Types Of Musculoskeletal Injuries Research Articles

Assessment and Rehabilitation Strategies for Sports-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of assessment methods and rehabilitation techniques for sports activities-related musculoskeletal accidents. Understanding the complexity and variety of injuries incurred in sports, this paper synthesizes the modern-day evidence-based practices and protocols used to assess such injuries. Assessment processes embody a multidimensional exam, consisting of physical examination techniques, imaging modalities, and practical checks, aiming to diagnose the extent and nature of the harm precisely. Furthermore, the evaluation examines into rehabilitation strategies tailor-made to precise accidents, emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach that integrates therapeutic physical activities, manual therapy, neuromuscular re-schooling, and modern loading protocols. A minimum of 200 participants, comprising athletes with various types of musculoskeletal injuries, will be recruited to ensure diversity and generalizability of findings. Participants will be randomly assigned to intervention and control groups using computer-generated random numbers to ensure an unbiased allocation process. Stratification based on injury type and severity will be employed as a criteria, ensuring a balanced distribution of participants across different categories. Participants will undergo rehabilitation sessions three times per week for a duration of eight weeks, ensuring a structured and progressive approach to musculoskeletal injury recovery. Special attention is given to individualized rehabilitation plans that consider the athlete's sport-specific needs, biomechanics, and psychological aspects, facilitating the most beneficial restoration and secure return to play. The paper concludes by highlighting the ongoing advancements in generation and treatment modalities that similarly enhance the evaluation accuracy and efficacy of rehabilitation interventions for sports-related musculoskeletal injuries, emphasizing the importance of a comprehensive and customized method in the management of such injuries.

Heart rate variability behavior in athletes after a sports concussion: A systematic review.

This systematic review aims to investigate the adaptations of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) after a concussion by measuring HRV in athletes over the age of 16 after injury. This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA). Web of Science, Pubmed, SCOPUS, and Sport Discus were searched using predefined search terms to identify relevant original cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cohort epidemiological studies published before December 2021. After screening 1737 potential articles, four studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies included participants with concussion (n = 63) and healthy control athletes (n = 140) who practised different sports. Two studies describe a decrease in HRV following a sports concussion, and one proposed that the resolution of symptoms does not necessarily reflect ANS recovery. Lastly, one study concluded that submaximal exercise induces alteration in ANS, not seen in rest after an injury. In the frequency domain, a decrease in high frequency power and an increase of low frequency/high frequency ratio is expected, as the activity of the sympathetic nervous system increases, and the parasympathetic nervous system decreases after injury. In the frequency domain, heart rate variability (HRV) may help monitor the activity of ANS evaluating signals of somatic tissue distress and early identification of other types of musculoskeletal injuries. Further research should investigate the relationship between HRV and other musculoskeletal injuries.

Training in spikes and number of training hours correlate to injury incidence in youth athletics (track and field): A prospective 52-week study

ObjectivesThe aim was to describe the annual incidence and types of musculoskeletal injuries, and to examine factors associated with injury risk. DesignA 52-week prospective study in Swedish youth athletics aged 12–15 years. MethodsData on exposure to training and injury were collected from parents/caregivers and youth athletes using a web-survey system. ResultsA total of 101 (86%) youth athletes participated. Fifty-four (53%) of the athletes reported one new injury. Girls were at higher risk of sustaining an injury than boys (p = 0.048). Ninety-one percent of the new injuries were non-traumatic and 85% occurred in the lower extremities. Injuries to the front thigh represented 20% of the injuries. Cox proportional hazard regression analyses showed a six-fold increased risk for a first injury for athletes reporting use of spikes and training <6 h every two weeks (hazard ratio, 6.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–31.3) compared to athletes training <6 h using no spikes. Athletes training 6 h or more reporting use or no use of spikes had an eight-fold increase injury risk (p < 0.01). ConclusionsAlmost half of the youth athletes experienced a new injury and girls had a higher risk compared to boys. Nine out of ten injuries were related to overuse. An interesting observation was the high incidence of injuries to the quadriceps muscle complex. The study identified a correlation with training hours and an interaction with track spikes and risk of injury that needs further attention.

PREVALENCE OF MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES AMONG TAEKWONDO PLAYERS IN MALAYSIA

To determine the rate and types of musculoskeletal injuries among Taekwondo players from Taekwondo clubs in Malaysia. A total of 490 Taekwondo players from various clubs in Malaysia were involved in a cross-sectional study using a self-response questionnaire adopted from different studies and validated before the commencement of the study. The players were recruited from various clubs in different states of Malaysia. The number of players suffered from injuries was 300 as compared to 190 with no injuries. Males players suffered from musculoskeletal injures more than females (p = 0.019). Also, males complained of multiple injuries more than females (p = 0.019). The rate of the injuries among black belt holders was higher as compared to the colour belt (p &lt; 0.001) and black belt holders more liable for multiple injuries (p &lt;0.001). The semi-professional players complained of sport injures more than others (p = 0.021). The longer the experience the higher rate of injuries (p &lt; 0.001). Most of Taekwondo players have suffered from injuries, these injuries sometimes are dangerous. These injuries are more common among male and semi-professional players. Coaches and players must emphasize on warming-up and stretching before the training/ competitions and cooling-down after, that will help to reduce the rate and severity of the injuries. In addition to that, awareness compaing among the players will help the palyers to become more careful during training and competitions sessions.

Update on sports imaging

Sports Imaging has dramatically increased in the past decade with increasing number of adolescents, young and middle-aged adults participating in non-competitive/hobby sports. Therefore, sports injuries are no longer confined to elite athletes. Furthermore, newer forms of sports such as mountain climbing, pickle ball and curling etc. are gaining popularity. Majority of the injuries in sports medicine are from musculoskeletal trauma. Therefore, it is imperative that the musculoskeletal radiologist becomes familiar with various sports related injury patterns as these are commonly encountered in daily practice. This update aims to briefly encapsulate the major aspects of sports imaging. It includes the imaging manifestations of various types of musculoskeletal injuries on different modalities (commonly US and MRI) and briefly mentions the various image guided interventions, performed both on the sports field and in the hospital setting.

Appraising the Welfare of Thoroughbred Racehorses in Training in Queensland, Australia: The Incidence and Type of Musculoskeletal Injuries Vary between Two-Year-Old and Older Thoroughbred Racehorses

Simple SummaryMusculoskeletal injuries (MSI) remain a concerning cause of racehorse morbidity and mortality with serious ethical and welfare consequences. Previous research examining risk factors for injuries report inconsistent findings. Age is thought to affect the risk of injury, but, to date, there have been no prospective studies specifically comparing injuries between two-year-old versus older horses. We aimed to: (1) determine the incidence of injuries for two-year-old and older horses, and whether this was affected by training track, season, or rainfall, and (2) determine the types of injuries affecting two-year-old and older horses, and whether horses trialled or raced after injury. Data were collected through personal structured weekly interviews with participating trainers over a 13-month period. Data were analysed using Poisson regression. The incidence of MSI in the current study was low (0.6%). The incidence of MSI in two-year-old horses was higher than older horses. Types of MSI varied between two-year-old and older horses and affected whether horses subsequently trialled or raced from 11 to 23 months after injury. A larger proportion of two-year-old horses had dorsal metacarpal disease and traumatic lacerations. A smaller proportion of two-year-old horses had suspensory desmitis, superficial digital flexor tendonitis, proximal sesamoid bone fractures, and fetlock joint injuries than older horses. Training track and rainfall did not affect the incidence of injuries. The season affected the incidence of injuries in two-year-old horses but not in older horses.Musculoskeletal injuries (MSI) remain a concerning cause of racehorse morbidity and mortality with important ethical and welfare consequences. Previous research examining risk factors for MSI report inconsistent findings. Age is thought to affect MSI risk, but, to date, there have been no prospective studies comparing MSI in two-year-old versus older horses. This study aimed to: (1) determine the incidence of MSI for two-year-old and older horses, and whether this was affected by training track, season, or rainfall, and (2) determine the types of MSI affecting two-year-old and older horses, and whether horses trialled or raced after injury. A prospective survey was conducted with data collected through personal structured weekly interviews with participating trainers over a 13-month period. Data were analysed using Poisson regression. The incidence of MSI in the current study was low (0.6%). The incidence of MSI in two-year-old horses was higher than older horses (p < 0.001). Types of MSI varied between two-year-old and older horses (p < 0.001) and affected whether horses subsequently trailed or raced from 11 to 23 months after injury (p < 0.001). A larger proportion of two-year-old horses had dorsal metacarpal disease and traumatic lacerations. A smaller proportion of two-year-old horses had suspensory ligament desmitis, superficial digital flexor tendonitis, proximal sesamoid bone fractures, and fetlock joint injuries than older horses. Training track and rainfall did not affect MSI. The season affected MSI in two-year-old horses (p < 0.001) but not older horses. The major limitation was that trainers in this study were metropolitan (city) and our findings may not be generalisable to racehorses in regional (country) areas. Another significant limitation was the assumption that MSI was the reason for failure to trial or race after injury. In conclusion, the incidence of MSI was low in the current study and the types and the risk factors for MSI are different for two-year-old and older horses.

Caracterização dos afastamentos por licença médica de policiais militares em Belém do Pará

A atividade do policial militar apresenta vários mecanismos que diminuem a qualidade de vida destes profissionais, para tanto os números de afastamentos por motivo de saúde são cada vez mais expressivos, principalmente na região metropolitana de Belém. Desta forma tem-se como objetivo caracterizar os tipos de lesões musculoesqueléticas que ocorrem em Policiais Militares em exercício a partir da classificação da Junta médica da Polícia Militar do Estado do Pará. Esta foi uma pesquisa documental, num recorte temporal de 2012 a 2018, com abordagem quantitativa. Dentre os principais resultados destaca-se que 63,48% dos policiais que solicitaram afastamento referiram apenas 1 tipo de doença, o tempo máximo de afastamento foi de um pouco mais de 10 anos e o tempo mínimo foi de 6 dias. O ano de 2012 apresentou maior número de solicitações (35113), enquanto que o último ano do período investigado registrou uma importante diminuição nas solicitações (14436). Estes dados corroboram a necessidade de maior investigação da temática, ligada aos fatores que possam promover a prevenção de surgimento de lesões musculoesqueléticas, tendo em vista que muitos são os fatores que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de problemas de saúde física e mental, onde se observa números expressivos de afastamentos para tratamento de diversas doenças, neste estudo procurou-se enfatizar as patologias de origem ortopédicas.

Exercise Programs to Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Military Personnel: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of exercise programs on reduction of musculoskeletal injury (MSI) risk in military populations.DesignSystematic review and meta‐analysis.Literature SurveyA database search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, SPORTdiscus, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform Search Portal, Open Gray, National Technical Reports Library, and reference lists of included articles up to July 2019. Randomized and cluster‐randomized controlled trials evaluating exercise programs as preventive interventions for MSIs in armed forces compared to other exercise programs or to usual practice were eligible for inclusion.MethodologyTwo authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data. Data were adjusted for clustering if necessary and pooled using the random‐effects model when appropriate.SynthesisWe included 15 trials in this review, with a total number of 14 370 participants. None of the included trials appeared to be free of any risk of bias. Meta‐analysis and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) assessment could be performed for static stretching compared to no stretching (3532 participants), showing low quality of evidence indicating no favorable effect of stretching. Gait retraining, an anterior knee‐pain targeted program, and resistance exercises showed cautious favorable effects on reducing injury risk in military personnel.ConclusionThe current evidence base for exercise‐based MSI prevention strategies in the military is of low quality. Areas worthy of further exploration include the effects of gait retraining, anterior knee‐pain targeted programs, agility training, and resistance training programs, on medial tibial stress syndrome incidence, anterior knee pain incidence, attrition due to injuries and any type of MSI, respectively.

Approaches to Pediatric Musculoskeletal Pain: Opioids and So Much More.

Treatment of musculoskeletal pain in children poses unique challenges, particularly in the context of the ongoing opioid epidemic. In addition to the developmental level of the child, the type of pain he or she is experiencing should influence the team's approach when collaborating with the patient and the family to develop and refine pain management strategies. Understanding the categories of pain that may result from specific types of musculoskeletal injuries or orthopaedic surgeries influences the selection of medication or other most appropriate treatment. Although opioids are an important part of managing acute pain in the pediatric population, many other pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies can be used in combination with or in place of opioids to optimize pain management. This article will review strategies for collaborating with families and the multidisciplinary team, provide an overview of pediatric pain assessment including assessment of acute musculoskeletal pain in children, and discuss pharmacological and nonpharmacological options for managing pain after acute injury or surgery.

Upper body injuries in Greek kayak flat-water athletes during a season period (2012-2013)

Aim: To provide epidemiological data on flat-water kayaking injuries of the upper body in Greece. Specifically, to assess the body part that sustains most injuries, the exact time period that injuries occur during a season, the type of musculoskeletal injury and the total injury rate using a descriptive study. Methods: A retrospective injury surveillance took place during the Greek kayak flatwater 2013 championship from 12th to 14th July at “Schinias” Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre in Athens aiming to collect data of injury caused by sprint kayaking within a season period (dating from August 2012to July 2013). For this reason, a questionnaire, which was designed via the adaptation of previous retrospective questionnaires referring to different forms of kayaking, distributed to participants in order to gather information regarding paddlers’ characteristics and the injury event. Descriptive analysis of the data was performed. Results: 145 paddlers participated in our study. From these samples, 142 athletes responded to the questionnaires. The results are:56 paddlers (39.4%) reported that they had had one or more injuries during the season. The shoulder (21.1%) was the most injured body part followed by the wrist (7.7%) and the lower back (7.7%). Tendinitis (41.9%) was the most frequently reported type of injury followed by strains (25.8%) and sprains (6.5%).According to the research, January (6.3%) and February (6.3%) were the months when most of the injuries had occurred followed by March (4.2%). The total injury rate was 1.96 per 1000 hours of exposure. Conclusions: This study provides valuable epidemiological data concerning the upper body injuries on flat-water kayaking. This could help future investigations on the risk factors and the injury prevention strategies.

Dash-Associated Spondylolysis Hypothesis.

Introduction In past biomechanical studies, repetitive motion of lumbar extension, rotation, or a combination of both, frequently seen in batting or pitching practice in baseball, shooting practice in soccer, and spiking practice in volleyball, have been considered important risk factors of lumbar spondylolysis. However, clinically, these have been identified in many athletes performing on a running track or on the field, which requires none of the practices described above. The purpose of this study was to verify how much impact running has on the pathologic mechanism of lumbar spondylolysis. Methods In study 1, 89 consecutive pediatric patients diagnosed with lumbar spondylolysis at a single outpatient clinic between January 2012 and February 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. In study 2, motion analysis was performed on 17 male volunteers who had played on a soccer team without experiencing low back pain or any type of musculoskeletal injury. A Vicon motion capture system was used to evaluate four movements: maximal effort sprint (Dash), comfortable running (Jog), instep kick (Shoot), and inside kick (Pass). Results In study 1, 13 of the 89 patients with lumbar spondylolysis were track and field athletes. In study 2, motion analysis revealed that the hip extension angle, spine rotation angle, and hip flexion moment were similar in Dash and Shoot during the maximum hip extension phase. The pelvic rotation angle was significantly greater in the kicking conditions than in the running conditions. Conclusions Kinematically and kinetically, the spinopelvic angles in Dash were considered similar to those in Shoot. Dash could cause mechanical stress at the pars interarticularis of the lumbar spine, similar to that caused by Shoot, thus leading to spondylolysis.

A Snapshot of the Type of Injuries, Incidence and Perceptions of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Radiation Therapists in Canada

The surprising physical demands of a radiation therapist's day-to-day occupational duties are not often directly discussed or mentioned. The lifting of patient-positioning equipment and treatment-related equipment, as well as positioning patients on the treatment couch, are all motions that place stress upon the musculoskeletal (MSK) system. Combined with the speed that the daily clinical schedule allots for each patient, MSK injuries often appear. No data has been published to capture the incidence and types of MSK injuries that radiation therapists have experienced or been known to experience. A web-based self-administered quantitative survey was sent out nationally. Questions within the survey grouped radiation therapists based on injury status. Radiation therapists that indicated they experienced an MSK injury were asked questions pertaining to the site(s) of injury. Therapists that were not injured were asked whether or not they were afraid of being injured. Both groups were asked questions about their attitudes and perceptions towards MSK injuries. As of February 8th, 2018, 157 radiation therapists met the inclusion criteria. Approximately 63% of respondents (n=99) indicated they had experienced a MSK injury during their occupational duties. The most commonly injured areas were the shoulders (n=66), the neck (n=49) and the wrists and hands (n=46). Uninjured radiation therapists showed that they were most afraid of injuring their lower back (n=42), shoulders (n=37) and neck (n=33). There were significant differences between uninjured and injured radiation therapists and their answers towards questions related to their attitudes and perceptions of MSK injuries. MSK injuries in radiation therapy are not a trifling matter and should be examined more closely. A full data analysis of the survey results is underway and should be published within the near future.

Activities of Daily Living and Determinant Factors among Older Adult Subjects with Lower Body Fracture after Discharge from Hospital: A Prospective Study.

Fracture is a type of musculoskeletal injury that contributes to an inability to perform daily activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate activities of daily living (ADL) of older adult patients with lower body fracture and to determine factors influencing ADL. Patient’s ADL was assessed at pre-fracture, ward admission and post-discharge phases using the Katz ADL questionnaire. There were 129 subjects at pre-fracture and ward phases and 89 subjects at discharge phase. There were four independent variables; age, gender, type of fracture and ability to walk before fracture. Logistic regression models showed that ‘age’ and ‘ability to walk before fracture’ were the determinant factors of dependent for ‘bathing’, ‘dressing’ and ‘toileting’. The ‘ability to walk before fracture’ was the determinant factor of dependent for ‘transferring’. ‘Age’ and ‘gender’ were the determinant factors of dependent for ‘continence’, while ‘age’ was the determinant factor of dependent for ‘feeding’. The ADL score changes were significant across the phases with a reduction in ADL score in the ward admission phase and partial increment during the post-discharge phase. There were improvements in the health outcomes of subjects aged more than 50 years old after 3 months of being discharged from the hospital. In conclusion, age, being female, having a hip fracture and using a walking aid before fracture were the determinants identified in this study.

Injury and Illness in Marching Band and Color Guard Members and the Need for Athletic Trainers: A Critically Appraised Topic

Purpose: To determine the prevalence, incidence, risk, rate, and type of injury and illness suffered by collegiate and high school marching band (MB) and color guard (CG) members and determine if there is a need for medical coverage. Methods: Articles were identified from: PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Collection, ScienceDirect, and single-citation matching using search string, ["marching band" OR "color guard" OR "marching athlete" AND injury] from January 1990-to-October 2016, resulting in 141 articles. Following screening (title, abstract), six articles were reviewed. Four met these inclusion criteria: (1) peer-reviewed, cross-sectional studies, (2) high school or collegiate-aged members, (3) available abstract, (4) English language, (5) included prevalence, incidence, risk, rate, or type of musculoskeletal injury (MSI) and sudden illness (SI). Two reviewers assessed the level of evidence (LOE) and quality using the Oxford Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (2009) and STROBE instruments. Data of interest subjects, injury/illness prevalence/incidence and classification (descriptive statistics), and risk/rate of injury. Results: Four studies were evaluated (LOE=2b; STROBE 18.62±4.37 [based on a 36-point scale]). Pooled sample size was 2,272, in collegiate (n=3) and high school (n=1) aged members with MB only (n=1), MB and CG (n=2), and unidentified members (n=1) over different season lengths. All studies agree MB and CG are strenuous activities with significant potential for lower extremity (LE) MSI as it was between 27%-87.7% of reported injuries (n=3); illnesses were 22-34%. Conclusions: Results strongly indicate that MB and CG are likely to sustain LE MSI and the nature of the activity predisposes members to certain types. Thus athletic trainers should be present to provide injury prevention and manage MSI and SI when they arise.

Incidence of musculoskeletal sport injuries in a sample of male and female recreational paddle-tennis players.

Nowadays paddle-tennis is practiced by the Spanish population, not only in a professional or semi-professional way, but also as a recreational sport. As occurs in tennis, the repetition of specific actions and gestures in paddle-tennis could be a factor associated with one or more types of musculoskeletal injuries in this population. The aim of this research was to describe the incidence and location of musculoskeletal injuries in a sample of Spanish recreational paddle-tennis and to explore a possible causality injury model, focusing on gender contribution. The sample was composed of 113 active paddle-tennis players, of whom 47.78% were men. The participants were asked about the injuries they had suffered during their paddle participation. Other variables such as age, physical position in the game and level of ability were taken into account. 85.4% of the players reported any sport paddle injury. The elbow and the lower back have been shown as the most common regions of injury, followed by knee and shoulder injuries. Female group reported a higher injury incidence due to playing paddle-tennis (OR=0.169; P=0.008). Significant differences also existed between the genders for calf injury location (OR=0.208; P=0.020). A global injury model explaining 22.5% of the variance has been observed. Gender seems to explain 7.4% of the variance. Being a medium-aged weighty right-handed woman seems to be the profile more likely to report paddle-tennis related musculoskeletal injuries. A lack of literature regarding paddle-tennis related injuries has been observed. It could be said that our results contribute substantially in this field.

Patterns of extremities trauma in children and their management in emergency department in Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt

Background: Extremities trauma is extremely common in the pediatrics age group and many risk factors have been analysed for their role in this type of trauma. The aim of this study was to describe patterns of extremities injuries in children with different types of musculoskeletal injuries. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 270 children attending to Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt. With different types of musculoskeletal injuries. Differences in gender, anatomic site, circumstances, location of trauma occurrence and trauma level were investigated among three different age groups (pre-school, school and adolescents). Results: The results showed that males were at a higher risk of extremities trauma than females and the male to female ratio increased with increasing age. The highest incidence of extremities injuries in children occurred in school age group. (66.3%) of injuries occurred after low energy trauma mostly due to falls. Home was the main location of injury occurrence (44.07%), followed by roads (29.63%), playgrounds (17.41%) and school (8.89%). Injuries of upper limbs represented (79.63%) of all injuries. Distal forearm injuries accounted for (30%) of all injured sites and were more frequent in adolescents. (30.37%) of the studied patients were shared in sport behaviour. Conclusions: The differences which existed in the prevalence of injuries, characteristics and circumstances across the three age groups may be explained by age-related changes in behaviours, together with attending different places.

The Effect of Different Types of Musculoskeletal Injuries on Blood Concentration of Serum Amyloid A in Thoroughbred Racehorses.

BackgroundTraining-induced muscle, skeletal and joint trauma may result in acute phase response reflected by the changes in the blood concentration of serum amyloid A (SAA) in racehorses. It remains yet unclear if such systemic reaction could be triggered by sport injuries and what is the impact of different types of musculoskeletal trauma on SAA concentrations in racehorses. This study aimed to determine changes in the SAA blood concentration in racehorses with different types of injuries of musculoskeletal system.Materials and MethodsThe study involved 28 racehorses diagnosed after the race with bone fractures (n = 7), dorsal metacarpal disease (n = 11), joint trauma (n = 4) or tendon and muscle trauma (n = 6) and 28 healthy control racehorses. Serum samples were collected twice, between 1 and 4 days of the injury or succesful completion of the race. SAA concentration was measured using the commercial ELISA kit. Differences between mean SAA concentration in respective groups were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc test.ResultsMean SAA concentration within the first 4 days of the injury of muscle and tendon was significantly higher than in bone fractures, dorsal metacarpal disease, joint trauma or in the healthy horses (p<0,001). There were no significant differences between the other groups.ConclusionsStrain injuries of muscle and tendons can cause a moderate increase in SAA blood concentration in racehorses, reflecting the occurrence of the acute phase response. Similar reaction is not observed in the stress-related bone injuries.

A utilização da bandagem na estabilidade do tornozelo em atletas de basquetebol

Introdução: Entorse é um tipo de lesão musculoesquelética que ocorre por uma força de torção aplicada na articulação e pode ocasionar danos em algumas estruturas do corpo humano. Uma técnica utilizada para a prevenção e tratamento dessas lesões é a bandagem rígida funcional. Objetivo: Analisar a influência da bandagem rígida funcional na estabilidade articular do tornozelo em atletas de basquetebol. Métodos: Avaliaram-se 11 atletas do sexo masculino da categoria sub-15 de basquetebol que foram submetidos à estabilometria com e sem a utilização bandagem funcional rígida na articulação do tornozelo. Resultados: Foi demonstrado que há um aumento da estabilidade nessa articulação com o uso da bandagem, auxiliando na resposta muscular, fornecendo maior sustentação biomecânica e, assim, possivelmente prevenindo as lesões. Conclusão: Quando utilizaram a bandagem rígida funcional, os atletas apresentaram maior estabilidade na articulação do tornozelo na posição ortostática.

A Questionnaire of Musculoskeletal Injuries Associated With Manual Patient Lifting in Occupational Therapy Practitioners in the State of Ohio

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence and type of musculoskeletal injury due to patient handling as well as to ascertain current safe patient handling practices in occupational therapy within the state of Ohio. A questionnaire focusing on safe patient handling issues was e-mailed to 1,113 occupational therapy practitioners in the state of Ohio, with an overall response rate of 26%. Sixty-four percent indicated they were required to transfer patients manually. Of these respondents, 8% indicated receiving an injury, 11% missed days away from work in connection with sustaining an injury, and 12% considered leaving the profession early due to patient handling concerns. The study demonstrated that this sample of occupational therapy practitioners was exposed to occupationally based high-risk situations regarding patient handling with moderate to high incidence rates for musculoskeletal injuries. Additional research is needed to ascertain the status of safe patient handling among occupational therapy practitioners nationwide.

Ankle Rehabilitation via Compliant Mechanisms

A flexure-based ankle rehabilitation device utilizes the linear elastic force-deflection characteristics of certain types of flexure beams to measure the forces and torques output by the human ankle joint complex (AJC). Three sets of flexures, placed so as to allow rotation about the three primary rotational axes of the AJC, allow for a measurement of all three major rotations applied by the ankle joint and coupled motions essential for walking, balancing, and running. Currently, there is no method or universally accepted device used to measure and quantify the strength, speed, and stabilizing ability of the AJC. This is especially important when it is considered that ankle injuries are perhaps the most common type of musculoskeletal injury. Furthermore, AJC integrity is recognized as critical to the maintenance of balance and prevention of falls among older adults. We have developed a device that would primarily be used by physicians or rehabilitative professionals as part of a more standardized methodology of musculoskeletal care and to determine the extent of an ankle’s recovery after injury. It has potential to help researchers better understand the recovery process and the mechanics of ankle injuries. Additionally, it could be useful to the footwear and orthopedic industries as a means of evaluating products for AJC protection and recovery. The architecture of the device could also be modified to fit other multi-DOF joints, such as the wrist, shoulder, hip, or spine. Single-DOF devices could also be developed to potentially increase efficacy of rehabilitation practices for single-DOF joints such as the knee and the elbow. Upon fulfilling its initial functional requirements, this device still has a lot of potential for further development. The current design can be tuned fairly easily by exchanging different flexure modules of varying stiffness. This allows for testing of different materials, stiffness values, and flexure module designs. Furthermore, it would be possible to expand on the design so that it can be used as a training tool, instead of just as an evaluation device. A rehabilitation program utilizing such a device would serve to isolate the ankle much more than current recovery exercises, helping to reduce the chances of re-injury. Current technology used to evaluate ankle rehabilitation focuses solely either on the foot’s range of motion or on the joint’s ability to balance the rest of the body. While the former ignores the ankle strength, the latter disregards any information regarding the ankle beyond the standing configuration. The flexure-based ankle rehabilitation device measures ankle strength and power output through a range of motion that is anatomically similar to walking, running, etc. Also, measuring power output is not feasible with currently available devices and is believed to be very important for further injury prevention. Also, a wide range of foot configurations can be achieved, suggesting that regardless of the patient’s physical abilities, the device can still be used to safely and effectively rehabilitate a person’s injured joint and return it to a healthy state. Results from the initial prototype suggest that an ankle rehabilitation device utilizing compliant mechanisms can measure the expected torque outputs from the ankle joint. Use of compliant mechanisms allows for the design of a more cost-effective, compact device that can be handled by physicians even outside of a hospital setting. The final paper will present the second design iteration and the results of measurements that will be performed on patients’ rehabilitating ankles in the interim so as to determine what other adjustments need to be made in the system to account for the coupled motions of the ankle joint. A full working system including data acquisition equipment utilized to collect patient information and the final device iteration will be presented in the final technical paper.