Evaluation of drop vertical jump kinematics and kinetics using 3D markerless motion capture in a large cohort.

Introduction: 3D Markerless motion capture technologies have advanced significantly over the last few decades to overcome limitations of marker-based systems, which require significant cost, time, and specialization. As markerless motion capture technologies develop and mature, there is increasing demand from the biomechanics community to provide kinematic and kinetic data with similar levels of reliability and accuracy as current reference standard marker-based 3D motion capture methods. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a novel markerless system trained with both hand-labeled and synthetic data compares to lower extremity kinematic and kinetic measurements from a reference marker-based system during the drop vertical jump (DVJ) task.

Sport-Related Injury and Performance Enhancing Substance Use by Young Athletes.

Background: Legal performance enhancing substance (PES) use is increasing in young athletes and may lead to banned PES use. This study examines legal PES use and consideration of banned PES use in young athletes with a season-ending injury (SEI) compared to young athletes with non-SEI/no previous injury.

Hypothesis: Young athletes sustaining SEI or concussions have increased odds of reporting legal PES use and consideration of banned PES use compared with non-SEI or no injury.

Localized electrocortical activity as a function of single-leg squat phases and its relationship to knee frontal plane stability.

This study investigated differences in electroencephalography (EEG) activity within motor-related brain areas during three phases of a single-leg squat (SLS)-i.e., descending, holding, and ascending phases.

Single Leg Hop Performance After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Ready for Landing but Cleared for Take-Off?

Context: Understanding former professional football players engagement with health promoting behaviors (physical exercise, high quality diet, and good sleep hygiene) will be helpful for developing lifestyle interventions to improve their feelings of well-being, a relatively understudied facet of health among this population.

Objective: Examine associations among health-promoting behaviors and subjective outcomes related to well-being among former National Football League (NFL) players.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Associations Between Brain Metabolites Measured With MR Spectroscopy and Head Impacts in High School American Football Athletes.

Background: While changes in brain metabolites after injury have been reported, relationships between metabolite changes and head impacts are less characterized.

Purpose: To investigate alterations in neurochemistry in high school athletes as a function of head impacts, concussion, and the use of a jugular vein compression (JVC) collar.

Study Type: Prospective controlled trial.

Youth Sport Specialization: Current Concepts and Clinical Guides.

The concept of youth sport specialization has evolved over the past decade, from a focus on the risk of overuse injury to a broader awareness of its effects on mental health, social well-being, quality of life, growth and maturation, sport performance, and long-term athletic success. This review article considers a recently revised definition of youth sport specialization, as well as guidelines and consensus statements from various sports medicine organizations, with practical applications for young athletes.

Qualitative and quantitative return-to-sport test battery and second anterior cruciate ligament injury risk factors.

Objective: To determine risk factors for second anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury following primary ACL reconstruction (ACLR) using return-to-sport (RTS) tests consisting of qualitative and quantitative measures in young athletes.

Methods: A case-control study design was used, and a retrospective review of adolescent athletes after primary ACLR was performed. All athletes completed an RTS test consisting of qualitative and quantitative assessments and psychological assessments with the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia.

Quality of Life Measures in Young Pre-Professional Dancers Compared to Non-Athletes and Non-Dancer Athletes.

To investigate quality of life (QoL) measures in a cohort of young female dancers. Cross-sectional survey study design was utilized to study dancers 8 to 17 years enrolled in two elite dance schools in the Boston area. The main outcome measure was the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL 4.

Effects of Neuromuscular Training on Muscle Architecture, Isometric Force Production, and Stretch-Shortening Cycle Function in Trained Young Female Gymnasts.

Moeskops, S, Oliver, JL, Radnor, JM, Haff, GG, Myer, GD, Ramachandran, AK, Kember, LS, Pedley, JS, and Lloyd, RS. Effects of neuromuscular training on muscle architecture, isometric force production, and stretch-shortening cycle function in trained young female gymnasts. J Strength Cond Res 38(9): 1640-1650, 2024-This study evaluated the effects of a 10-month neuromuscular training (NMT) intervention on muscle architecture, isometric force production, and stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) function.

Effect of Age and Sex on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Functional Tests Approximately 6 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Purpose: To examine age- and sex-related differences in postoperative functional outcomes at approximately 6 months after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR).

Methods: In this study, patients who underwent primary ACLR performed a series of return-to-sport functional tests at 5 to 8 months after surgery. Functional tests included strength tests (knee extensors, knee flexors, hip abductors, and hip extensors), a balance test (Y-balance composite score), and hop tests (single, triple, crossover, and 6-m timed hop tests).

Research Letter: Concussion-Related General Startle Suppression in Adolescent Athletes.

Objectives: We investigated the acoustic startle reflex in recently concussed adolescent athletes compared to healthy controls and those with concussion history (>1 year prior) but no current symptoms. We hypothesized that individuals with recent concussion would have a suppressed startle response compared to healthy controls.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 49 adolescent athletes with a recent concussion (n = 20; age: 14.

Automated quantitative assessment of bone contusions and overlying articular cartilage following anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Quantitative methods to characterize bone contusions and associated cartilage injury remain limited. We combined standardized voxelwise normalization and 3D mapping to automate bone contusion segmentation post-anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and evaluate anomalies in articular cartilage overlying bone contusions. Forty-five patients (54% female, 26.

Vergence and accommodation deficits in paediatric and adolescent patients during sub-acute and chronic phases of concussion recovery.

Introduction: Visual function deficits have been reported in adolescents following concussion. We compared vergence and accommodation deficits in paediatric and adolescent patients at a tertiary medical centre in the sub-acute (15 days to 12 weeks) and chronic (12 weeks to 1 year) phases of concussion recovery.

Methods: The study included patients aged 7 to <18 years seen between 2014 and 2021, who had a binocular vision (BV) examination conducted within 15 days and 1 year of their concussion injury.

Changes in Lower Limb Biomechanics Across Various Stages of Maturation and Implications for ACL Injury Risk in Female Athletes: a Systematic Review.

Background: Female athletes are four to six times more likely to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than male athletes. Jump-landing biomechanics are influenced by maturation, with post-pubertal female athletes at a heightened risk of ACL injuries.

Objective: The aim of our systematic review was to identify and summarise the current evidence regarding the changes in kinematic and kinetic risk factors associated with ACL injuries during jump-landing tasks in female athletes at various stages of maturity.

Time-Dependent Long-Term Effect of Memantine following Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI, e.g., sports concussions) may be associated with both acute and chronic symptoms and neurological changes.