Effects of a falls exercise intervention on strength, power, functional ability and bone in older frequent fallers: FaME (Falls Management Exercise) RCT secondary analysis.

Objectives: Falls Management Exercise (FaME) has been shown to reduce falls in frequent fallers and in lower risk sedentary older people. The effects of FaME on the strength, power, physical function and bone health of frequently falling older women are yet to be established.

Methods: This paper reports secondary analysis of data from the original randomised controlled trial of FaME in 100 community dwelling women aged ≥65 years with a history of ≥3 falls in the previous year.

Rate and risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury among sportswomen in Slovenia.

Context: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-injury rate is greater among female athletes than among male athletes.

Objective: To investigate the rate and risk of ACL injury among Slovenian sportswomen playing professional basketball, team handball, or volleyball.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Correlates of knee anterior laxity in sportswomen.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether any of the following factors are related to knee anterior laxity in healthy sportswomen: anthropometric characteristics, lower limb alignment characteristics, hormone-related factors and sport history. Six hundred and sixteen sportswomen were tested in the pre-season. The data have been analysed using linear regression for possible association of knee anterior laxity with other variables.

Knee anterior laxity: a risk factor for traumatic knee injury among sportswomen?

The purpose of this study was to investigate if knee anterior laxity, measured with an arthrometer, is a risk factor for traumatic knee injury in sportswomen. To allow a more complete analysis, other, easily measured variables such as anthropometry, lower leg characteristics, sport exposure and menstrual cycle characteristics were also evaluated as possible risk factors. Subjects were Slovenian sportswomen aged between 11 and 41 years participating in basketball, team handball and volleyball (N = 540).

Comparison of conventional resistance training and the fly-wheel ergometer for training the quadriceps muscle group in patients with unilateral knee injury.

A fly-wheel ergometer (FWE) offering resistance training of the knee extensors has been designed for space travel and found to be effective during bed rest. The possibility exists that this device is also effective in training the knee extensors after knee injury. The purpose of this study was to compare the FWE to standard knee extensor training equipment for their effects on individuals with a history of knee injury, a group who commonly suffer from weakness of the knee extensors that effects their function.

Steadiness of quadriceps contractions in young and older adults with and without a history of falling.

Decreased steadiness of muscle force may be associated with ageing and could be a cause of falls in older people. We studied this in isometric and anisometric quadriceps contractions in healthy young and older people. The older group contained people with and without a history of medically unexplained falls.

Strength, power output and symmetry of leg muscles: effect of age and history of falling.

Risk factors for medically unexplained falls may include reduced muscle power, strength and asymmetry in the lower limbs. Conflicting reports exist about strength and there is little information about power and symmetry. Forty-four healthy young people (29.

Power output, isometric strength and steadiness in the leg muscles of pre- and postmenopausal women; the effects of hormone replacement therapy.

There are conflicting reports of the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on strength preservation in postmenopausal women, while any effect on power output has received little attention. Decreased steadiness of force generation has been reported in older muscles and may be related to the hormonal changes associated with the menopause, but the effect of HRT has not been investigated. We have studied the effect of HRT on strength, power output and isometric force steadiness in healthy women.

Explosive power and asymmetry in leg muscle function in frequent fallers and non-fallers aged over 65.

Background: although low strength is a risk factor for falls, lower limb explosive power is more predictive of functional difficulties than strength. Power may be more predictive of a future fall than strength per se.

Objective: to compare leg muscle strength and explosive power and asymmetry of leg strength and power of women aged 65 or over living at home, with and without a history of falls.