Optimizing Order of Administration for Concussion Baseline Assessment Among NCAA Student-Athletes and Military Cadets.

Background: Concussion pre-injury (i.e., baseline) assessments serve as a benchmark comparison point in the event an individual sustains a concussion and allows clinicians to compare to post-injury measures.

Dizziness, Psychosocial Function, and Postural Stability Following Sport-Related Concussion.

Objective: To examine if self-reported dizziness is associated with concussion symptoms, depression and/or anxiety symptoms, or gait performance within 2 weeks of postconcussion.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Research laboratory.

White Matter Alteration Following SWAT Explosive Breaching Training and the Moderating Effect of a Neck Collar Device: A DTI and NODDI Study.

Introduction: Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) personnel who practice breaching with blast exposure are at risk for blast-related head trauma. We aimed to investigate the impact of low-level blast exposure on underlying white matter (WM) microstructure based on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neurite orientation and density imaging (NODDI) in SWAT personnel before and after breacher training. Diffusion tensor imaging is an advanced MRI technique sensitive to underlying WM alterations.

Meditation Monologue can Reduce Clinical Injection-Related Anxiety: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Strategies to reduce anxiety prior to injection procedures are not well understood. The purpose is to determine the effect of a meditation monologue intervention delivered via phone/mobile application on pre-injection anxiety levels among patients undergoing a clinical injection. The following hypothesis was tested: patients who listened to a meditation monologue via phone/mobile application prior to clinical injection would experience less anxiety compared to those who did not.

Influence of Aerobic Exercise Volume on Postconcussion Symptoms.

Background: Aerobic exercise has emerged as a useful treatment to improve outcomes among individuals who experience a concussion. However, compliance with exercise recommendations and the effect of exercise volume on symptom recovery require further investigation.

Purpose: To examine (1) if an 8-week aerobic exercise prescription, provided within 2 weeks of concussion, affects symptom severity or exercise volume; (2) whether prescription adherence, rather than randomized group assignment, reflects the actual effect of aerobic exercise in postconcussion recovery; and (3) the optimal volume of exercise associated with symptom resolution after 1 month of study.

Hallux Sesamoid Injury Characteristics in Young Athletes Presented to the Sports Medicine Clinic.

Objective: To investigate clinical diagnoses, sports participation, and return to sport timeline associated with hallux sesamoid injuries with sex comparisons.

Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Setting: Sports medicine clinics at a tertiary-level pediatric medical center.

Reliability of the Cutting Alignment Scoring Tool (CAST) to Assess Trunk and Limb Alignment During a 45-Degree Side-Step Cut.

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) motion analysis is considered the gold standard for evaluating human movement. However, its clinical utility is limited due to cost, operating expertise, and lengthy data processing time. Numerous qualitative scoring systems have been introduced to assess trunk and lower extremity biomechanics during functional tasks.

Posterior Ankle Decompression With Os Trigonum or Stieda Process Resection in Dancers: Case Series Report and Review of the Literature.

This case series reports the outcome of posterior ankle decompression and os trigonum or Stieda process resection utilizing an open posterolateral approach in 54 professional, pre-professional, and dedicated recreational dancers. All procedures were performed by a single surgeon at the same facility between 2008 and 2018. The surgical technique is described in detail.

Longitudinal Vestibular and Oculomotor Impairments Among Amateur Athletes 1 Year Following Sport-Related Concussion: A Prospective Follow-Up.

Objectives: To investigate (i) the presence of vestibular and oculomotor impairments and (ii) the self-perceived effects of concussion-associated dizziness on health-related quality of life among amateur athletes 6 months and 1 year following sport-related concussion compared with nonconcussed, control athletes.

Design: Prospective, matched-cohort study.

Setting: Clinical assessment laboratory.

Integrated 3D motion analysis with functional magnetic resonance neuroimaging to identify neural correlates of lower extremity movement.

Background: To better understand the neural drivers of aberrant motor control, methods are needed to identify whole brain neural correlates of isolated joints during multi-joint lower-extremity coordinated movements. This investigation aimed to identify the neural correlates of knee kinematics during a unilateral leg press task.

New Method: The current study utilized an MRI-compatible motion capture system in conjunction with a lower extremity unilateral leg press task during fMRI.

Muscle Architecture and Maturation Influence Sprint and Jump Ability in Young Boys: A Multistudy Approach.

Radnor, JM, Oliver, JL, Waugh, CM, Myer, GD, and Lloyd, RS. Muscle Architecture and Maturation Influence Sprint and Jump Ability in Young Boys: A Multistudy Approach. J Strength Cond Res 36(10): 2741-2751, 2022-This series of experiments examined the influence of medial gastrocnemius (GM) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscle architecture (muscle thickness, pennation angle, and fascicle length) on sprint and jump performance in pre-, circa-, and post-peak height velocity (PHV) boys.

Randomized clinical trial of Fibromyalgia Integrative Training (FIT teens) for adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia - Study design and protocol.

Objective: Juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM) is a chronic debilitating pain condition that negatively impacts physical, social and academic functioning. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is beneficial in reducing functional disability among adolescents with JFM but has only a modest impact on pain reduction and does not improve physical exercise participation. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to test whether a novel intervention that combines CBT with specialized neuromuscular exercise training (the Fibromyalgia Integrative Training program for Teens "FIT Teens") is superior to CBT alone or a graded aerobic exercise (GAE) program.

Biomechanical but Not Strength or Performance Measures Differentiate Male Athletes Who Experience ACL Reinjury on Return to Level 1 Sports.

Background: Performance measures such as strength, jump height/length, and change of direction (CoD) time during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rehabilitation have been used to determine readiness to return to play and identify those who may be at risk of rerupture. However, athletes may reach these criteria despite ongoing biomechanical deficits when performing these tests. Combining return-to-play criteria with an assessment of movement through 3-dimensional (3D) biomechanics in male field sports athletes to identify risk factors for ACL rerupture has not been explored previously.

Effect of Graft Rupture Prevention Training on Young Athletes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An 8-Year Prospective Intervention Study.

Background: There is a lack of research on the effects of a postoperative rehabilitation program on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) graft rupture.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that a hip-focused rehabilitation protocol with graft rupture education and avoidance training (HIP-GREAT program) would demonstrate lower ACL graft rupture rates compared with a traditional physical therapy (PT) program.

Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Can Biomechanical Testing After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Identify Athletes at Risk for Subsequent ACL Injury to the Contralateral Uninjured Limb?

Background: Athletes are twice as likely to rupture the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on their healthy contralateral knee than the reconstructed graft after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Although physical testing is commonly used after ACLR to assess injury risk to the operated knee, strength, jump, and change-of-direction performance and biomechanical measures have not been examined in those who go on to experience a contralateral ACL injury, to identify factors that may be associated with injury risk.

Purpose: To prospectively examine differences in biomechanical and clinical performance measures in male athletes 9 months after ACLR between those who ruptured their previously uninjured contralateral ACL and those who did not at 2-year follow-up and to examine the ability of these differences to predict contralateral ACL injury.

Participation in pre-injury level sport one-year following sport-related concussion: A prospective, matched cohort study.

Objectives: To estimate the times taken to receive clearance to return to sporting activity and to return to pre-injury level of sport competition following sport-related concussion, and to estimate the proportion of athletes who were participating at their pre-injury level of sport competition six months and one-year following sport-related concussion.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Methods: Amateur, adult athletes (16-38 years old) were diagnosed with sport-related concussion at a university-affiliated hospital emergency department.

Graphical interface for automated management of motion artifact within fMRI acquisitions: INFOBAR.

Independent Component Analysis-based Automatic Removal of Motion Artifacts (ICA-AROMA; Pruim et al., 2015) is a robust approach to remove brain activity related to head motion within functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets. However, ICA-AROMA requires command line implementation and customized code to batch process large datasets.

Sport specialization of female figure skaters: cumulative effects on low back injuries.

: 1) to determine the proportion of sport specialization among female figure skaters, 2) to compare proportion of low back injuries between specialized female figure skaters and non-specialized female figure skaters, and 3) to identify an independent risk factor(s) for low back injuries in female figure skaters.: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was used. Young female figure skaters were asked questions related to sport specialization and any history of low back injuries.

A Novel Method to Categorize Stretch-Shortening Cycle Performance Across Maturity in Youth Soccer Players.

Pedley, JS, Lloyd, RS, Read, PJ, Moore, IS, Myer, GD, and Oliver, JL. A novel method to categorize stretch-shortening cycle performance across maturity in youth soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 36(9): 2573-2580, 2022-This study used a novel method to categorize stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) function during a drop jump (DJ) using the force-time curve.

Using functional movement tests to investigate the presence of sensorimotor impairment in amateur athletes following sport-related concussion: A prospective, longitudinal study.

Objective: To longitudinally investigate the presence of sensorimotor impairments in amateur athletes following sport-related concussion using two functional movement tests.

Design: Prospective, longitudinal study.

Setting: Human movement analysis laboratory.

Sports-Related Concussions and the Pediatric Patient.

Pediatric patients with concussions have different needs than adults throughout the recovery process. Adolescents, in particular, may take longer to recover from concussion than adults. Initially, relative rest from academic and physical activities is recommended for 24 to 48 hours to allow symptoms to abate.

Medical Therapies for Concussion.

The medications used in postconcussion syndrome are typically used to help manage or minimize disruptive symptoms while recovery proceeds. These medications are not routinely used in most concussions that recover within days to weeks. However, it is beneficial to be aware of medication options that may be used in athletes with prolonged concussion symptoms or for those that have symptom burdens that preclude entry into basic concussion protocols.

Dual-Task Gait Stability after Concussion and Subsequent Injury: An Exploratory Investigation.

Persistent gait alterations can occur after concussion and may underlie future musculoskeletal injury risk. We compared dual-task gait stability measures among adolescents who did/did not sustain a subsequent injury post-concussion, and uninjured controls. Forty-seven athletes completed a dual-task gait evaluation.

Impaired eye tracking is associated with symptom severity but not dynamic postural control in adolescents following concussion.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to (1) examine the relationship between self-reported symptoms and concussion-related eye tracking impairments, and (2) compare gait performance between (a) adolescents with a concussion who have normal eye tracking, (b) adolescents with a concussion who have abnormal eye tracking, and (c) healthy controls.

Methods: A total of 30 concussed participants (age: 14.4 ± 2.

Machine Learning Classification of Verified Head Impact Exposure Strengthens Associations with Brain Changes.

Cumulative exposure to head impacts during contact sports can elicit potentially deleterious brain white matter alterations in young athletes. Head impact exposure is commonly quantified using wearable sensors; however, these sensors tend to overestimate the number of true head impacts that occur and may obfuscate potential relationships with longitudinal brain changes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether data-driven filtering of head impact exposure using machine learning classification could produce more accurate quantification of exposure and whether this would reveal more pronounced relationships with longitudinal brain changes.