Surveying the Moral Landscape: How Ethical Frameworks Influence the Structure of Return-to-Sport Decision Making.

: Similar to all areas of health care, sports medicine has ethical considerations when making decisions-return to sport being one. Despite a general consensus on criteria to determine when an athlete is ready to return to sport, there are various scenarios that clinicians encounter that may not fall into a clear "yes" or "no" decision. These scenarios leave the clinician asking what is the "right" decision in a given circumstance? A line of questioning that invokes a moral dimension in supporting athletes when they are returning to sport.

Dynamic postural control in injured collegiate cross-country runners is not associated with running-related injury.

Background: Biomechanical factors have been associated with running-related injury, but associations are unclear. Dynamic postural stability may be a factor related to injury that has not been studied extensively.

Research Question: Does dynamic postural control differ in those with a history of running-related injury or those who go on to sustain a running-related injury?

Methods: Sixty-five (45 injured; 20 uninjured) and fifty-eight (13 injured; 45 uninjured) collegiate cross-country runners were available for our retrospective and prospective analyses.

Effects of Body Weight Support in Running on Achilles Tendon Loading.

Achilles tendon (AT) tendinopathy is common in runners. Repetitive AT loading may play a role in etiology. Interventions such as body weight support (BWS) may reduce loading on the AT in running.

Alterations in Achilles tendon stress and strain across a range of running velocities.

Running has a high incidence of overuse injuries. Achilles tendon (AT) injuries may occur due to high forces and repetitive loading during running. Foot strike pattern and cadence have been linked to the magnitude of AT loading.

Kinematic and muscle force asymmetry in healthy runners: How do different methods measure up?

Background: Comparing the performance of one leg to another is a common means of assessing running gait to help inform clinical management strategies. Various methods are employed to quantify asymmetries between limbs. However, limited data is available describing the amount of asymmetry that may be expected during running and no index has been identified as preferable for making a clinical determination of asymmetry.

An Updated Model Does Not Reveal Sex Differences in Patellofemoral Joint Stress during Running.

Background: Structure-specific loading may have implications in understanding the mechanisms of running related injury. As females demonstrate a prevalence of patellofemoral pain twice that of males, this may indicate differences in patellofemoral loads between males and females. Previous works investigating differences in patellofemoral joint stress have shown conflicting results, but the models employed have not used estimates of muscle forces or sex specific contact areas.

Offloading Effects on Impact Forces and Patellofemoral Joint Loading During Running in Females.

Background: Structure-specific loading is being increasingly recognized as playing a role in running related injuries. The use of interventions targeted at reducing patellofemoral joint loads have shown effectiveness in reducing symptoms of patellofemoral pain. Use of bodyweight support (BWS) has the potential to reduce loading on the patellofemoral joint during running to augment rehabilitation efforts.

Normative Measures of Hip Strength and Relation to Previous Injury in Collegiate Cross-Country Runners.

Context: Running-related injury occurs frequently in collegiate cross-country runners. Hip strength is one factor that may be important in the rehabilitation and training of cross-country runners. However, no normative values exist to inform these strategies.

Relationship among maximum hip isometric strength, hip kinematics, and peak gluteal muscle force during running.

Objective: To determine if there is a relationship among isometric hip strength, hip kinematics, and peak gluteal muscle forces in cross-country runners during running.

Design: Cross Sectional.

Setting: University Biomechanics Laboratory.

Biomechanical risk factors for running-related injury differ by sample population: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The role of biomechanical variables of running gait in the development of running related injury has not been clearly elucidated. Several systematic reviews have examined running biomechanics and its association with particular running related injuries. However, due to retrospective designs, inferences into the cause of these injuries are limited.

Muscle force characteristics of male and female collegiate cross-country runners during overground running.

Males and females demonstrate unique running mechanics that may contribute to sex-related differences in common running related injuries. Understanding differences in muscle forces during running may inform intervention approaches, such as gait retraining addressing muscle force distribution. The purpose of this study was to compare muscle force characteristics and inter-trial variability between males and females during running.

Sex differences in gluteal muscle forces during running.

Sex differences in common sports injuries to the lower extremity have been reported. Biomechanical factors of the hip have been investigated between sexes with regard to running-related injury. This study investigates gluteal muscle forces between sexes to aid in our understanding of sex-related biomechanical factors in running.

CLINICAL DECISION MAKING AND TREATMENT IN A RUNNER WITH HIP PAIN AND NEUROMUSCULAR CONTROL DYSFUNCTION: A CASE REPORT.

Background And Purpose: The incidence of running related injuries remains high despite numerous efforts to understand the mechanical contributors to the etiology of these injuries. In light of continued running injury, theories of neuromuscular control, or movement patterns, have been suggested as possible contributors to running related injuries. However, the clinical decision making determining when altered neuromuscular control strategies may be affecting a runner's symptoms has not been described.

Changes in gluteal muscle forces with alteration of footstrike pattern during running.

Gait retraining is a common form of treatment for running related injuries. Proximal factors at the hip have been postulated as having a role in the development of running related injuries. How altering footstrike affects hip muscles forces and kinematics has not been described.

Plantar loading changes with alterations in foot strike patterns during a single session in habitual rear foot strike female runners.

Objectives: Characterize plantar loading parameters when habitually rear foot strike (RFS) runners change their pattern to a non-rear foot strike (NRFS).

Design: Experimental.

Setting: University biomechanics laboratory.

Comparison of two methods of determining patellofemoral joint stress during dynamic activities.

Background: Joint specific models rely on muscle force estimates to quantify tissue specific stresses. Traditionally, muscle forces have been estimated using inverse dynamics alone. Inverse dynamics coupled with static optimization techniques allow for an alternative method in estimating muscle forces.

Patellofemoral joint stress during running with alterations in foot strike pattern.

Purpose: This study aimed to quantify differences in patellofemoral joint stress that may occur when healthy runners alter their foot strike pattern from their habitual rearfoot strike to a forefoot strike to gain insight on the potential etiology and treatment methods of patellofemoral pain.

Methods: Sixteen healthy female runners completed 20 running trials in a controlled laboratory setting under rearfoot strike and forefoot strike conditions. Kinetic and kinematic data were used to drive a static optimization technique to estimate individual muscle forces to input into a model of the patellofemoral joint to estimate joint stress during running.

In-shoe loading in rearfoot and non-rearfoot strikers during running using minimalist footwear.

Recent trends promote a "barefoot" running style to reduce injury. "Minimalist" shoes are designed to mimic the barefoot running with some foot protection. However, it is unknown how "minimalist" shoes alter plantar loading.