Steven L. Dischiavi

An evidence-based review of hip-focused neuromuscular exercise interventions to address dynamic lower extremity valgus

Deficits in proximal hip strength or neuromuscular control may lead to dynamic lower extremity valgus. Measures of dynamic lower extremity valgus have been previously shown to relate to increased risk of several knee pathologies, specifically anterior cruciate ligament ruptures and patellofemoral pain. Therefore, hip-focused interventions have gained considerable attention and been successful in addressing these knee pathologies. The purpose of the review was to identify and discuss hip-focused exercise interventions that aim to address dynamic lower extremity valgus. Previous electromyography, kinematics, and kinetics research support the use of targeted hip exercises with non-weight-bearing, controlled weight-bearing, functional exercise, and, to a lesser extent, dynamic exercises in reducing dynamic lower extremity valgus. Further studies should be developed to identify and understand the mechanistic relationship between optimized biomechanics during sports and hip-focused neuromuscular exercise interventions.

Non-operative management of femoroacetabular impingement: A prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial pilot study

OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of physical therapy on pain and physical function in patients with femoroacetabular impingement. DESIGN Randomized, participant- and assessor blinded controlled trial pilot study. METHODS This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01814124) and reported according to Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) requirements. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either a combination of manual therapy and supervised exercise (MTEX), plus advice and home exercise or advice and home exercise alone (Ad+HEP) over six weeks. Primary outcomes were average pain (Visual Analog Scale) and physical function (Hip Outcome Score) at week seven. RESULTS Fifteen patients, mean age 33.7 (SD 9.5, 73% female) satisfied the eligibility criteria and completed week seven measurements. The between group differences for changes in pain or physical function were not significant. Both groups showed statistically significant improvements in pain: the MTEX group improved a mean of 17.6mm and the Ad+HEP group, 18.0mm. CONCLUSIONS The results of this pilot study provide preliminary evidence that symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement may be amenable to conservative treatment strategies however further full-scale randomized controlled trials are required to demonstrate this. In this small pilot study, supervised manual therapy and exercise did not result in greater improvement in pain or function compared to advice and home exercise in patients with symptomatic femoroacetabular impingement.

Association of Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test with lower extremity injury in NCAA Division 1 athletes: an independent validation study ☆

OBJECTIVES To determine if the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test (LQYBT) is predictive of lower extremity injury in NCAA Division 1 athletes. DESIGN Prospective cohort, therapy. PARTICIPANTS One hundred eighty-nine NCAA Division 1 athletes participated in the study and underwent a preparticipation screen that included the LQYBT. Maximal reach distances were recorded in each direction and normalized to leg length. A composite score was calculated by summing the three normalized reach distances and dividing by three times leg length. Side to side asymmetry was calculated as the lesser of the two composite scores, divided by the greater of the two composite scores, multiplied by 100. Injuries for the following season were tracked and recorded; LQYBT scores were compared between injured and non-injured athletes. RESULTS In our sample, 90 [59 female, 31 male] of the 189 athletes participating suffered a lower extremity injury. No significant differences were found between injured and non-injured athletes for reach distance, normalized reach distance, normalized composite reach distance, or normalized composite percent score (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS The LQYBT does not appear to predict general lower extremity injury in a diverse population of NCAA D1 athletes. These results are in direct conflict with previous findings suggesting the LQYBT is predictive of injury suggesting its utility as an injury risk screening tool in a general collegiate athletic population should continue to be questioned.

Potential limitations of the functional movement screen: a clinical commentary

Athletic injury and its sequelae remain a primary concern of sports professionals globally. As a result, screening athletes to predict injury is of great interest, especially if the screening/testing procedure is non-invasive, effective, and efficient. One such procedure of increasing popularity is the functional movement screen (FMS), which, in 2007, was reported to predict injury in American football players in a single season.1 The FMS attempts to identify fundamental movement patterns that simultaneously measure range of motion, stability, and balance1 and shows moderate evidence for acceptable reliability when deriving a composite score.2 The FMS attempts to take a comprehensive approach to assess human movement and encourages clinicians to look beyond impairments and isolated single joint motion and explore more comprehensive movement patterns representative of those used in daily activities and sport. Considering the growing popularity of the FMS both clinically and in research literature, its merits warrant closer analysis. A composite score of ≤14 on the FMS is commonly …

Exercise prescription for overhead athletes with shoulder pathology: a systematic review with best evidence synthesis

Objective To produce a best evidence synthesis of exercise prescription used when treating shoulder pathology in the overhead athlete. Design A systematic review of exercises used in overhead athletes including case studies and clinical commentaries. Data sources MEDLINE, PubMed, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL from database inception through July 8, 2016. Methods We examined data from randomised controlled trials and prospective cohort (level I–IV evidence) studies that addressed exercise intervention in the rehabilitation of the overhead athlete with shoulder pathology. Case studies and clinical commentaries (level V evidence) were examined to account for expert opinion-based research. Data were combined using best evidence synthesis and graded (A–F) recommendations (Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine). Results There were 33 unique exercises in six level I–IV studies that met our inclusion criteria. Most exercises were single-plane, upper extremity exercises performed below 90o of elevation. There were 102 unique exercises in 33 level V studies that met our inclusion criteria. These exercises emphasised plyometrics, kinetic chain and sport-specific training. Conclusions and relevance Overall, evidence for exercise interventions in overhead athletes with shoulder pathology is dominated by expert opinion (grade D). There is great variability between exercise approaches suggested by experts and those investigated in research studies and the overall level of evidence is low. The strongest available evidence (level B) supports the use of single-plane, open chain upper extremity exercises performed below 90° of elevation and closed chain upper extremity exercises. Clinical expert pieces support a more advanced, global treatment approach consistent with the complex, multidimensional nature of sport.

Biotensegrity and myofascial chains: A global approach to an integrated kinetic chain

Human movement is a complex orchestration of events involving many different body systems. Understanding how these systems interact during musculoskeletal movements can directly inform a variety of research fields including: injury etiology, injury prevention and therapeutic exercise prescription. Traditionally scientists have examined human movement through a reductionist lens whereby movements are broken down and observed in isolation. The process of reductionism fails to capture the interconnected complexities and the dynamic interactions found within complex systems such as human movement. An emerging idea is that human movement may be better understood using a holistic philosophy. In this regard, the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its components alone, rather, it is the complexity of the system as a whole, that determines how the individual component parts behave. This paper hypothesizes that human movement can be better understood through holism; and provides available observational evidence in musculoskeletal science, which help to frame human movement as a globally interconnected complex system. Central to this, is biotensegrity, a concept where the bones of the skeletal system are postulated to be held together by the resting muscle tone of numerous viscoelastic muscular chains in a tension dependent manner. The design of a biotensegrity system suggests that when human movement occurs, the entire musculoskeletal system constantly adjusts during this movement causing global patterns to occur. This idea further supported by recent anatomical evidence suggesting that the muscles of the human body can no longer by viewed as independent anatomical structures that simply connect one bone to another bone. Rather, the body consists of numerous muscles connected in series, and end to end, which span the entire musculoskeletal system, creating long polyarticular viscoelastic myofascial muscle chains. Although theoretical, the concept of the human body being connected by these muscular chains, within a biotensegrity design, could be a potential underpinning theory for analyzing human movement in a more holistic manner. Indeed, preliminary research has now used the concept of myofascial pathways to enhance musculoskeletal examination, and provides a vivid example of how range of motion at a peripheral joint, is dependent upon the positioning of the entire body, offering supportive evidence that the bodys kinetic chain is globally interconnected. Theoretical models that introduce a complex systems approach should be welcomed by the movement science field in an attempt to help explain clinical questions that have been resistant to a linear model.

Rehabilitation exercises reduce re-injury post-ankle sprain, but the content and parameters of an optimal exercise program have yet to be established: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES To determine if exercise-based rehabilitation reduces reinjury following acute ankle sprain. Our secondary objective was to assess if rehabilitation efficacy varies according to exercise content and training volume. DATA SOURCES The following electronic databases were searched: EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro). STUDY SELECTION Randomized controlled trials investigating the effect of exercise-based rehabilitation programs on reinjury and patient-reported outcomes (perceived instability, function, pain) in people with an acute ankle sprain. No restrictions were made on the exercise type, duration, or frequency. Exercise-based programs could have been administered in isolation or as an adjunct to usual care. Comparisons were made to usual care consisting of 1 or all components of PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression, elevation). DATA EXTRACTION Effect sizes with 95% CIs were calculated in the form of mean differences for continuous outcomes and odds ratios (ORs) for dichotomous outcomes. Pooled effects were calculated for reinjury prevalence with meta-analysis undertaken using RevMan software. DATA SYNTHESIS Seven trials (n=1417) were included (median PEDro score, 8/10). Pooled data found trends toward a reduction in reinjury in favor of the exercise-based rehabilitation compared with usual care at 3-6 months (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.48-1.58) with significant reductions reported at 7-12 months (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.38-0.73). Sensitivity analysis based on pooled reinjury data from 2 high quality studies (n=629) also found effects in favor of exercise-based rehabilitation at 12 months (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.49-0.89). Training volume differed substantially across rehabilitation programs with total rehabilitation time ranging from 3.5-21 hours. The majority of rehabilitation programs focused primarily on postural balance or strength training. CONCLUSIONS Exercise-based rehabilitation reduces the risk of reinjury following acute ankle sprain when compared with usual care alone. There is no consensus on optimal exercise content and training volume in this field. Future research must explicitly report all details of administered exercise-based rehabilitation programs.

O30 Rehabilitation reduces re-injury risk post ankle sprain, but there is no consensus on optimal exercise dose or content: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Study Design Meta-Analysis. Objectives Examine the effectiveness of ankle sprain rehabilitation; subgroup rehabilitation programmes based on training volume and training emphasis and highlight key components associated with clinical effect. Background Ankle sprains commonly occur in sports and have a high re-injury rate. Rehabilitation exercise is often used to prevent recurrence but its effectiveness remains equivocal; this may be because rehabilitation programmes differ significantly in their exercise content and training volume. Methods and Measures A computerised literature search, citation tracking, and hand searching were carried out up to January 2017. Eligible studies were randomized-controlled trials describing acute ankle sprain treated exercise based rehabilitation, with comparisons to standard care (PRICE). The PEDro scale was used to assess methodological quality. Key outcomes were re-injury, function, ankle instability, pain (at 3, 6, 12 months). Total rehabilitation time (TRT) and the training emphasis were extracted. Meta-analysis was undertaken using RevMan. Results Eight trials were included (n=1439). The median PEDro score was 7/10 (range 1–8). Pooled data (n=4 RCTs) revealed a significant reduction in re-injury at 12 months in favour of the rehabilitation (OR 0.53 95%Cis 0.38 to 0.73) when compared to standard care alone. Data pooling was not feasible for other outcomes however results from individual studies were conflicting for pain, functional recovery and stability outcomes. TRT was highly variable across studies (median 9 hour, range 1–21 hour). The training emphasis varied between programmes, however most focused on balance or strength training. Studies provided insufficient data to quantify training intensity and subgroup analysis was not possible. Conclusion Rehabilitation exercises prevent re-injury after ankle sprain (absolute risk reduction=13%, NNT=8). The majority of rehabilitation programmes comprised mostly balance or strength training exercises, but there is no consensus on optimal dose or exercise content. Future research in this field must explicitly report all details of exercise prescription.