding-sport athletes are lacking.
Objective: To describe head impact kinematics and injury epidemiology in elite athletes during the 2021-2022 Bobsleigh World Cup season.
Article Synopsis
- After an ACL injury, some athletes have a hard time coming back to sports, and mental factors may be a big reason for this struggle.
- The study looked at how thigh muscle control and mental readiness relate for athletes who have had ACL injuries compared to healthy athletes.
- Results showed injured athletes had different muscle activity patterns and sizes in their thigh muscles, especially those who felt less ready to return to sports, which could help improve rehab programs in the future.
Introduction: It is well documented that marked weakness of the quadriceps is present after knee joint injury. This joint trauma induces a presynaptic reflex inhibition of musculature surrounding the joint, termed arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI). The extent to which anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury affects thigh musculature motor unit activity, which may affect restoration of thigh muscle strength after injury, is undetermined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Strategies to identify lower extremity musculoskeletal (LEMSK) injury risk have been informed by prospectively identified biomechanical and neuromuscular risk factors. Emergent evidence suggests that cognitive and oculomotor performance may also contribute to LEMSK injury. The purpose of this study was to determine whether prospective cognitive and oculomotor measures identify adolescent athletes who sustain an in-season LEMSK injury.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJoint trauma induces a presynaptic reflex inhibition termed arthrogenic muscle inhibition (AMI) that prevents complete activation of muscles. Reduced motor unit (MU) output is a hypothesised mechanism for persistent strength deficits. The objective of this study was to determine MU characteristics of thigh musculature and determine how they change with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury compared to healthy controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- ACL injuries lead to reduced peak knee extensor and flexor forces, with a 19% and 10% decrease in injured limbs compared to uninjured limbs, respectively.
- When analyzing knee extensor force signals, injured limbs showed higher fractal scaling exponents at certain force levels, indicating changes in signal complexity.
- The findings suggest that individuals with ACL injuries experience neuromuscular system deficits, as evidenced by differences in fractal exponents between injured and non-injured groups, despite similar variability magnitudes.
Article Synopsis
- Weaker hamstrings and lower hamstrings/quadriceps force ratios in female athletes are linked to a higher risk of ACL injuries, highlighting the importance of muscular strength in injury prevention.
- The study aimed to explore sex differences in visual-motor reaction times and knee muscular force development among 50 high school basketball players (26 females and 24 males).
- Results indicated that females had slower visual-motor reaction times and lower knee extension force development compared to males, while also exhibiting a higher knee flexion/extension ratio in later force development stages.
Background: Altered motor unit (MU) activity has been identified after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, but its effect on muscle tissue properties is unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare thigh musculature muscle stiffness between control and ACL-injured subjects.
Methods: Thirty ACL-injured subjects and 25 control subjects were recruited.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to characterize lower extremity passive muscle stiffness in a young, healthy, athletic population. It was hypothesized that males would exhibit greater stiffness than females and that hamstring stiffness would increase with increased passive hamstring stretch.
Methods: Male (n = 52, age 16.
Background: Recent studies indicate concussion increases risk of musculoskeletal injury in specific groups of patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the odds of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury after concussion in a population-based cohort.
Methods: International Classification of Diseases, 9th and 10th Revision (ICD-9, ICD-10) codes relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of a concussion and ACL tear were utilized to search the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) between 2000 and 2017.
Background: Many studies have investigated factors that predict a return to sport participation after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, but it is unclear whether the same factors are associated with a return to preinjury level of sport performance.
Purpose: To identify factors that contribute to an athlete's return to preinjury level of performance after ACL reconstruction.
Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.
Background: Lower psychological readiness to return to sport has been reported for younger patients (≤20 years) who go on to a second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. However, changes in psychological readiness and specific psychological responses associated with second injury have not been identified.
Purpose/hypothesis: To identify changes in psychological readiness over time associated with a second ACL injury.
Background: Psychological responses after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and ACL reconstruction (ACLR) have been identified as predictors of return to sport but have not been investigated in relation to further injury.
Purpose/hypothesis: To determine whether psychological readiness to return to sport is associated with second ACL injury. It was hypothesized a priori that at both preoperative and 12-month postoperative time points, patients who sustained a second ACL injury would have lower psychological readiness than patients who did not have a second injury.
Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between tibial slope angle and ligament strain during in vitro landing simulations that induce ACL failure through the application of variable external loading at the knee. The hypothesis tested was that steeper posterior tibial slope angle would be associated with higher ACL strain during a simulated landing task across all external loading conditions.
Methods: Kinetics previously derived from an in vivo cohort performing drop landings were reproduced on 45 cadaveric knees via the mechanical impact simulator.
Background: Clinical management of sport-related concussion typically involves a symptom checklist, clinical examination of mental status, and neurocognitive testing. However, recent studies have identified unresolved, impaired sensorimotor function after athletes return to sport. A review and meta-analysis of all current literature regarding risk of subsequent musculoskeletal (MSK) injury after concussion has yet to be published in the medical literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Limb asymmetries, as determined through in vivo biomechanical measures, are known risk factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Previous cadaveric studies have shown a lack of significant differences in ligament strain between contralateral lower extremities when identical kinematics were simulated on specimens. Recent methodological developments have applied in vivo knee kinetics to exert landing forces on cadaveric lower extremities to mimic ACL injury events, but it is unknown whether contralateral limbs fail in a consistent manner during impact simulator testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Previous investigations of single-camera 3D motion analysis camera systems validity have yielded mixed results for clinical applications.
Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to determine the validity of a single-camera 3D motion analysis system for subject standing height, vertical jump height, and broad jump length. It was hypothesized that single-camera system values would demonstrate high correlation to the values obtained from accepted standard clinical measurements.
Background: Previous reliability investigations of single-camera three dimensional (3D) motion analysis systems have reported mixed results.
Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to determine the intra- and inter-rater reliability of a single-camera 3D motion analysis system for subject standing height, vertical jump height, and broad jump length.
Study Design: Experimental reliability study.