Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury Research Articles

The Dangers of Distracted Driving: A Substudy of Patient Perception Data From the DRIVSAFE Observational Study.

To determine how fracture clinic patients perceive the dangers of distracted driving. Analysis of patient perception subset data from the original DRIVSAFE study; a large, multicenter cross-sectional study, surveying fracture clinic patients about distracted driving. Four Level 1 Canadian trauma center fracture clinics. English-speaking patients with a valid Canadian driver's license and a traumatic musculoskeletal injury sustained in the past 6 months. Primary outcome was patients' safety ratings of driving distractions. As per the original DRIVSAFE study, patients were categorized as distraction-prone or distraction-averse using their questionnaire responses and published crash-risk odds ratios (ORs). A regression analysis was performed to identify associations with unsafe driving perceptions. The study included 1378 patients, 749 (54.3%) male and 614 (44.6%) female. The average age was 45.8 ± 17.0 years (range 16-87). Sending electronic messages was perceived as unsafe by 92.9% (1242/1337) of patients, while reading them was seen as unsafe by 81.2% (1086/1337). Approximately three-quarters of patients viewed making (78.9%, 1061/1344) and accepting (74.8%, 998/1335) calls on handheld mobile phones as unsafe. However, 31.0% (421/1356) of patients believed that they had no differences in their driving ability when talking on the phone while 13.1% (175/1340) reported no driving differences when texting. Younger age (OR, 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90-0.96], P < 0.001), driving experience (OR, 1.06 [95% CI 1.02-1.09], P < 0.001), and distraction-prone drivers (OR, 3.79 [95% CI 2.91-4.94], P < 0.001) were associated with unsafe driving perceptions. There is a clear association between being prone to distractions and unsafe driving perceptions, with distraction-prone drivers being 3.8 times more likely to perceive driving distractions as safe. This information could potentially influence the appropriate delivery and content of future educational efforts to change the perception of driving distractions and thereby reduce distracted driving. Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Poster 177: Snowboarding Related Concussions and Musculoskeletal Injuries in the Pediatric Population: An 11-Year Analysis of National Injury Data

Objectives: Snowboarding is a high energy sport associated with traumatic musculoskeletal injury. Although the pediatric population constitutes most snowboarding injuries, no study has investigated this cohort in further detail. The purpose of this study is to analyze underlying etiologies, diagnoses, and injury trends of pediatric snowboarding injuries presenting to United States emergency departments. Methods: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) were analyzed for pediatric snowboarding injuries (≤18 years old) from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2022. Data were collected for mechanism of injury, diagnosis, location of injury, and disposition. National estimates (NE) were calculated using the statistical sample weight of the corresponding hospital assigned by the NEISS. Linear regressions were used to analyze injury trends over time. Results: In total, 3,036 (NE=120,140) pediatric snowboarding injuries were included in this study. Average age was 14.0 ± 2.7 years. The most common mechanism of injury was impact with the ground (NE=97,120, 80.8%). The most common diagnoses were fractures (NE=48,886, 40.7%), strains/sprains (NE=22,948, 19.1%), and concussions (NE=12,553, 10.4%). Most common fractures occurred at the wrist (NE=18,122, 37.1%), lower arm (NE=12,348, 25.3%), and shoulder (NE=9,073, 18.6%). Overall, 96.1% injuries were treated without admission. There were decreases of 1,051 injuries (p&lt;0.01), 299 fractures (p=0.04), 298 strains/sprains (p&lt;0.001), and 143 concussions (p&lt;0.01) per year during the study period. Mechanisms of injury demonstrated decreasing annual trends of 784 impact with ground injuries per year (p&lt;0.01), 161 not specified injuries per year (p&lt;0.01), and 42 impact with inanimate object injuries per year (p=0.03). Conclusions: There was a large decline in pediatric snowboarding injuries over the last decade. Given the small proportion requiring hospital admission, the decline may reflect increasing on-site management of less-severe snowboarding injuries. These findings also highlight the importance of protective equipment considering the large proportion of injuries secondary to impact with the ground.

Discharge prescribing and subsequent opioid use after traumatic musculoskeletal injury.

To investigate the effects of discharge opioid supply after surgery for musculoskeletal injury on subsequent opioid use. Instrumental variables analysis of retrospective administrative data. Data were acquired on 1039 patients treated operatively for a musculoskeletal injury between 2011 and 2015 at 2 level I trauma centers. State registry data were used to track all postoperative opioid prescription fills. Discharge surgical resident was identified for each patient. We categorized residents in the top one-third of opioid prescribing as high-supply residents and others as low-supply residents, with adjustment for service attending physician and month. The primary outcome was subsequent opioid use, defined as new opioid prescriptions and cumulative prescribed opioid supply 7 to 8 months after injury. On average, patients of high-supply residents received an additional 96 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) at discharge (95% CI, 29-163 MME; P < .01), or 16% more, compared with patients of low-supply residents, which is equivalent to an additional 2-day supply at a typical dosage. In the seventh or eighth month after surgery, patients of high-supply residents received a greater total MME volume than patients of low-supply residents (difference, 13.0 MME; 95% CI, 3.1-22.9 MME; P < .01) despite receiving a greater cumulative supply of opioid medications through the sixth month after surgery. After surgery for musculoskeletal injury, patients discharged by residents who prescribe greater supplies of opioid pain medications received higher supplies of opioids 7 to 8 months after surgery than patients discharged by residents who tend to prescribe less. Thus, limiting postoperative supplies of opioid pain medication may help reduce chronic opioid use.

Investigating post-mild traumatic brain injury neuromuscular function and musculoskeletal injury risk: A protocol for a prospective, observational, case–controlled study in service members and active individuals

IntroductionMusculoskeletal injury (MSKI) risk is increased following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Increased MSKI risk is present up to 2 years following post-mTBI return-to-duty/activity relative to both non-mTBI peers and...

Restricted physical activity after volumetric muscle loss alters whole-body and local muscle metabolism.

Volumetric muscle loss (VML) is the traumatic loss of skeletal muscle, resulting in chronic functional deficits and pathological comorbidities, including altered whole-body metabolic rate and respiratory exchange ratio (RER), despite no change in physical activity in animal models. In other injury models, treatment with β2 receptor agonists (e.g. formoterol) improves metabolic and skeletal muscle function. We aimed first to examine if restricting physical activity following injury affects metabolic and skeletal muscle function, and second, to enhance the metabolic and contractile function of the muscle remaining following VML injury through treatment with formoterol. Adult male C57Bl/6J mice (n=32) underwent VML injury to the posterior hindlimb compartment and were randomly assigned to unrestricted or restricted activity and formoterol treatment or no treatment; age-matched injury naïve mice (n=4) were controls for biochemical analyses. Longitudinal 24h evaluations of physical activity and whole-body metabolism were conducted following VML. In vivo muscle function was assessed terminally, and muscles were biochemically evaluated for protein expression, mitochondrial enzyme activity and untargeted metabolomics. Restricting activity chronically after VML had the greatest effect on physical activity and RER, reflected in reduced lipid oxidation, although changes were attenuated by formoterol treatment. Formoterol enhanced injured muscle mass, while mitigating functional deficits. These novel findings indicate physical activity restriction may recapitulate following VML clinically, and adjunctive oxidative treatment may create a metabolically beneficial intramuscular environment while enhancing the injured muscle's mass and force-producing capacity. Further investigation is needed to evaluate adjunctive oxidative treatment with rehabilitation, which may augment the muscle's regenerative and functional capacity following VML. KEY POINTS: The natural ability of skeletal muscle to regenerate and recover function is lost following complex traumatic musculoskeletal injury, such as volumetric muscle loss (VML), and physical inactivity following VML may incur additional deleterious consequences for muscle and metabolic health. Modelling VML injury-induced physical activity restriction altered whole-body metabolism, primarily by decreasing lipid oxidation, while preserving local skeletal muscle metabolic activity. The β2 adrenergic receptor agonist formoterol has shown promise in other severe injury models to improve regeneration, recover function and enhance metabolism. Treatment with formoterol enhanced mass of the injured muscle and whole-body metabolism while mitigating functional deficits resulting from injury. Understanding of chronic effects of the clinically available and FDA-approved pharmaceutical formoterol could be a translational option to support muscle function after VML injury.

Social Determinants of Health and Patients With Traumatic Injuries: Is There a Relationship Between Social Health and Orthopaedic Trauma?

Although economic stability, social context, and healthcare access are well-known social determinants of health associated with more challenging recovery after traumatic injury, little is known about how these factors differ by mechanism of injury. Our team sought to use the results of social determinants of health screenings to better understand the population that engaged with psychosocial support services after traumatic musculoskeletal injury and fill a gap in our understanding of patient-reported social health needs. What is the relationship between social determinants of health and traumatic musculoskeletal injury? Trauma recovery services is a psychosocial support program at our institution that offers patients and their family members resources such as professional coaching, peer mentorship, post-traumatic stress disorder screening and treatment, educational resources, and more. This team engages with any patient admitted to, treated at, and released from our institution. Their primary engagement population is individuals with traumatic injury, although not exclusively. Between January 2019 and October 2021, the trauma recovery services team interacted with 6036 patients. Of those who engaged with this service, we considered only patients who experienced a traumatic musculoskeletal injury and had a completed social determinants of health screening tool. During the stated timeframe, 13% (814 of 6036) of patients engaged with trauma recovery services and had a complete social determinants of health screening tool. Of these, 53% (428 of 814) had no physical injury. A further 26% (99 of 386) were excluded because they did not have traumatic musculoskeletal injuries, leaving 4.8% (287) for analysis in this cross-sectional study. The study population included patients who interacted with trauma recovery services at our institution after a traumatic orthopaedic injury that occurred between January 2019 and October 2021. Social determinants of health risk screening questionnaires were self-administered prospectively using a screening tool developed by our institution based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services social determinants of health screening questions. Mechanisms of injury were separated into intentional (physical assault, sexual assault, gunshot wound, or stabbing) and unintentional (fall, motor vehicle collision, or motorcycle crash). During the study period, 287 adult patients interacted with trauma recovery services after a traumatic musculoskeletal injury and had complete social determinant of health screening; 123 injuries were unintentional and 164 were intentional. Patients were primarily women (55% [159 of 287]), single (73% [209 of 287]), and insured by Medicaid or Medicare (78% [225 of 287]). Mechanism category was determined after a thorough medical record review to verify the appropriate category. An initial exploratory univariate analysis was completed for the primary outcome variable using the Pearson chi-squared test for categorical variables and a two-tailed independent t-test for continuous variables. All demographic variables and social determinants of health with p < 0.20 in the univariate analysis were included in a multivariate binary regression analysis to determine independent associations with injury mechanism. All variables with p < 0.05 in the multivariate analysis were considered statistically significant. After controlling for potential demographic confounders, younger age (odds ratio [OR] 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.90 to 0.96]; p < 0.001), Black race (compared with White race, OR 2.71 [95% CI 1.20 to 6.16]; p = 0.02), Hispanic ethnicity (compared with White race, OR 5.32 [95% CI 1.62 to 17.47]; p = 0.006), and at-risk status for food insecurity (OR 4.27 [95% CI 1.18 to 15.39]; p = 0.03) were independently associated with intentional mechanisms of injury. There is a relationship between the mechanism of traumatic orthopaedic injury and social determinants of health risks. Specifically, data showed a correlation between food insecurity and intentional injury. Healthcare systems and providers should be cognizant of this, as well as the additional challenges patients may face in their recovery journey because of social needs. Screening for needs is only the first step in addressing patient's social health needs. Healthcare systems should also allocate resources for personnel and programs that support patients in meeting their social health needs. Future studies should evaluate the impact of such programming in responding to social needs that impact health outcomes and improve health disparities. Level IV, prognostic study.

Corticomotor functional indices of traumatic musculoskeletal injury

Introduction: Warfighters undertake prolonged and strenuous physical tasks in hot environments, which can degrade performance and increase the risk of exertional heat injury (EHI) including heat stroke. Although various risk mitigation strategies and guidelines have been implemented, EHI continues to challenge the health and safety of warfighters1.

גורמים מנבאים לחזרה לעבודה לאחר פציעות טראומטיות של שריר-שלד בישראל: סקירת ספרות נרטיבית

Background: Returning to work after traumatic musculoskeletal injury [2] is a complex process that is affected by medical, psychosocial, and personal factors and that pose main problems in the rehabilitation process. Interventions related to work is a central part of the profession of occupational therapy (OT). Thus, the involvement in the field of vocational reintegration after injuries is insufficient. Occupational therapists need to identify various factors so as to influence the intervention. Purpose of the review: To review the studies conducted in Israel in the context of prognostic factors for return to work after injuries in the past ten years. Method: A systematic search in databases (CINAHL, Google scholar PubMed) of articles in Hebrew and English that dealt with returning to work after injuries in Israel in the years 2012-2022. Results: Out of the 90 papers scanned for the search words: return to work, predictive factors, injuries, Israel, 5 studies and 15 predictors were found: Personal factors – age, gender, marital status, socioeconomic background, education, ethnic groups, severity of injury, pain, and the severity of the functional disability, emotional response to trauma and self-efficacy. Occupational factors – High demands and workload. Environmental factors – involvement in a lawsuit, the circumstances of the injury and involvement of the National Insurance institution. Conclusions: It is important to know the factors that influence return to work in order to promote work participation, while applying holistic approaches in OT treatment. When developing intervention programs for patients with low education and consideration the of ethnic context is important. The predictors pain, emotional response to trauma, and self-efficacy may be modified by specific OT interventions. Research to examine the effect of these interventions on returning to work is recommended.

Differences in brain structure and theta burst stimulation-induced plasticity implicate the corticomotor system in loss of function after musculoskeletal injury.

Traumatic musculoskeletal injury (MSI) may involve changes in corticomotor structure and function, but direct evidence is needed. To determine the corticomotor basis of MSI, we examined interactions among skeletomotor function, corticospinal excitability, corticomotor structure (cortical thickness and white matter microstructure), and intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS)-induced plasticity. Nine women with unilateral anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACL) 3.2 ± 1.1 yr prior to the study and 11 matched controls (CON) completed an MRI session followed by an offline plasticity-probing protocol using a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, cross-over study design. iTBS was applied to the injured (ACL) or nondominant (CON) motor cortex leg representation (M1LEG) with plasticity assessed based on changes in skeletomotor function and corticospinal excitability compared with sham iTBS. The results showed persistent loss of function in the injured quadriceps, compensatory adaptations in the uninjured quadriceps and both hamstrings, and injury-specific increases in corticospinal excitability. Injury was associated with lateralized reductions in paracentral lobule thickness, greater centrality of nonleg corticomotor regions, and increased primary somatosensory cortex leg area inefficiency and eccentricity. Individual responses to iTBS were consistent with the principles of homeostatic metaplasticity; corresponded to injury-related differences in skeletomotor function, corticospinal excitability, and corticomotor structure; and suggested that corticomotor adaptations involve both hemispheres. Moreover, iTBS normalized skeletomotor function and corticospinal excitability in ACL. The results of this investigation directly confirm corticomotor involvement in chronic loss of function after traumatic MSI, emphasize the sensitivity of the corticomotor system to skeletomotor events and behaviors, and raise the possibility that brain-targeted therapies could improve recovery.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Traumatic musculoskeletal injuries may involve adaptive changes in the brain that contribute to loss of function. Our combination of neuroimaging and theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS) revealed distinct patterns of iTBS-induced plasticity that normalized differences in muscle and brain function evident years after unilateral knee ligament rupture. Individual responses to iTBS corresponded to injury-specific differences in brain structure and physiological activity, depended on skeletomotor deficit severity, and suggested that corticomotor adaptations involve both hemispheres.

Patient experiences of rehabilitation following traumatic complex musculoskeletal injury – A mixed methods pilot study

Introduction The aim of this pilot study was to measure patient reported outcomes and evaluate their rehabilitation experience following traumatic complex musculoskeletal (CMSK) injury. Methods A mixed methods prospective observational study was undertaken between December 2015 and March 2018 to explore patient reported outcomes following CMSK injury sustained as a result of major trauma and perception of their rehabilitation and its impact on their recovery. The participants were asked to complete a series of outcome measures at 18-months post-injury. The data was anonymised and analysed by the lead researcher. Results Thirty patients were recruited into the study (19 males, 11 females) between 23 and 76 years of age (median 52 years). Their injury profile was split between open fractures 30%, pelvic fractures 23%, multiple fractures 27% and polytrauma 20%. The majority (60%) reported moderate disability at 18-months post injury with 50% returning to full time employment. Patients with multiple or open fractures reported the worst outcomes. There was no relationship between frequency, quantity or duration of physiotherapy and outcome. However, 77% reported supplementing their NHS rehabilitation with other interventions such as gym membership, hydrotherapy and psychological therapies. The thematic analysis showed that patients considered intensity, quality and coordinated timely access to rehabilitation as the most important factors. Conclusion From a patient perspective, the current NHS rehabilitation provision does not appear to meet their complex needs. In addition to physical and vocational rehabilitation, patients wanted effective pain management and psychological support. Strengthening current therapy services and involving other sectors (e.g. Citizen’s Advice) could help achieve this. Early access to an intensive multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme was perceived to have positive benefits and improve outcomes.

Injury-related variation in patient-reported outcome after musculoskeletal trauma: a systematic review.

The purpose of this study was to explore injury-related characteristics that differentiate between patient-reported outcomes (PROs) following traumatic musculoskeletal injury. We reviewed English-language articles in PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (January 1995 to September 2018). We included studies that compared patient-reported outcomes of musculoskeletal trauma based on injury characteristics, and excluded studies related to development or validation of outcome tools without implementation, measurement, or comparison. Studies on patients with isolated neurotrauma or spine trauma were not included. Study level of evidence was assessed by 2 reviewers using the modified Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine rating system. A total of 20 studies (21 articles) that reported on a total of 10,186 patients were included (4 were prospective cohort-studies, 8 were matched-control retrospective cohort-studies, and 8 were retrospective cohort-studies). Median minimum follow-up was 3years (range 0.5-10years). Injury-related factors associated with worse PROs were polytrauma or multiple injuries (10 studies), neurotrauma (11 studies), and high-energy injury mechanism (7 studies). Among all studies, 32 different outcome metrics were used (17 general health status metrics and 15 limb-specific metrics) making meta-analysis infeasible. Based on the included studies, we propose a framework where musculoskeletal injuries occur in one of 4 scenarios that is associated with a different context-dependent outcome: (1) polytrauma with neurotrauma, (2) polytrauma without neurotrauma, (3) high-energy monotrauma, and (4) low-energy monotrauma. Our results suggest that standardization of outcome instruments is needed to facilitate future meta-analyses that assess PROs in this population.

Self-Reported Marijuana Use Is Associated with Increased Use of Prescription Opioids Following Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury.

Cannabinoids are among the psychoactive substances considered as alternatives to opioids for the alleviation of acute pain. We examined whether self-reported marijuana use was associated with decreased use of prescription opioids following traumatic musculoskeletal injury. Our analysis included 500 patients with a musculoskeletal injury who completed a survey about their marijuana use and were categorized as (1) never a user, (2) a prior user (but not during recovery), or (3) a user during recovery. Patients who used marijuana during recovery indicated whether marijuana helped their pain or reduced opioid use. Prescription opioid use was measured as (1) persistent opioid use, (2) total prescribed opioids, and (3) duration of opioid use. Persistent use was defined as the receipt of at least 1 opioid prescription within 90 days of injury and at least 1 additional prescription between 90 and 180 days. Total prescribed opioids were calculated as the total morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed after injury. Duration of use was the interval between the first and last opioid prescription dates. We found that 39.8% of patients reported never having used marijuana, 46.4% reported prior use but not during recovery, and 13.8% reported using marijuana during recovery. The estimated rate of persistent opioid use ranged from 17.6% to 25.9% and was not associated with marijuana use during recovery. Marijuana use during recovery was associated with increases in both total prescribed opioids (regression coefficient = 343 MME; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 87 to 600 MME; p = 0.029) and duration of use (coefficient = 12.5 days; 95% CI = 3.4 to 21.5 days; p = 0.027) compared with no previous use (never users). Among patients who reported that marijuana decreased their opioid use, marijuana use during recovery was associated with increased total prescribed opioids (p = 0.008) and duration of opioid use (p = 0.013) compared with never users. Our data indicate that self-reported marijuana use during injury recovery was associated with an increased amount and duration of opioid use. This is in contrast to many patients' perception that the use of marijuana reduces their pain and therefore the amount of opioids used. Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Acute and chronic musculoskeletal injury in para-sport: A systematic review

The health benefits of sport are myriad, but sport also carries an inherent risk of injury. This systematic review summarizes musculoskeletal injury epidemiology in elite and recreational para-athletes, and highlights research gaps. Five electronic databases were searched for relevant articles: Ovid Medline, Ovid Medline In Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), and Web of Science. Evaluation and data extraction were performed by two independent examiners. Inclusion criteria were: (a) written in English; (b) published in a peer-reviewed journal between January 1975 and June 2017; (c) describe para-athletes participating in recreational or elite sport; and (d) describe sports-related, acute traumatic or chronic overuse musculoskeletal injury. Fifty full-text manuscripts were reviewed. Seated para-athletes sustain upper extremity injuries more commonly, while ambulant para-athletes frequently sustain lower extremity injuries. The upper extremity, including shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, is the most commonly injured anatomical area in all para-athletes, unlike able-bodied athletes for whom lower extremity injuries predominate. Increased age and spinal cord injury may increase risk of upper extremity injury. Sprains, strains, blisters and lacerations are the most common injuries among paralympians, but winter paralympic sports carry higher risk of head injury, fracture and contusion, possibly due to the high-velocity elements. Male and female summer paralympic athletes have similar overall injury rates, and football 5-a-side, para-powerlifting, goalball, wheelchair fencing, and wheelchair rugby are consistently highest-risk sports. Para-ice hockey, alpine skiing, and snowboarding are highest-risk winter sports. Upper and lower extremity injury rates match in winter sport, unlike summer sport trends. Injury data for recreational and youth para-athletes are sparse. MSK injury epidemiology data continues to mature. Recreational and youth athletes remain under studied. Updating such data may accelerate the development of injury prevention strategies and lifetime injury models for para-athletes.

Probing the Therapeutic Potential of Brain Stimulation for Functional and Corticospinal Deficits Following Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury

Probing the Therapeutic Potential of Brain Stimulation for Functional and Corticospinal Deficits Following Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury

Development of a screening tool to predict the risk of chronic pain and disability following musculoskeletal trauma: protocol for a prospective observational study in the United Kingdom

IntroductionPain is an expected and appropriate experience following traumatic musculoskeletal injury. By contrast, chronic pain and disability are unhelpful yet common sequelae of trauma-related injuries. Presently, the mechanisms that underlie...

The Automated Assessment of Postural Stability: Balance Detection Algorithm.

Impaired balance is a common indicator of mild traumatic brain injury, concussion and musculoskeletal injury. Given the clinical relevance of such injuries, especially in military settings, it is paramount to develop more accurate and reliable on-field evaluation tools. This work presents the design and implementation of the automated assessment of postural stability (AAPS) system, for on-field evaluations following concussion. The AAPS is a computer system, based on inexpensive off-the-shelf components and custom software, that aims to automatically and reliably evaluate balance deficits, by replicating a known on-field clinical test, namely, the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS). The AAPS main innovation is its balance error detection algorithm that has been designed to acquire data from a Microsoft Kinect® sensor and convert them into clinically-relevant BESS scores, using the same detection criteria defined by the original BESS test. In order to assess the AAPS balance evaluation capability, a total of 15 healthy subjects (7 male, 8 female) were required to perform the BESS test, while simultaneously being tracked by a Kinect 2.0 sensor and a professional-grade motion capture system (Qualisys AB, Gothenburg, Sweden). High definition videos with BESS trials were scored off-line by three experienced observers for reference scores. AAPS performance was assessed by comparing the AAPS automated scores to those derived by three experienced observers. Our results show that the AAPS error detection algorithm presented here can accurately and precisely detect balance deficits with performance levels that are comparable to those of experienced medical personnel. Specifically, agreement levels between the AAPS algorithm and the human average BESS scores ranging between 87.9% (single-leg on foam) and 99.8% (double-leg on firm ground) were detected. Moreover, statistically significant differences in balance scores were not detected by an ANOVA test with alpha equal to 0.05. Despite some level of disagreement between human and AAPS-generated scores, the use of an automated system yields important advantages over currently available human-based alternatives. These results underscore the value of using the AAPS, that can be quickly deployed in the field and/or in outdoor settings with minimal set-up time. Finally, the AAPS can record multiple error types and their time course with extremely high temporal resolution. These features are not achievable by humans, who cannot keep track of multiple balance errors with such a high resolution. Together, these results suggest that computerized BESS calculation may provide more accurate and consistent measures of balance than those derived from human experts.

Predictors of Prescription Opioid Use 4Months After Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury and Corrective Surgery: A Prospective Study.

This article identifies predictive factors for prescription opioid use after traumatic musculoskeletal injury, namely severe pain and a poor sense of control over the pain. These results highlight the importance of using prospective longitudinal study designs to understand why patients continue to use prescription opioids after major tissue-damaging events.

Automated assessment of postural stability system.

The Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) is one of the most commonly used clinical tests to evaluate static postural stability deficits resulting from traumatic brain events and musculoskeletal injury. This test requires a trained operator to visually assess balance and give the subject a performance score based on the number of balance "errors" they committed. Despite being regularly used in several real-world situations, the BESS test is scored by clinician observation and is therefore (a) potentially susceptible to biased and inaccurate test scores and (b) cannot be administered in the absence of a trained provider. The purpose of this research is to develop, calibrate and field test a computerized version of the BESS test using low-cost commodity motion tracking technology. This `Automated Assessment of Postural Stability' (AAPS) system will quantify balance control in field conditions. This research goal is to overcome the main limitations of both the commercially available motion capture systems and the standard BESS test. The AAPS system has been designed to be operated by a minimally trained user and it requires little set-up time with no sensor calibration necessary. These features make the proposed automated system a valuable balance assessment tool to be utilized in the field.

Predicting pain outcomes after traumatic musculoskeletal injury.

Traumatic musculoskeletal injury results in a high incidence of chronic pain; however, there is little evidence about the nature, quality, and severity of the pain. This study uses a prospective, observational, longitudinal design to (1) examine neuropathic pain symptoms, pain severity, pain interference, and pain management at hospital admission and 4 months after traumatic musculoskeletal injury (n = 205), and (2) to identify predictors of group membership for patients with differing moderate-to-severe putative neuropathic pain trajectories. Data were collected on mechanism of injury, injury severity, pain (intensity, interference, neuropathic quality), anxiety (anxiety sensitivity, general anxiety, pain catastrophizing, pain anxiety), depression, and posttraumatic stress while patients were in-hospital and 4 months after injury. A third of patients had chronic moderate-to-severe neuropathic pain 4 months after injury. Specifically, 11% of patients developed moderate-to-severe pain by 4 months and 21% had symptoms immediately after injury that persisted over time. Significant predictors of the development and maintenance of moderate-to-severe neuropathic pain included high levels of general anxiety while in-hospital immediately after injury (P < 0.001) and symptoms of posttraumatic stress 4 months after injury (P < 0.001). Few patients had adequate pharmacological, physical, or psychological pain management in-hospital and at 4 months. Future research is needed among trauma patients to better understand the development of chronic pain and to determine the best treatment approaches.

Trabecular bone loss at a distant skeletal site following noninvasive knee injury in mice.

Traumatic injuries can have systemic consequences, as the early inflammatory response after trauma can lead to tissue destruction at sites not affected by the initial injury. This systemic catabolism may occur in the skeleton following traumatic injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. However, bone loss following injury at distant,unrelated skeletal sites has not yet been established. In the current study, we utilized a mouse knee injury model to determine whether acute knee injury causes a mechanically significant trabecular bone loss at a distant, unrelated skeletal site (L5 vertebral body).Knee injury was noninvasively induced using either high-speed (HS; 500 mm/s) or lowspeed(LS; 1 mm/s) tibial compression overload. HS injury creates an ACL rupture by midsubstance tear, while LS injury creates an ACL rupture with an associated avulsion bone fracture. At 10 days post-injury, vertebral trabecular bone structure was quantified using high-resolution microcomputed tomography (lCT), and differences in mechanical properties were determined using finite element modeling (FEM) and compressive mechanical testing. We hypothesized that knee injury would initiate a loss of trabecular bone structure and strength at the L5 vertebral body. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found significant decreases in trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and trabecular number at the L5 vertebral body in LS injured mice compared to sham (8.8% and 5.0%, respectively), while HS injured mice exhibited a similar, but lower magnitude response (5.1% and 2.5%, respectively). Contrary to our hypothesis, this decrease intrabecular bone structure did not translate to a significant deficit in compressive stiffness or ultimate load of the full trabecular body assessed by mechanical testing or FEM. However,we were able to detect significant decreases in compressive stiffness in both HS and LS injured specimens when FE models were loaded directly through the trabecular bone region (9.9% and 8.1%, and 3, respectively). This finding may be particularly important for osteoporotic fracture risk, as damage within vertebral bodies has been shown to initiate within the trabecular bone compartment. Altogether, these data point to a systemic trabecular bone loss as a consequence of fracture or traumatic musculoskeletal injury, which may be an underlying mechanism contributing to increased risk of refracture following an initial injury. This finding may have consequences for treatment of acute musculoskeletal injuries and the prevention of future bone fragility.