Knee flexion strength is significantly reduced following competition in semi-professional Australian Rules football athletes : Implications for injury prevention programs
- Authors: Charlton, Paula , Raysmith, Benjamin , Wollin, Martin , Rice, Simon , Purdam, Craig , Clark, Ross , Drew, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Physical Therapy in Sport Vol. 31, no. (2018), p. 9-14
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- Description: Objectives: To evaluate strength and flexibility measures pre- and post- Australian Football (AF) competition to determine their potential utility as secondary prevention measures. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Semi-professional AF club. Participants: Ten male AF athletes (mean ± SD; age, 21.3 ± 2.2 years; height, 186.1 ± 6.3 cm; weight, 83.5 ± 8.6 kg). Main Outcome Measures: Maximal unilateral isometric knee flexion strength performed in 45 degrees of hip flexion and 30 degrees of knee flexion, flexibility measures of hip and knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion. All outcome measures were evaluated pre-match to determine baseline measurements and repeated acutely post-match and at 26, 50 and 74 h following. Comparisons were made between baseline measures and all other time points. Results: Knee flexion strength was significantly reduced at a group level acutely (−122.8N, 95%CI −156.2 to −89.4, p = 0.000) and at 26 h (−89.6N, 95%CI −122.9 to −56.2, p = 0.000) following competition. Hamstring flexibility was significantly reduced at all time periods following competition (all p < 0.05), however these values were not clinically meaningful. Conclusions: Knowledge that unilateral isometric knee flexion strength returns to pre-competition levels by 50 h following match-play in AF athletes is valuable for planning recovery time frames and may inform implementation of secondary prevention strategies. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd
Injuries impair the chance of successful performance by sportspeople : A systematic review
- Authors: Drew, Michael , Raysmith, Ben , Charlton, Paula
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: British Journal of Sports Medicine Vol. 51, no. 16 (2017), p. 1209-1214
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- Description: Background Cost-benefit analyses have been proposed for determining acceptable risk of injury regarding training and competition participation. Currently, there is no best evidence synthesis of the literature evaluating the relationship between injury/illness and chance of success or failure. Objective To evaluate the relationship between injury and/or illness and success and/or failure in athletic populations (individual and team sports). Methods This review was prospectively registered (PROSPERO CRD42016036729) and a systematic electronic search was conducted in May 2016. Inclusion criterion was any study design describing the association between injury and/or illness and success or failure in athletic performance. Two independent authors screened search results, performed data extraction and assessed methodological quality and strength of evidence using a modified Downs and Black appraisal tool and a modified van Tulder method, respectively. Results Of 10 546 titles identified, 14 satisfied the inclusion criteria and 7 had low risk of bias. Outcome measures associated with success and/or failure included: (1) availability of team members, (2) injury incidence, (3) injury burden, (4) squad utilisation and (5, 6) precompetition and in-competition injury. There was strong evidence that (1) increased availability of team members/athletes decreased the risk of failure and (2) precompetition and in-competition injuries were associated with increased risk of failure. Conclusions Injuries have a detrimental impact on team and individual athletic success. Increased player availability improves chances of success. Conversely, injuries sustained both prior to and during competition may increase risk of failure. Injury prevention should therefore be a priority for maximising athletic performance. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.
Jump-landing mechanics in patellar tendinopathy in elite youth basketballers
- Authors: Harris, Meaghan , Schultz, Adrian , Drew, Michael , Rio, Ebonie , Charlton, Paula , Edwards, Suzi
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports Vol. 30, no. 3 (Mar 2020), p. 540-548
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- Description: Patellar tendinopathy (PT) is a leading cause of morbidity in jump-landing athletes. Landing mechanics are identified as a factor associated with PT and/or patellar tendon abnormality. This study aimed to identify key jump-landing variables associated with PT. Thirty-six junior elite basketball players (men n = 18, women n = 18) were recruited from a Basketball Australia development camp. Three-dimensional (3D) kinematic and ground reaction force (GRF) data during a stop-jump task were collected as well as ultrasound scans of the patellar tendons and recall history of training load data. Mixed-model factorial analyses of variance were used to determine any significant between-group differences. Of the 23 participants included for statistical analyses, 11 had normal bilateral patellar tendons (controls) and eight reported PT (currently symptomatic); however, the four participants categorized as asymptomatic with patellar tendon abnormality on diagnostic imaging were excluded from statistical analyses due to their small sample size. Athletes with PT displayed a similar knee flexion angle at initial foot-ground contact (IC) and hip extension strategy during a stop-jump horizontal landing. Despite a similar kinematic technique, athletes with PT utilized a strategy of a longer stance duration phase from IC to peak force. This strategy did not lead to those athletes with PT decreasing their peak vertical GRF nor patellar tendon force during landing but enabled these athletes to land with a lower rate of loading (control 59.2 +/- 39.3 vs. PT 29.4 +/- 33.7 BW.s-1). Athletes with PT still reported significantly reduced training volume (control 4.9 +/- 1.8 vs PT 1.8 +/- 1.1 sessions/wk; total training time/wk control 2.4 +/- 1.0 vs PT 1.4 +/- 1.1 h/wk).
Exercise interventions for the prevention and treatment of groin pain and injury in athletes : A critical and systematic review
- Authors: Charlton, Paula , Drew, Michael , Mentiplay, Benjamin , Grimaldi, Alison , Clark, Ross
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Sports Medicine Vol. 47, no. 10 (2017), p. 2011-2026
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- Description: Background: Groin injury is a common musculoskeletal complaint for athletes competing in a variety of sports. The extent to which exercise interventions incorporating external load are an appropriate option for the treatment and prevention of groin injury in athletes is not yet clear. Objectives: The aim of this review was to describe and evaluate exercise therapy interventions and outcomes for the treatment and prevention of groin injury with specific attention to application of external load. Data Sources: The databases Medline, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, and Cochrane were searched on 18 April 2016. Study Eligibility Criteria: This review was registered as PROSPERO CRD42016037752 and a systematic search was conducted with the following inclusion criteria: any study design evaluating exercise interventions for the prevention or treatment of groin pain in athletes. Data Analysis: Two independent authors screened search results, performed data extraction, assessed risk of bias using the modified Downs and Black appraisal tool and determined strength and level of evidence. Reporting standards for exercise interventions were assessed using the Consensus for Exercise Reporting Template (CERT). Results: A total of 1320 titles were identified with 14 studies satisfying the inclusion criteria, four (29%) of which demonstrated low risk of bias. Ten (71%) studies utilised external load as a component of the exercise intervention. Reporting standards for exercise intervention scores ranged from 0 to 63%. Conclusion: There is limited evidence from level 2 and 3 studies indicating exercise therapy may reduce the incidence and hazard risk of sustaining a groin injury in athletes. There is strong evidence from level 4 studies indicating exercise therapy is beneficial as a treatment for groin injury in athletes in terms of symptom remission, return to sport and recurrence outcomes. However, there are limited studies with low risk of bias, and exercise interventions for the treatment of groin injury are poorly described. © 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.