Lower Extremity Review
Gluteal muscle activation—not just strength—is significantly associated with landing biomechanics, according to research from High Point University in North Carolina.
Several studies presented in early June at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual meeting in Denver add to the growing body of research suggesting some biomechanical deficits linger for a year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), even in athletes who have been cleared to return to sports.
Sensory feedback research from Colorado appears to challenge the popular belief that barefoot runners tend to adopt a forefoot-strike pattern to avoid the discomfort of landing on an unprotected heel.
A study of National Hockey League (NHL) injuries adds to the evidence suggesting concussion significantly increases the risk of lower body injury in athletes, and vice-versa.
Microcirculatory blood flow two weeks after Achilles tendon repair is correlated with long-term patient-reported and functional outcomes, according to research from Sweden in which blood flow in both the injured and contralateral tendons was associated with healing potential.
By Katie Bell
Visual-augmented feedback-based training focused on reducing ground contact time is associated with improved performance in trained distance runners, according to a Swiss study.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
After anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), hop test scores differ not only between limbs but also when scores for either limb are compared with normative data from healthy athletes, according to research from the Netherlands that could have return-to-sports implications.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Clinicians don’t often have expensive biomechanical testing equipment to improve their assessment of injury risk in athletes, but a growing body of research—including several studies presented in February at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections meeting in San Antonio, TX—suggests standard clinical tests can help fill that void.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
High school girls who specialize in one sport are more than twice as likely to suffer a moderate to severe injury as their multisport counterparts, according to research from San Diego State University in California.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Running gait modifications designed to reduce patellofemoral loading also have immediate symptomatic benefits in patients with patellofemoral pain, according to research from Laval University in Quebec City, Canada.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Measures of cumulative subconcussive head impacts during a men’s lacrosse season are associated with decreases in balance scores from pre- to postseason, according to findings from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, that could have implications for lower extremity injury risk.
By Katie Bell
Increasing running shoe bending stiffness helps improve running energetics up to the point at which it impairs metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint flexion—a threshold that varies between individuals—according to research from the Republic of Korea.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Perceived knee function is poorer in athletes who successfully return to play after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury than in their uninjured counterparts, despite no strength or balance differences between the groups, according to research from Norway.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
Collegiate soccer injuries, particularly those at the knee and in women, decreased significantly from the early 1990s to the late 2000s, according to research from George Washington University in Washington, DC. The positive trends may reflect an increase in resources being allocated toward injury prevention along with…
By Katie Bell
Foot position during landing may contribute to the risk of lateral ankle sprains as well as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, according to separate studies from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, and Stanford University in California.
By Jordana Bieze Foster
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