Concussion History and Balance Performance in Adolescent Rugby Union Players.

Background: Sports-related concussion is a worldwide problem. There is a concern that an initial concussion can cause prolonged subclinical disturbances to sensorimotor function that increase the risk of subsequent injury. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether a history of sports-related concussion has effects on static and dynamic balance performance in adolescent rugby players.

Recurrent injury patterns in adolescent rugby.

Objectives: To establish patterns of subsequent injury in U18 rugby, to quantify the burden of within season injury recurrence.

Design: Secondary analysis of prospective data.

Setting: 28 Schools in Ireland.

RISUS study: Rugby Injury Surveillance in Ulster Schools.

Objective: To examine injury patterns in adolescent rugby players and determine factors associated with injury risk.

Design: Prospective injury surveillance study.

Setting: N=28 Grammar Schools in Ulster, Ireland (2014-2015 playing season).

A low-cost solution for the restoration of femoral head centre during total hip arthroplasty.

Restoration of joint centre during total hip arthroplasty is critical. While computer-aided navigation can improve accuracy during total hip arthroplasty, its expense makes it inaccessible to the majority of surgeons. This article evaluates the use, in the laboratory, of a calliper with a simple computer application to measure changes in femoral head centres during total hip arthroplasty.

Using a calliper to restore the centre of the femoral head during total hip replacement.

Restoration of leg length and offset is an important goal in total hip replacement. This paper reports a calliper-based technique to help achieve these goals by restoring the location of the centre of the femoral head. This was validated first by using a co-ordinate measuring machine to see how closely the calliper technique could record and restore the centre of the femoral head when simulating hip replacement on Sawbone femur, and secondly by using CT in patients undergoing hip replacement.

What are the factors of residual pain after uncomplicated TKA?

Purpose: Residual pain during activities of daily living and/or at rest is a major cause of a patient's dissatisfaction after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The management of a painful TKA, which has no obvious clinical or radiological explanation, requires further investigation with more sensitive imaging modalities (CT scan and bone scan) and hematological tests. It is often challenging for the physician to determine what level of pain warrants these more complex and expensive medical examinations.

The relationship of the orientation of the transverse acetabular ligament and acetabular labrum to the suggested safe zones of cup positioning in total hip arthroplasty.

Background: There is a need to develop and validate a method for establishing cup orientation that is patient specific and independent of the anterior pelvic plane. It is our hypothesis that the transverse acetabular ligament and acetabular labrum can be used to do this. The objective of this study is to define the orientation of the plane formed by the transverse acetabular ligament and acetabular labrum and to examine whether these local landmarks lie within the limits of acceptance for cup positioning.

Factitious lymphoedema as a psychiatric condition mimicking reflex sympathetic dystrophy: a case report.

Introduction: Reflex sympathetic dystrophy can result in severe disability with only one in five patients able to fully resume prior activities. Therefore, it is important to diagnose this condition early and begin appropriate treatment. Factitious lymphoedema can mimic reflex sympathetic dystrophy and is caused by self-inflicted tourniquets, blows to the arm or repeated skin irritation.

Comparison of topical fibrin spray and tranexamic acid on blood loss after total knee replacement: a prospective, randomised controlled trial.

We performed a randomised, controlled trial involving 150 patients with a pre-operative level of haemoglobin of 13.0 g/dl or less, to compare the effect of either topical fibrin spray or intravenous tranexamic acid on blood loss after total knee replacement. A total of 50 patients in the topical fibrin spray group had 10 ml of the reconstituted product applied intra-operatively to the operation site.

The transverse acetabular ligament: an aid to orientation of the acetabular component during primary total hip replacement: a preliminary study of 1000 cases investigating postoperative stability.

Ensuring the accuracy of the intra-operative orientation of the acetabular component during a total hip replacement can be difficult. In this paper we introduce a reproducible technique using the transverse acetabular ligament to determine the anteversion of the acetabular component. We have found that this ligament can be identified in virtually every hip undergoing primary surgery.

The use of multi-media messaging in the referral of musculoskeletal limb injuries to a tertiary trauma unit using: a 1-month evaluation.

Objectives: New developments in telecommunications will have a profound effect on the delivery of medical care throughout the world. In Northern Ireland three trauma centres provide fracture care for their own and surrounding Emergency Departments. All trauma referrals are currently taken by telephone.