The MyJump App is a Valid Method of Assessing and Classifying Limb Symmetry During Recovery from Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Background: Jump testing performance and limb symmetry measures are important metrics for clinicians to monitor during rehabilitation after Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction, however they require hardware and software which is not commonly available in clinical practice. Video-based solutions may present a feasible alternative, but their veracity in classifying patients using limb-symmetry of 90% has not been established, nor have the clinimetric values for the performance measures been reported in this population.

Purpose: To describe the diagnostic accuracy (pass/fail using 90% LSI) and clinimetrics of an iPad-based app ("MyJump") compared to reference force plate analyses for limb symmetry, jump/hop height, contact time, flight time, and reactive strength index.

Total Score of Athleticism: Profiling Strength and Power Characteristics in Professional Soccer Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction to Assess Readiness to Return to Sport.

Background: There is no consensus on the optimal testing procedure to determine return-to-sport (RTS) readiness after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Current approaches use limb symmetry across a range of tests, but this does not consider a patient's level of athleticism or benchmarks relative to his or her noninjured counterparts.

Purpose: To examine the utility of the Total Score of Athleticism (TSA), a composite scale including strength, power, and reactive strength assessments, to aid RTS decision-making.

Short-term outcomes of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with or without lateral tenodesis or anterolateral ligament reconstruction: a retrospective cohort.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the short-term outcomes of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) alone, ACLR with lateral tenodesis, and ACL and ALL reconstruction.

Methods: A retrospective cohort of prospectively collected data on all ACL procedures was performed at Aspetar Specialized Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital between January 2020 and January 2021. Patients were treated with ACLR alone, ACLR with lateral tenodesis, or ACLR with ALL reconstruction.

Single leg drop jump is affected by physical capacities in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction.

Single leg drop jump (SLDJ) assessment is commonly used during the later stages of rehabilitation to identify residual deficits in reactive strength but the effects of physical capacity on kinetic and kinematic variables in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction remain unknown. Isokinetic knee extension strength, kinematics from an inertial measurement unit 3D system and SLDJ performance variables and mechanics derived from a force plate were measured in 64 professional soccer players (24.7 ± 3.

Performance and symmetry measures during vertical jump testing at return to sport after ACL reconstruction.

Objective: Vertical jump tests are more sensitive in revealing asymmetries in performance metrics at the time of return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) than horizontal hop tests. However, it remains unclear which vertical tests (bilateral or unilateral) and which metrics (kinetics or performance) are most effective in informing the rehabilitation status and readiness for return to sport. We aimed to investigate the status of athletes during vertical jump testing at return to sport after ACLR.

Comparison of Strength and Power Characteristics Before ACL Rupture and at the End of Rehabilitation Before Return to Sport in Professional Soccer Players.

Background: Strength and power is often reduced on the involved versus contralateral limb and healthy controls after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, but no study has compared with preinjury values at the time of return to sport (RTS).

Hypothesis: Divergent recovery patterns in strength and power characteristics will be present at RTS relative to preinjury baseline data and healthy matched controls.

Study Design: Cohort study.

Biomechanical Analysis of the Tuck Jump Assessment.

Nascimento, N, Sideris, V, and Read, PJ. Biomechanical analysis of the tuck jump assessment. J Strength Cond Res 36(10): 2946-2949, 2022-The tuck jump assessment (TJA) examines plyometric technique flaws associated with the increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Impaired Stretch-Shortening Cycle Function Persists Despite Improvements in Reactive Strength After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Read, PJ, Pedley, JS, Eirug, I, Sideris, V, and Oliver, JL. Impaired stretch-shortening cycle function persists despite improvements in reactive strength followingafter anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. J Strength Cond Res 36(5): 1238-1244, 2022-Reactive strength index (RSI) during a single-leg drop jump (SLDJ) has been indicated to determine return-to-sport readiness after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction, but only cross-sectional studies are available.

Between-Limb Symmetry in ACL and Tibiofemoral Contact Forces in Athletes After ACL Reconstruction and Clearance for Return to Sport.

Background: Current return-to-sport (RTS) criteria after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) include demonstrating symmetry in functional and strength tests. It remains unknown if at the time that athletes are cleared to RTS, they exhibit between-limb symmetry in ACL and tibiofemoral contact forces or if these forces are comparable with those in uninjured athletes.

Purposes: To (1) examine ACL and tibiofemoral contact forces in athletes who underwent ACLR and were cleared to RTS and (2) compare the involved leg to the healthy contralateral leg and healthy controls during functional tasks.

Single leg vertical jump performance identifies knee function deficits at return to sport after ACL reconstruction in male athletes.

Objectives: Vertical jump performance (height) is a more representative metric for knee function than horizontal hop performance (distance) in healthy individuals. It is not known what the biomechanical status of athletes after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) is at the time they are cleared to return to sport (RTS) or whether vertical performance metrics better evaluate knee function.

Methods: Standard marker-based motion capture and electromyography (EMG) were collected from 26 male athletes cleared to RTS after ACLR and 22 control healthy subjects during single leg vertical jumps (SLJ) and single leg drop jumps (SLDJ).

The use of wearable technology as an assessment tool to identify between-limb differences during functional tasks following ACL reconstruction. A scoping review.

Objective: To report how wearable sensors have been used to identify between-limb deficits during functional tasks following ACL reconstruction and critically examine the methods used.

Methods: We performed a scoping review of studies including participants with ACL reconstruction as the primary surgical procedure, who were assessed using wearable sensors during functional movement tasks (e.g.

Symmetry in Triple Hop Distance Hides Asymmetries in Knee Function After ACL Reconstruction in Athletes at Return to Sports.

Background: After anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), a battery of strength and hop tests is frequently used to determine the readiness of an athlete to successfully return to sports. However, the anterior cruciate ligament reinjury rate remains alarmingly high.

Purpose: To evaluate the lower limb function of athletes after ACLR at the time when they had been cleared to return to sports (RTS).

Effect of Processed Beverage By-Product-Based Diets on Biological Parameters, Conversion Efficiency and Body Composition of (L) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

The effect of spent coffee grounds (SCG), brewer's spent grains (BSG) and their mixtures with the addition of brewer's yeast (BY) were tested in two rearing densities of the Black Soldier Fly, (L.). Different treatments were investigated on larval development, survival, yield, protein conversion (PrCR) and bioconversion rate (BCR), substrate mass reduction and body composition of the insect.

Single leg hop for distance symmetry masks lower limb biomechanics: time to discuss hop distance as decision criterion for return to sport after ACL reconstruction?

Background: We evaluated the lower limb status of athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) during the propulsion and landing phases of a single leg hop for distance (SLHD) task after they had been cleared to return to sport. We wanted to evaluate the biomechanical components of the involved (operated) and uninvolved legs of athletes with ACLR and compare these legs with those of uninjured athletes (controls).

Methods: We captured standard video-based three-dimensional motion and electromyography (EMG) in 26 athletes after ACLR and 23 healthy controls during SLHD and calculated lower limb and trunk kinematics.

Vertical and Horizontal Hop Performance: Contributions of the Hip, Knee, and Ankle.

Background: Single-leg vertical and horizontal hop tests are commonly used to assess performance of healthy athletes and as a measure of progress during rehabilitation from knee injury. It is unclear if they measure similar aspects of leg function, as the relative joint contributions of the hip, knee, and ankle joints during propulsion and landing are unknown.

Hypothesis: The proportion of work done by the hip, knee, and ankle will not be the same for these 2 jump types and will vary for propulsive and landing phases.

Upper-Body Posture in Adolescent Pianists: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Aims: Although the significance of upper-body posture in relation to piano performance has often been highlighted, the role of experience remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine selected upper body posture parameters in adolescent piano students of different performance level (beginners vs advanced).

Methods: Thirteen (13) adolescent piano students (14.

Lower limb EMG activation during reduced gravity running on an incline. Speed matters more than hills irrespective of indicated bodyweight.

Background: Progressive loading of the lower limb muscles during running on a positive pressure or reduced gravity (Alter-G™) treadmill is suggested as a rehabilitation strategy after muscle and tendon injury but the influence of running up or downhill and at higher speeds is not known, nor are the interaction effects of speed, inclination, and indicated bodyweight.

Research Question: What are the lower limb EMG activation levels and cadence when running up and downhill in normal and reduced gravity?

Methods: 10 recreationally active male athletes ran on a positive-pressure Alter-G™ treadmill at: 3 indicated bodyweights (60 %, 80 %, and 100 %); 5 speeds (12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 km/h); for incline, decline, and flat conditions (-15 %, -10 %, -5%, 0%, 5%, 10 %, and 15 %); while monitoring the surface EMG of 11 leg muscles as well as cadence (strides per minute).

Results And Significance: Linear mixed models showed significant effect of running speed, inclination, and indicated bodyweight, with interaction effects observed.

Dry Fasting Physiology: Responses to Hypovolemia and Hypertonicity.

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide a deeper insight into dry fasting (DF) physiology.

Design: Ten participants performed DF for 5 consecutive days.

Methods: The following parameters were monitored daily: cortisol, aldosterone, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), erythropoietin, albumin, uric acid, and vitamin C in serum; vasopressin (ADH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), renin, angiotensin II, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in plasma; hematocrit and erythrocytes in whole blood; osmolality, noradrenaline, dopamine, adrenaline, Na+, and K+ in 24-h urine; waist circumference and body, urine, and stool weight.

Repeated end range spinal movement while seated abolishes the proprioceptive deficit induced by prolonged flexed sitting posture. A study assessing the statistical and clinical significance of spinal position sense.

Background: Sustained spinal flexion has been proposed to affect the properties of spinal tissues, increase postural muscle's activation latency and act detrimentally on proprioception.

Objectives: This study evaluated the effect of flexed posture (FP) on spinal proprioception and assessed the immediate effect of spinal movement on the presumable flexion-induced proprioceptive deficit.

Design: Clinical measurement study.

Dynamic Effect of Quadriceps Muscle Activation on Anterior Tibial Translation After Single-Bundle and Double-Bundle Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Purpose: To examine differences in anterior tibial translation in 3 groups: single-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-reconstructed, double-bundle ACL-reconstructed, and ACL-intact knees under gradual dynamic quadriceps muscle activation.

Methods: Thirty male patients underwent successful single-bundle (n = 15) and double-bundle (n = 15) ACL reconstructions; 15 healthy controls were included in the study. Anterior tibial translation was assessed at 30° of knee flexion in the resting position (0% quadriceps activation) and under 50% and 100% of maximum quadriceps concentric contraction using an isokinetic dynamometer with the KT-2000 arthrometer securely attached to the participants' knees.

Sitting bodily configuration: a study investigating the intra-tester reliability of positioning subjects into a predetermined sitting posture.

Sitting posture predominates in lifestyle and workplace, but quantitative postural designation is limited due to divergence of methodology used in the studies. To date, no study has investigated the upper body's habitual or a predetermined sitting posture in healthy individuals assessing together pelvis, spine and head. The objectives were (i) assessment of intra-rater reliability of positioning subjects to a lordotic sitting posture and (ii) comparison of habitual sitting posture (HSP) with the lordotic posture.

Anthropometric, hemodynamic, metabolic, and renal responses during 5 days of food and water deprivation.

Background: Although there is considerable research in the field of fasting and fluid restriction, little is known about the impact of food and water deprivation (FWD) on body circumferences and vital parameters.

Methods: During 5 days of FWD in 10 healthy adults, hemodynamic, metabolic, and renal parameters, such as weight, 5 circumferences at neck, waist, hip, chest at axilla, chest at nipples, and 1 new oblique hip circumference were measured daily. For each circumference, new quotients of daily circumference-to-weight decrease were calculated.

Walking kinematics and kinetics following eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage.

The goal of this investigation was to investigate how walking patterns are affected following muscle-damaging exercise by quantifying both lower limb kinematics and kinetics. Fifteen young women conducted a maximal isokinetic eccentric exercise (EE) muscle damage protocol (5×15) of the knee extensors and flexors of both legs at 60°/s. Three-dimensional motion data and ground reaction forces (GRFs) were collected 24h pre-EE while the participants walked at their preferred self-selected walking speed (SWS).

Biomechanics of sit-to-stand transition after muscle damage.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of exercise-induced muscle damage on the biomechanics of the sit-to-stand transition (STST). Seventeen volunteers participated in an intense, eccentric based, muscle damage protocol of knee flexors and extensors via an isokinetic dynamometer. Kinematic and kinetic data were collected using a 10-camera optoelectronic system and a force plate 24h before and 48h after exercise.