The effects of joint hypermobility on pain and functional biomechanics in adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia: secondary baseline analysis from a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: Joint hypermobility is a common clinical finding amongst hereditary connective tissue disorders that is observed in pediatric rheumatological settings, and often associated with chronic pain. Joint hypermobility may also contribute to deficits in physical functioning and physical activity, but previous findings have been inconsistent. It is possible that physical activity impairment in joint hypermobility may be due to chronic aberrant movement patterns subsequent to increased joint laxity.

Preliminary Evidence for the Fibromyalgia Integrative Training Program (FIT Teens) Improving Strength and Movement Biomechanics in Juvenile Fibromyalgia: Secondary Analysis and Results from a Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objectives: Current therapies for juvenile fibromyalgia (JFM), such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), improve pain coping but are less effective for pain reduction or engagement in physical activity. The Fibromyalgia Integrative Training for Teens (FIT Teens) program combines CBT with specialized neuromuscular exercise training for adolescents with JFM. The current investigation examined the effects of FIT Teens versus CBT on secondary outcomes of strength and functional biomechanics, utilizing 3D Motion capture technology.

Real-time biofeedback integrated into neuromuscular training reduces high-risk knee biomechanics and increases functional brain connectivity: A preliminary longitudinal investigation.

Prospective evidence indicates that functional biomechanics and brain connectivity may predispose an athlete to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, revealing novel neural linkages for targeted neuromuscular training interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a real-time biofeedback system for altering knee biomechanics and brain functional connectivity. Seventeen healthy, young, physically active female athletes completed 6 weeks of augmented neuromuscular training (aNMT) utilizing real-time, interactive visual biofeedback and 13 served as untrained controls.

Biomechanical and Functional Outcomes After Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction: A Pilot Study.

Background: Previous studies have acknowledged the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) as the primary stabilizer of the patella, preventing lateral displacement. MPFL reconstruction (MPFL-R) restores stability and functionality to the patellofemoral joint and has emerged as a preferred treatment option for recurrent lateral patellar instability.

Purpose: To objectively measure biomechanical characteristics of athletes cleared for return to sport after MPFL-R compared with healthy controls.

Injury Risk Factors Integrated Into Self-Guided Real-Time Biofeedback Improves High-Risk Biomechanics.

Context: Existing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs have failed to reverse the high rate of ACL injuries in adolescent female athletes.

Objective: This investigation attempts to overcome factors that limit efficacy with existing injury prevention programs through the use of a novel, objective, and real-time interactive visual feedback system designed to reduce the biomechanical risk factors associated with ACL injuries.

Design: Cross-over study.

Pilot Randomized Trial of Integrated Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Neuromuscular Training for Juvenile Fibromyalgia: The FIT Teens Program.

Unlabelled: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) improves coping and daily functioning in adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia (JFM), but is less effective in reducing pain. This pilot trial evaluated the efficacy of a novel intervention (Fibromyalgia Integrative Training for Teens; FIT Teens) which integrates CBT with specialized neuromuscular exercise training to enhance the effect of treatment on reducing pain and disability. Forty adolescents with JFM (12-18 years) were randomized to CBT-only or FIT Teens.

Brain-Behavior Mechanisms for the Transfer of Neuromuscular Training Adaptions to Simulated Sport: Initial Findings From the Train the Brain Project.

Context: A limiting factor for reducing anterior cruciate ligament injury risk is ensuring that the movement adaptions made during the prevention program transfer to sport-specific activity. Virtual reality provides a mechanism to assess transferability, and neuroimaging provides a means to assay the neural processes allowing for such skill transfer.

Objective: To determine the neural mechanisms for injury risk-reducing biomechanics transfer to sport after anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention training.

White matter alterations over the course of two consecutive high-school football seasons and the effect of a jugular compression collar: A preliminary longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging study.

The cumulative effects of repetitive subclinical head impacts during sports may result in chronic white matter (WM) changes and possibly, neurodegenerative sequelae. In this pilot study, we investigated the longitudinal WM changes over the course of two consecutive high-school football seasons and explored the long-term effects of a jugular vein compression collar on these WM alterations. Diffusion tensor imaging data were prospectively collected both pre- and postseason in the two consecutive seasons.

Analysis of head impact exposure and brain microstructure response in a season-long application of a jugular vein compression collar: a prospective, neuroimaging investigation in American football.

Background: Historical approaches to protect the brain from outside the skull (eg, helmets and mouthpieces) have been ineffective in reducing internal injury to the brain that arises from energy absorption during sports-related collisions. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a neck collar, which applies gentle bilateral jugular vein compression, resulting in cerebral venous engorgement to reduce head impact energy absorption during collision. Specifically, we investigated the effect of collar wearing during head impact exposure on brain microstructure integrity following a competitive high school American football season.