A Novel Intrinsic Foot Muscle Strength Dynamometer Demonstrates Moderate-To-Excellent Reliability and Validity.

Background: Intrinsic foot muscle (IFM) weakness can result in reduced foot function, making it crucial for clinicians to track IFM strength changes accurately. However, assessing IFM strength can be challenging for clinicians, as there is no clinically applicable direct measure of IFM strength that has been shown to be reliable and valid with the foot on the ground.

Purpose: The purpose was to investigate the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of a novel, budget-friendly IFM dynamometer and determine its agreement with a handheld dynamometer (HHD).

The Effects of Minimalist Shoes on Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscle Size and Strength: A Systematic Review.

Minimalist shoes are proposed to prevent injury and enhance performance by strengthening intrinsic foot muscles, yet there is little consensus on the effectiveness of minimalist shoes in increasing muscle strength or size. This systematic review assesses using minimalist shoes as an intervention on changes in plantar intrinsic foot muscle size and strength. PubMed, CINHAL, Scopus, and SPORT Discus were systematically searched for articles from January 2000 to March 2022.

Predicting Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reinjury From Return-to-Activity Assessments at 6 Months Postsurgery: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Context: Return-to-activity (RTA) assessments are commonly administered after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) to manage the patient's postoperative progressions back to activity. To date, few data are available on the clinical utility of these assessments to predict patient outcomes such as secondary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury once the athlete has returned to activity.

Objective: To identify the measures of patient function at 6 months post-ACLR that best predict RTA and second ACL injury at a minimum of 2 years after ACLR.

Intrinsic foot muscle size and quality in a single leg weight bearing position across foot posture types in individuals with Patellofemoral Pain compared to healthy.

Objective: To identify if any differences exist in IFM size and quality in single leg weight bearing position between healthy and PFP participants based on foot posture.

Design: Cross-sectional, matched case-comparison study SETTING: University Laboratory Setting PARTICIPANTS: 35 PFP (age:20.46 ± 3.

Quantification of Workload and Wellness Measures in a Women's Collegiate Volleyball Season.

The purpose of this paper was to quantify internal and external loads completed by collegiate volleyball athletes during a competitive season. Eleven players were sampled (using accelerometers and subjective wellness surveys) during the practice ( = 55) and game ( = 30) sessions over the 2019 season. Longitudinal data were evaluated for trends across the preseason, non-conference play, and conference play periods.

Effects of 4-week impairment-based rehabilitation on jump-landing biomechanics in chronic ankle instability patients.

Objective: To determine effects of 4-weeks of impairment-based rehabilitation on lower extremity neuromechanics during jump-landing.

Design: Descriptive laboratory study.

Participants: Twenty-six CAI subjects (age = 21.

Quadriceps Oxygenation During Exercise in Patients With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: The causes of persistent muscle weakness after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are not well known. Changes in muscle oxygenation have been proposed as a possible mechanism.

Objective: To investigate changes in quadriceps muscle oxygenation during knee extension in ACLR-involved and ACLR-uninvolved limbs.

Visuomotor therapy modulates corticospinal excitability in patients following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A randomized crossover trial.

Background: Corticospinal adaptations have been observed following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction around the time of returning to activity. These measures have been related to quadriceps strength deficits. Visuomotor therapy, combining motor control tasks with visual biofeedback, has been shown to increase corticospinal excitability.

Athlete Workloads During Collegiate Women's Soccer Practice: Implications for Return to Play.

Context: Athlete monitoring via wearable technology is often used in soccer athletes. Although researchers have tracked global outcomes across soccer seasons, little information exists on athlete loads during individual practice drills. Understanding these demands is important for athletic trainers in making decisions about return to play.

Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Treating and Managing Patients With Ankle Sprains.

Context: Ankle sprains are common occurrences in athletic and general populations. High volumes of ankle sprains elevate the clinical burden on athletic trainers (ATs). The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) published a position statement regarding the treatment and management of ankle sprains, but certain factors might affect an AT's ability to effectively implement the recommendations.

Lower Extremity Biomechanics During a Drop-Vertical Jump and Muscle Strength in Women With Patellofemoral Pain.

Context: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is one of the most prevalent knee conditions observed in women. Current research suggests that individuals with PFP have altered muscle activity, kinematics, and kinetics during functional tasks. However, few authors have examined differences in lower extremity biomechanics in this population during the drop-vertical jump (DVJ).

Effects of midfoot joint mobilization on ankle-foot morphology and function following acute ankle sprain. A crossover clinical trial.

Background: Midfoot joint impairment is likely following lateral ankle sprain (LAS) that may benefit from mobilization.

Objective: To investigate the effects of midfoot joint mobilizations and a one-week home exercise program (HEP) compared to a sham intervention and HEP on pain, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), ankle-foot joint mobility, and neuromotor function in young adults with recent LAS.

Methods: All participants were instructed in a stretching, strengthening, and balance HEP and were randomized a priori to receive midfoot joint mobilizations (forefoot supination, cuboid glide and plantar 1st tarsometatarsal) or a sham laying-of-hands.

Visual Biofeedback and Changes in Lower Extremity Kinematics in Individuals With Medial Knee Displacement.

Context: Increased frontal-plane knee motion during functional tasks, or medial knee displacement, is a predictor of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament injury and patellofemoral pain. Intervention studies that resulted in a reduced risk of knee injury included some form of feedback to address aberrant lower extremity movement patterns. Research on integrating feedback into single-legged tasks and the ability to train 1 task and test another is limited.

Sex affects gait adaptations after exercise in individuals with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Background: Osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction has been linked with changes in gait. Individuals with reconstruction demonstrate gait changes after exercise, however there is no information on altered gait after exercise based on sex. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of sex on changes in running gait after exercise in individuals with reconstruction compared to healthy.

Measures of Agility and Single-Legged Balance as Clinical Assessments in Patients With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction and Healthy Individuals.

Context: Current clinical assessments used for patients with anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) may not enable clinicians to properly identify functional deficits that have been found in laboratory studies. Establishing muscular-function assessments, through agility and balance tasks, that can properly differentiate individuals with ACLR from healthy, active individuals may permit clinicians to detect deficits that increase the risk for poor outcomes.

Objective: To compare lower extremity agility and balance between patients with ACLR and participants serving as healthy controls.

Ultrasonography of Gluteal and Fibularis Muscles During Exercises in Individuals With a History of Lateral Ankle Sprain.

Context: Individuals with a history of lateral ankle sprains (LASs) have ankle and hip neuromuscular changes compared with those who do not have a history of LAS.

Objective: To compare gluteus maximus (GMax), gluteus medius (GMed), and fibularis longus and brevis muscle activation using ultrasound imaging during tabletop exercises and lateral resistance-band walking in individuals with or without a history of LAS or chronic ankle instability (CAI).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

The relationships between kinesiophobia and clinical outcomes after ACL reconstruction differ by self-reported physical activity engagement.

Objectives: To investigate whether relationships between kinesiophobia, lower extremity function, and patient-reported function differ by self-reported physical activity engagement after ACL reconstruction (ACLR).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Laboratory.

Impairment-Based Rehabilitation With Patterned Electrical Neuromuscular Stimulation and Lower Extremity Function in Individuals With Patellofemoral Pain: A Preliminary Study.

Context: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a chronic condition that presents with lower extremity muscle weakness, decreased flexibility, subjective functional limitations, pain, and decreased physical activity. Patterned electrical neuromuscular stimulation (PENS) has been shown to affect muscle activation and pain after a single treatment, but its use has not been studied in a rehabilitation trial.

Objective: To determine the effects of a 4-week impairment-based rehabilitation program using PENS on subjective function, pain, strength, range of motion, and physical activity in individuals with PFP.

Quadriceps Function and Patient-Reported Outcomes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in Patients With or Without Knee Osteoarthritis.

Context: Relationships between quadriceps function and patient-reported outcomes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) are variable and may be confounded by including patients at widely different time points after surgery. Understanding these relationships during the clinically relevant phases of recovery may improve our knowledge of specific factors that influence clinical outcomes.

Objective: To identify the relationships between quadriceps function and patient-reported outcomes in patients <2 years (early) and >2 years (late) after ACLR, including those with posttraumatic knee osteoarthritis.

Gait Biomechanics in Anterior Cruciate Ligament-reconstructed Knees at Different Time Frames Postsurgery.

Purpose: To examine knee and hip biomechanics during walking and jogging in groups of ACLR patients at early, mid, and late time frames postsurgery and healthy controls.

Methods: Participants included individuals with a history of primary, unilateral ACLR, stratified into early (1.4 ± 0.

Changes in Muscle Thickness Across Positions on Ultrasound Imaging in Participants With or Without a History of Low Back Pain.

Context:   Injury-prediction models have identified trunk muscle function as an identifiable factor for future injury. A history of low back pain (HxLBP) may also place athletes at increased risk for future low back pain. Reduced muscle thickness of the lumbar multifidus (LM) and transversus abdominis (TrA) has been reported among populations with clinical low back pain via ultrasound imaging in multiple positions.

Quadriceps Neuromuscular Function in Patients With Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction With or Without Knee Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Context:   Central and peripheral neural adaptations have been identified after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and reconstruction (ACLR) and are hypothesized to contribute to posttraumatic muscle dysfunction. Limited evidence exists about the temporal nature of neuromuscular adaptations during early and late-term phases of recovery after ACLR, and no researchers have studied patients with posttraumatic osteoarthritis.

Objective:   To compare quadriceps neuromuscular function less than 2 years ( early) and more than 2 years ( late) after ACLR, including in patients who experienced posttraumatic knee osteoarthritis.

Detection of Gluteal Changes Using Ultrasound Imaging During Phases of Gait in Individuals With Medial Knee Displacement.

Medial knee displacement (MKD) is a common risk factor for lower-extremity injury and is related to altered gluteal muscle activity. Ultrasound imaging (USI) is a reliable means to explore mechanical muscle activity; however, no information exists regarding USI of the gluteals during gait in an MKD population. To determine differences in USI gluteal muscle activity during gait in individuals with and without MKD.