Publications by authors named "Steven Davi"

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is frequently accompanied by quadriceps muscle atrophy, a process closely linked to mitochondrial health and mitochondria-specific autophagy. However, the temporal progression of key quadricep atrophy-mediating events following ACL injury remains poorly understood. To advance our understanding, we conducted a longitudinal study to elucidate key parameters in quadriceps autophagy and mitophagy.

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Introduction: Mobile applications (apps) may be beneficial to promote self-management strategies to mitigate the risk of developing post-traumatic osteoarthritis in military members following a traumatic knee injury. This study investigated the efficacy of a mobile app in facilitating behavior modification to improve function and symptomology among military members.

Materials And Methods: This is a preliminary pre and post hoc analysis of a randomized control trial.

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Background: Lower extremity stress fracture injuries are a major cause of morbidity in physically active populations. The ability to screen for modifiable risk factors associated with injury is critical in developing injury-prevention programs.

Purpose: To determine if baseline Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) scores are associated with the incidence rate of lower extremity stress fracture.

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Introduction: Despite rigorous rehabilitation aimed at restoring muscle health, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is often hallmarked by significant long-term quadriceps muscle weakness. Derangements in mitochondrial function are a common feature of various atrophying conditions, yet it is unclear to what extent mitochondria are involved in the detrimental sequela of quadriceps dysfunction after ACL injury. Using a preclinical, non-invasive ACL injury rodent model, our objective was to explore the direct effect of an isolated ACL injury on mitochondrial function, muscle atrophy, and muscle phenotypic transitions.

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Many patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have persistent quadriceps muscle atrophy, even after considerable time in rehabilitation. Understanding the factors that regulate muscle mass, and the time course of atrophic events, is important for identifying therapeutic interventions. With a noninvasive animal model of ACL injury, a longitudinal study was performed to elucidate key parameters underlying quadriceps muscle atrophy.

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The balance of published data have largely focused on adaptations in muscle and fiber size after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), failing to account for the dynamic changes in the behavior of the muscles' contractile elements that strongly contribute to force production. To better understand the sources of quadriceps dysfunction, the purpose of our research was to determine if alterations in fascicle behavior are present after ACLR. Unilateral ACLR individuals (9 m/9f; 21 ± 3 yrs; 1.

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Article Synopsis
  • Quadriceps activation failure after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) has been traditionally measured using specific torque values, which only provide limited insights into neuromuscular function.
  • This study utilized sample entropy (SampEn), a mathematical method, to analyze the entire contraction process of quadriceps electromyographic activity for better understanding of neuromuscular deficits post-ACLR.
  • Results showed a significant reduction in SampEn for the vastus medialis muscle in ACLR patients, indicating a loss of neurologic complexity that correlated with poorer muscle activation compared to controls.
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Context: Distinct from the muscle atrophy that develops from inactivity or disuse, atrophy that occurs after traumatic joint injury continues despite the patient being actively engaged in exercise. Recognizing the multitude of factors and cascade of events that are present and negatively influence the regulation of muscle mass after traumatic joint injury will likely enable clinicians to design more effective treatment strategies. To provide sports medicine practitioners with the best strategies to optimize muscle mass, the purpose of this clinical review is to discuss the predominant mechanisms that control muscle atrophy for disuse and posttraumatic scenarios, and to highlight how they differ.

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Context: After knee-joint injury, pain, effusion, and mechanoreceptor damage alter afferent signaling, which can result in quadriceps inhibition and subsequent weakness. The individual contributions of each factor to inhibition remain unclear due to confounding knee-joint injuries and indirect experimental models.

Objective: To characterize the influence of naturally occurring knee damage and pain on quadriceps neuromuscular function in individuals with patellar tendinopathy.

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Article Synopsis
  • Altered quadriceps activation is a common issue after ACL reconstruction, often lasting several years due to changes in the central nervous system.
  • The study aimed to see if a single session of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could boost quadriceps activity and reduce pain and dysfunction during exercise in ACLR patients.
  • Results indicated that while tDCS didn't notably improve quadriceps strength or activation, some subjective pain and symptom scores showed slight improvement after treatment.
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Context: Long-term eccentric exercise is known to promote muscle growth better than concentric exercise, but its acute effect on muscle is not well understood because of misinterpreted modeling and in situ and in vitro stretch protocols. Knowing if the initial bout of eccentric exercise promotes muscle growth and limits damage is critical to understanding the effect of this mode of exercise.

Objective: To directly evaluate the immediate effects of eccentric and concentric exercises on untrained muscle when fiber strains were physiological and exercise doses were comparable.

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Quadriceps muscle dysfunction is common following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). Data considering the diversity of neural changes, in-concert with morphological adaptations of the quadriceps muscle, are lacking. We investigated bilateral differences in neural and morphological characteristics of the quadriceps muscle in ACLR participants (n = 11, month post-surgery: 69.

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Objectives: Substantial changes in neural function are historically present after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), and are not rectified with traditional rehabilitation. Cross-exercise is a potential means to enhance neural excitability and improve recovery after ACLR. Hence our purpose, was to detail changes in brain activation, neural excitability and patient-reported outcomes in a cohort that completed an 8-week quadriceps-focused eccentric cross-exercise training program immediately following ACLR.

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