US Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Cadets' Knowledge of Exercise-related Musculoskeletal Injuries.

Musculoskeletal injuries, especially resulting from physical training, are a significant threat to military readiness. Due to costs related to treating injuries and the high probability of chronic, recurrent injuries, prevention should be a primary focus to maximize human performance and military success. However, in the US Army, many personnel are uninformed on injury prevention topics, and no research has identified injury prevention knowledge gaps in military leaders.

Effect of Strength Training on Jump-Landing Biomechanics in Adolescent Females.

Background: Sex-based differences in neuromuscular characteristics relevant to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk may arise as compensation for divergent strength development during puberty. Strength training during this period may prevent the development of these undesirable neuromuscular characteristics.

Hypothesis: Strength-trained middle school girls will have improved jump-landing biomechanics compared with control participants.

Vibroarthrographic analysis of patellofemoral joint arthrokinematics during squats with increasing external loads.

Background: The patellofemoral joint (PFJ) provides extremely low kinetic friction, which results in optimal arthrokinematic motion quality. Previous research showed that these friction-reducing properties may be diminished due to the increase in articular contact forces. However, this phenomenon has not been analyzed in vivo during functional daily-living activities The aim of this study was the vibroarthrographic assessment of changes in PFJ arthrokinematics during squats with variated loads.

Dry Cupping Therapy for Improving Nonspecific Neck Pain and Subcutaneous Hemodynamics.

Context: Dry cupping therapy is a noninvasive treatment commonly used to reduce pain and promote the healing process in various populations, including those with nonspecific neck pain; however, no data are available to support most of this method's true physiological benefits.

Objective: To determine if dry cupping therapy decreased pain and increased subcutaneous blood flow compared with sham cupping and control conditions.

Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Effects of Immobilization and Re-Mobilization on Knee Joint Arthrokinematic Motion Quality.

Background: Knee immobilization is a common intervention for patients with traumatic injuries. However, it usually leads to biomechanical/morphological disturbances of articular tissues. These changes may contribute to declining kinetic friction-related quality of arthrokinematics; however, this phenomenon has not been analyzed in vivo and remains unrecognized.

Cooling of Lower Extremity Muscles According to Subcutaneous Tissue Thickness.

Context: When using an ice bag, previous researchers recommended cooling times based on the amount of subcutaneous tissue. Unfortunately, many clinicians are unaware of these recommendations or whether they can be applied to other muscles.

Objective: To examine if muscles of the lower extremity cool similarly based on recommended cooling times.

Self-Myofascial Release of the Superficial Back Line Improves Sit-and-Reach Distance.

Context: Decreased hamstring flexibility can lead to a plethora of musculoskeletal injuries, including low back pain, hamstring strains, and patellofemoral pain. Lack of flexibility may be the result of myofascial adhesions. The fascia connected to the hamstrings is part of the superficial back line that runs from the cranium to the plantar aspect of the foot.

TRANSVERSUS ABDOMINIS ACTIVATION AND TIMING IMPROVES FOLLOWING CORE STABILITY TRAINING: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL.

Background: Patients with non-specific low back pain (LBP) often present with a decrease in transversus abdominis (TrA) muscle activation and delayed onset of contraction with extremity movements, potentially contributing to recurrent LBP. Core stability is required for extremity movement and if the timing of when the TrA contracts is not corrected patients may continue to experience LBP.

Hypothesis/purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a four-week core stability rehabilitation program on TrA activation ratio and when the TrA initiates contraction during upper extremity movements in subjects with and without LBP.

Strong Correlation of Upper-Extremity Blood-Flow Volume With Grip Strength While in a Provocative Shoulder Position in Baseball Pitchers.

Context: Baseball players, specifically pitchers, with symptomatic neurovascular occlusion often initially complain of arm fatigue and loss of ball control and velocity. As the compression continues complaints may manifest in dull pain, paresthesia, and decreased grip strength.

Objective: To determine the correlation between upper-extremity blood-flow volume and grip strength among baseball pitchers.

Forward Shoulder Posture in Collegiate Swimmers: A Comparative Analysis of Muscle-Energy Techniques.

Context: Empirical data for treating forward shoulder posture supports stretching the anterior shoulder musculature. Although muscle-energy techniques (METs) have been hypothesized to lengthen muscle, no data have described the usefulness of this technique among swimmers.

Objective: To determine if an MET provides improvements in resting pectoralis minor length (PML), forward scapular position, and scapular upward rotation in female collegiate swimmers.

Effect of Ankle Positioning During Hamstring Stretches for Improving Straight Leg Hip Flexion Motion.

Objective: To compare the effects of stretching the hamstrings with the ankle in either a plantar-flexed (PF) or dorsiflexed (DF) position for improving straight leg hip flexion range of motion (ROM) over a 4-week period.

Design: Randomized, single-blinded, pretest, posttest design.

Setting: Athletic training facility.

Upper extremity blood flow changes in professional baseball pitchers between two consecutive seasons.

Background: Because of the tremendous forces produced and the repetitive nature of baseball, players have shown various shoulder adaptations in strength and range of motion. However, no research has identified whether alterations occur in the blood flow to the dominant arm among competitive baseball players.

Methods: Twenty professional baseball pitchers and 16 position players participated.

Blood flow after exercise-induced muscle damage.

Context: The most common modality used to address acute inflammation is cryotherapy. Whereas pain decreases with cryotherapy, evidence that changes occur in perfusion of skeletal muscle is limited. We do not know whether ice attenuates the increases in perfusion associated with acute inflammation.

Decreased blood flow in the throwing arm of professional baseball pitchers.

Background: As a consequence of the repetitive forces placed on the throwing arm of a baseball player, various bony, capsuloligamentous, and muscular adaptations occur and have been identified. However, no research has identified whether adaptations also exist in the vasculature of the upper extremity in the competitive baseball player.

Methods: Fifty-one professional baseball pitchers and 34 position players participated.

Microvascular perfusion increases after eccentric exercise of the gastrocnemius.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess microvascular perfusion immediately after eccentric exercise using contrast-enhanced sonography.

Methods: An intravenous catheter was placed in the antecubital vein of the arm contralateral to the leg being tested for the delivery of microbubbles to 18 healthy volunteers (mean age ± SD, 22.2 ± 2.

Transversus abdominis activation during a side-bridge exercise progression is similar in people with recurrent low back pain and healthy controls.

Low back pain (LBP) affects 70-80% of the population. The transversus abdominis (TrA) has been implicated as part of the cause of LBP. Prevention and rehabilitation of LBP often target the TrA using exercises such as the side bridge accompanied with the abdominal drawing-in maneuver (ADIM).

The anesthetic effect of lidocaine after varying times of phonophoresis.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the anesthetic effect of 1-MHz phonophoresis using lidocaine on the anterior forearm following 5- and 10-min interventions.

Design: This was a crossover study in a laboratory involving 22 healthy participants (13 women, 9 men; age, 23.0 ± 3.

Microvascular perfusion and intramuscular temperature of the calf during cooling.

Purpose: The study's purpose was to examine how the microvascularity of the gastrocnemius changed after a cryotherapy intervention based on subcutaneous tissue thickness. A secondary purpose was to compare intramuscular temperature change to subcutaneous tissue thickness.

Methods: This was a single-blinded crossover study; each subject received both conditions (cryotherapy or sham).

The effect of cold water immersion on 48-hour performance testing in collegiate soccer players.

This randomized, controlled, laboratory study was designed to examine the effect of cold water immersion (CWI) as a recovery modality on repeat performance on the yo-yo intermittent recovery test (YIRT), a widely accepted tool for the evaluation of physical performance in soccer, separated by 48 hours. Twenty-two healthy Division I collegiate soccer players (13 men and 9 women; age, 19.8 ± 1.

No difference between doses in skin anesthesia after lidocaine delivered via iontophoresis.

Context: Iontophoresis is a method of administering medications transcutaneously using galvanic current. Dose is the product of current amplitude and treatment duration. It is assumed that higher doses of iontophoresis are more effective in delivering medication, yet research supporting this claim is insufficient.

Subcutaneous thigh fat assessment: a comparison of skinfold calipers and ultrasound imaging.

Context: Skinfold calipers (SC) typically are used to determine subcutaneous fat thicknesses. Identifying the exact separation of muscle and fat can complicate measurements. Ultrasound imaging (USI) might provide a better technique for analyzing subcutaneous fat thicknesses.

Electrode type and placement configuration for quadriceps activation evaluation.

Context: The ability to accurately estimate quadriceps voluntary activation is an important tool for assessing neuromuscular function after a variety of knee injuries. Different techniques have been used to assess quadriceps volitional activation, including various stimulating electrode types and electrode configurations, yet the optimal electrode types and configurations for depolarizing motor units in the attempt to assess muscle activation are unknown.

Objective: To determine whether stimulating electrode type and configuration affect quadriceps central activation ratio (CAR) and percentage-of-activation measurements in healthy participants.

Short-term effect of muscle energy technique on pain in individuals with non-specific lumbopelvic pain: a pilot study.

Muscle energy technique (MET) is a form of manual therapy frequently used to correct lumbopelvic pain (LPP), herein the patient voluntarily contracts specific muscles against the resistance of the clinician. Studies on MET regarding magnitude and duration of effectiveness are limited. This study was a randomized controlled trial in which 20 subjects with self-reported LPP were randomized into two groups (MET or control) after magnitude of pain was determined.

No Difference in Transverse Abdominis Activation Ratio between Healthy and Asymptomatic Low Back Pain Patients during Therapeutic Exercise.

Dysfunction of the transverse abdominis (TrA) has been associated with LBP. Several therapeutic exercises are prescribed to help target the TrA. Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging (RUSI) is used to capture activation of the TrA during exercise.