Neuromuscular functioning of athletes and non-athletes in the drop jump.

In many sports vertical jumping is important. This study compared neuromuscular functioning of the lower extremity muscles together with some kinetic and kinematic parameters before and during ground contact in drop jumps from two heights [0.4 m (DJ40) and 0.

The VISA score: an index of severity of symptoms in patients with jumper's knee (patellar tendinosis). Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group.

Symptoms of jumper's knee (patellar tendinosis) are not easily quantified and this may explain why there are no evidence-based guidelines for managing the condition. A simple, practical questionnaire-based index of severity would facilitate jumper's knee research and subsequently, clinical management. Thus we devised and tested the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment (VISA) questionnaire.

Knee impingement syndromes.

Introduction: The so-called knee impingement syndromes are very frequently reported in both professional and amateur sportsmen.

Purpose: The objective of our study was to classify the most frequent knee changes responsible for such syndromes considering both pathology and diagnostic work-up.

Material And Methods: Our patients complained of aspecific symptoms related to articular meniscal, ligament or cartilage, conditions.

Patellar tendon ultrasonography in asymptomatic active athletes reveals hypoechoic regions: a study of 320 tendons. Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group.

Objective: To compare patellar tendon sonographic findings in active, currently asymptomatic, elite athletes with those in nonathletic controls.

Design: Cross-sectional cohort study with convenience control sample.

Setting: The Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group, an institutional elite athlete study group in Australia.

Case report: can sacroiliac joint dysfunction cause chronic Achilles tendinitis?

This case study discusses the possible relationship between chronic Achilles tendinitis and sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The patient presented is an active pole jumper, competing at both the national and international levels. He suffered from chronic Achilles tendinitis during the 1994-95 season, and conservative treatment applied locally was not successful.

Contribution of the lower extremity joints to mechanical energy in running vertical jumps and running long jumps.

The energy contribution of the lower extremity joints to vertical jumping and long jumping from a standing position has previously been investigated. However, the resultant joint moment contributions to vertical and long jumps performed with a running approach are unknown. Also, the contribution of the metatarsophalangeal joint to these activities has not been investigated.

Postoperative patellar tendon healing: an ultrasound study. VIS Tendon Study Group.

The patellar tendon donor site of 20 patients who underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using the patellar tendon tissue as autograft was examined with high resolution 7.5 MHz ultrasound. The patients were randomly divided into four groups and studied at 3, 6, 9 or 12 months postoperatively.

[Ultrasound findings of the patellar tendon and its insertion sites].

Purpose: To examine the use of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of soft tissue lesions in and around the patellar tendon.

Material And Methods: We analysed the sonograms of 87 patients with knee pain and patellar tendon lesions after clinical observation. We used a 7.

A cross sectional study of 100 athletes with jumper's knee managed conservatively and surgically. The Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group.

Objectives: Jumper's knee causes significant morbidity in athletes of all standards. However, there are few reference data on the clinical course of this condition in a large number of patients, and the aim of this study was to rectify this.

Methods: A retrospective study of the course of jumper's knee in 100 athletes who presented to a sports medicine clinic over a nine year period was carried out.

Patellar tendon ultrasonography and jumper's knee in female basketball players: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To compare patellar tendon sonographic findings at baseline and at follow-up in active female basketball players with and without symptoms of jumper's knee. We hypothesized that baseline sonographic morphology would not reliably predict prognosis and, in particular, that it would not predict the need for surgery.

Design: Prospective longitudinal study with 12-month minimum follow-up.

Jumper's knee: results of surgical treatment.

The clinical results of 31 knees in 29 patients treated surgically for patellar tendinitis were reviewed. All patients suffered from stage 3 patellar tendinitis according to Roels et al., resistant to conservative treatment.

Etiology and pathophysiology of tendon ruptures in sports.

Of all spontaneous tendon ruptures, complete Achilles tendon tears are most closely associated with sports activities (1-3). Schönbauer (3) reported that 75% of all ruptures of the Achilles tendon are related to sports. In Plecko & Passl (2) the number was 60%.

Recalcitrant patellar tendinitis. Magnetic resonance imaging, histologic evaluation, and surgical treatment.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings and the results of surgical treatment and histologic evaluation of 11 knees in 9 athletes with recalcitrant patellar tendinitis are reported. All of the athletes had no improvement with traditional nonoperative treatment and all had abnormal magnetic resonance imaging findings consistent with chronic patellar tendinitis. Surgical exploration and debridement were performed on the 11 knees by the same surgeon.

Relationship between symptoms of jumper's knee and the ultrasound characteristics of the patellar tendon among high level male volleyball players.

This study assessed the ultrasound characteristics of the patellar tendon in two groups of volleyball players, one group without knee symptoms and one group with symptoms of jumper's knee. Of 47 male elite players, 25 were diagnosed to have current and seven to have had previous symptoms of jumper's knee, as determined by clinical examination. Since some players had bilateral problems, there were 34 knees with current problems and nine with previous problems.

Musculoskeletal injuries in track and field: incidence, distribution and risk factors.

This study evaluated the incidence, distribution and types of musculoskeletal injuries sustained by 95 track and field athletes in a 12 month period using a retrospective cohort design, and analysed selected training, anthropometric, menstrual and clinical biomechanical risk factors. Overall, 72 athletes sustained 130 injuries giving an athlete incidence rate of 76% and an injury exposure rate of 3.9 per 1000 training hours.

Patellar tendinosis (jumper's knee): findings at histopathologic examination, US, and MR imaging. Victorian Institute of Sport Tendon Study Group.

Purpose: To determine the histopathologic findings of patellar tendinosis ("jumper's knee") demonstrated with ultrasonography (US) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four athletes (28 knees) with jumper's knee (23 men, one women; mean age, 30.9 years) scheduled to undergo open tenotomy underwent US patellar tendon examination.

Characteristics of the leg extensors in male volleyball players with jumper's knee.

The aim of the present study was to characterize the performance ability of the leg extensor apparatus in a group of athletes with jumper's knee and to compare the results with those of a matched control group without knee symptoms. Patient and control groups (12 players in each) were selected from a population of 141 well-trained male Norwegian volleyball players, of which 55 (39%) satisfied the diagnostic criteria for jumper's knee. The testing program consisted of a standing jump, a countermovement jump, a 15-second rebound jump test, a standing jump with a 20-kg load, and a standing jump with a load corresponding to one-half of the subject's body weight.

[Open laser surgery on the locomotor apparatus].

The first applications of laser in surgery of the locomotor apparatus in the early 1980s used the haemostatic properties of laser to diminish the amount of substitution of coagulation factors in haemophiliac patients. Only since the early 1990s has a device been available in corporating the pulsed holmium:YAG laser which works in a fluid medium without relevant side effects. Apart from haemostasis, the cutting function and tissue ablation, together with the thermal shrinking effect, are exploited in arthroscopy and percutaneous disc decompression.

[Enthesopathy of the patellar ligament in weight lifters: a new therapeutic procedure.].

The insertion tendinitis of the proximal part of the patellar tendon frequently occurs in weight-lifters. In a prospective non-randomized study soft-laserlight (helium/neon-laser, wave length: 632.8 nm, power: 5 mW) was applicated on standardized acupuncture points on 21 knee joints of 15 performance athletes.

Diagnosis and treatment of stress fracture of the patella in athletes.

Five cases of stress fracture of the patella in athletes are presented. Four of these occurred transversally in the lower part and one longitudinally in the lateral part of the patella. Three of the patients were females (endurance runner, high jumper, and orienteerer) and two males (volleyball and soccer player).

The perils of bungee jumping.

Bungee jumping is a relatively new recreational sport. Most emergency physicians and trauma surgeons have limited experience with its associated injuries. We report the case of a bungee cord attachment apparatus malfunctioning, resulting in a free fall of the jumper of approximately 240 feet.

Correlation of MR imaging and pathologic findings in athletes undergoing surgery for chronic patellar tendinitis.

Objective: Jumper's knee, or chronic patellar tendinitis, can be a source of considerable pain in athletes. The changes that occur with shearing of the tendinous fibers from repeated microtrauma can progress to significant degeneration and increase the risk of tendon rupture. In order to better understand this phenomenon, a correlative study relating the MR imaging and pathologic findings was performed.

Mechanical and muscular factors influencing the performance in maximal vertical jumping after different prestretch loads.

The objective of the present work was to study the interaction between the tendon elasticity, the muscle activation-loading dynamics, specific actions of the biarticular muscles, preloading and jumping performance during maximal vertical jumping. Six male expert jumpers participated in the study. They performed maximal vertical jumps with five different preloads.

MRI appearances of the asymptomatic patellar tendon on gradient echo imaging.

Thickening of the patellar tendon and foci of increased signal intensity have been described as characteristic features of "jumper's knee" (chronic patellar tendinitis) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It was our impression that such appearances may be seen in the patellar tendons of patients without symptoms referable to the anterior part of the knee when using gradient echo images. The appearances of the asymptomatic patellar tendon on three-dimensional gradient echo sequences were studied by retrospectively reviewing the images of 60 patients, none of whom had symptoms related to the anterior part of the knee.