Sports Medicine, Arthroscopy, Rehabilitation, Therapy & Technology - Latest Articles

The incidence of total hip arthroplasty after hip arthroscopy in osteoarthritic patients

Barak Haviv — 2010-07-29T00:00:00Z

ObjectiveTo assess the incidence of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in osteoarthritic patients who were treated by arthroscopic debridement and to evaluate factors that might influence the time interval from the first hip arthroscopy to THA.DesignRetrospective clinical series Methods: Follow-up data and surgical reports were retrieved from 564 records of osteoarthritic patients that have had hip arthroscopy between the years 2002 to 2009 with a mean follow-up time of 3.2 years (range, 1-6.4 years). The time interval between the first hip arthroscopy to THA was modelled as a function of patient age; level of cartilage damage; procedures performed and repeated arthroscopies with the use of multivariate regression analysis. Results: Ninety (16%) of all participants eventually required THA. The awaiting time from the first arthroscopy to a hip replacement was found to be longer in patients younger than 55 years and in a milder osteoarthritic stage. Patients that experienced repeated hip scopes had a longer time to THA than those with only a single procedure. Procedures performed concomitant with debridement and lavage did not affect the time interval to THA. Conclusions: In our series of arthroscopic treatment of hip osteoarthritis, 16% required THA over a period of 7 years. Factors that influence the time to arthroplasty were age, degree of osteoarthritis and recurrent procedures.

Electromyographic analysis of the three subdivisions of gluteus medius during weight-bearing exercises

Kieran O'Sullivan — 2010-07-12T00:00:00Z

Background: Gluteus medius (GM) dysfunction is associated with many musculoskeletal disorders. Rehabilitation exercises aimed at strengthening GM appear to improve lower limb kinematics and reduce pain. However, there is a lack of evidence to identify which exercises best activate GM. In particular, as GM consists of three distinct subdivisions, it is unclear if GM activation is consistent across these subdivisions during exercise. The aim of this study was to determine the activation of the anterior, middle and posterior subdivisions of GM during weight-bearing exercises. Methods: A single session, repeated-measures design. The activity of each GM subdivision was measured in 15 pain-free subjects using surface electromyography (sEMG) during three weight-bearing exercises; wall squat (WS), pelvic drop (PD) and wall press (WP). Muscle activity was expressed relative to maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Differences in muscle activation were determined using one-way repeated measures ANOVA with post-hoc Bonferroni analysis. Results: The activation of each GM subdivision during the exercises was significantly different (interaction effect; p < 0.001). There were also significant main effects for muscle subdivision (p < 0.001) and for exercise (p < 0.001). The exercises were progressively more demanding from WS to PD to WP. The exercises caused significantly greater activation of the middle and posterior subdivisions than the anterior subdivision, with the WP significantly increasing the activation of the posterior subdivision (all p < 0.05).DiscussionPosterior GM displayed higher activation across all three exercises than both anterior and middle GM. The WP produced the highest %MVIC activation for all GM subdivisions, and this was most pronounced for posterior GM. Clinicians may use these results to effectively progress strengthening exercises for GM in the rehabilitation of lower extremity injuries.

Mechanics Rules Cell Biology

James Wang — 2010-07-08T00:00:00Z

Cells in the musculoskeletal system are subjected to various mechanical forces in vivo. Years of research have shown that these mechanical forces, including tension and compression, greatly influence various cellular functions such as gene expression, cell proliferation and differentiation, and secretion of matrix proteins. Cells also use mechanotransduction mechanisms to convert mechanical signals into a cascade of cellular and molecular events. This mini-review provides an overview of cell mechanobiology to highlight the notion that mechanics, mainly in the form of mechanical forces, dictates cell behaviors in terms of both cellular mechanobiological responses and mechanotransduction.

Treatment of chronic anterior shoulder dislocation by open reduction and simultaneous Bankart lesion repair

Alireza Rouhani — 2010-06-16T00:00:00Z

Background: Untreated chronic shoulder dislocation eventually leads to functional disability and pain. Open reduction with different fixation methods have been introduced for most chronic shoulder dislocation. We hypothesized that open reduction and simultaneous Bankart lesion repair in chronic anterior shoulder dislocation obviates the need for joint fixation and leads to better results than previously reported methods. Methods: Eight patients with chronic anterior dislocation of shoulder underwent open reduction and capsulolabral complex repair after an average delay of 10 weeks from injury. Early motion was allowed the day after surgery in the safe position and the clinical and radiographic results were analyzed at an average follow-up of one year. Results: The average Rowe and Zarin's score was 86 points. Four out of eight shoulders were graded as excellent, three as good and one as fair (Rowe and Zarins system). All patients were able to perform their daily activities and they had either mild or no pain. Anterior active forward flexion loss averaged 18 degrees, external active rotation loss averaged 17.5 degrees and internal active rotation loss averaged 3 vertebral body levels. Mild degenerative joint changes were noted in one patient. Conclusion: The results show that the overall prognosis for this method of operation is more favorable than the previously reported methods and we recommend concomitant open reduction and capsulolabral complex repair for the treatment of old anterior shoulder dislocation.Level of EvidenceTherapeutic study, Level IV (case series [no, or historical, control group])

Effects of methods of descending stairs forwards versus backwards on knee joint force in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee: a clinical controlled study

Masaki Hasegawa — 2010-06-11T00:00:00Z

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the kinetic characteristics of compensatory backward descending movement performed by patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Methods: Using a three-dimensional motion analysis system, we investigated lower extremity joint angles, joint moments, joint force of the support leg in forward and backward descending movements on stairs, and joint force of the leading leg at landing in 7 female patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Results: Compared with the forward descending movement, knee joint angle, joint moment and joint force of the support leg all decreased in the backward descending movement. Joint force of the leading leg at landing was also reduced in the backward descending movement. In addition, we confirmed that the center of body mass was mainly controlled by the knee and ankle joints in the forward descending movement, and by the hip joint in the backward descending movement. Conclusions: Since it has been reported that knee flexion angle and extensor muscle strength are decreased in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, we believe that backward descending movement is an effective method to use the hip joint to compensate for these functional defects. In addition, due to the decreased knee joint force both in the leading and support legs in backward descending movement, the effectiveness of compensatory motion for pain control and knee joint protection was also suggested.

The differential effects of core stabilization exercise regime and conventional physiotherapy regime on postural control parameters during perturbation in patients with movement and control impairment chronic low back pain

Ramprasad Muthukrishnan — 2010-05-31T00:00:00Z

Background: The purpose of the present study was to examine the differential effect of core stability exercise training and conventional physiotherapy regime on altered postural control parameters in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). As heterogeneity in CLBP population moderates the effect of intervention on outcomes, in this study, interventions approaches were used based on sub-groups of CLBP. Methods: This was an allocation concealed, blinded, sequential and pragmatic control trial. Three groups of participants were investigated during postural perturbations: 1) CLBP patients with movement impairment (n = 15, MI group) randomized to conventional physiotherapy regime 2) fifteen CLBP patients with control impairment randomized to core stability group (CI group) and 3) fifteen healthy controls (HC). Results: The MI group did not show any significant changes in postural control parameters after the intervention period however they improved significantly in disability scores and fear avoidance belief questionnaire work score (P < 0.05). The CI group showed significant improvements in Fx, Fz, and My variables (p < 0.013, p < 0.006, and p < 0.002 respectively with larger effect sizes: Hedges's g > 0.8) after 8 weeks of core stability exercises for the adjusted p values. Postural control parameters of HC group were analyzed independently with pre and post postural control parameters of CI and MI group. This revealed the significant improvements in postural control parameters in CI group compared to MI group indicating the specific adaptation to the core stability exercises in CI group. Though the disability scores were reduced significantly in CI and MI groups (p < 0.001), the post intervention scores between groups were not found significant (p < 0.288). Twenty percentage absolute risk reduction in flare-up rates during intervention was found in CI group (95% CI: 0.69-0.98). Conclusions: In this study core stability exercise group demonstrated significant improvements after intervention in ground reaction forces (Fz, Mz; g > 0.8) indicating changes in load transfer patterns during perturbation similar to HC group.Trial registrationUTRN095032158-06012009423714

Functional tissue engineering of ligament healing

Shan-Ling Hsu — 2010-05-21T00:00:00Z

Ligaments and tendons are dense connective tissues that are important in transmitting forces and facilitate joint articulation in the musculoskeletal system. Their injury frequency is high especially for those that are functional important, like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) of the knee as well as the glenohumeral ligaments and the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulder. Because the healing responses are different in these ligaments and tendons after injury, the consequences and treatments are tissue- and site-specific. In this review, we will elaborate on the injuries of the knee ligaments as well as using functional tissue engineering (FTE) approaches to improve their healing. Specifically, the ACL of knee has limited capability to heal, and results of non-surgical management of its midsubstance rupture have been poor. Consequently, surgical reconstruction of the ACL is regularly performed to gain knee stability. However, the long-term results are not satisfactory besides the numerous complications accompanied with the surgeries. With the rapid development of FTE, there is a renewed interest in revisiting ACL healing. Approaches such as using growth factors, stem cells and scaffolds have been widely investigated. In this article, the biology of normal and healing ligaments is first reviewed, followed by a discussion on the issues related to the treatment of ACL injuries. Afterwards, current promising FTE methods are presented for the treatment of ligament injuries, including the use of growth factors, gene delivery, and cell therapy with a particular emphasis on the use of ECM bioscaffolds. The challenging areas are listed in the future direction that suggests where collection of energy could be placed in order to restore the injured ligaments and tendons structurally and functionally.

Improvement in low back movement control, decreased pain and disability, resulting from specific exercise intervention

Hannu Luomajoki — 2010-04-23T00:00:00Z

Background: The study was conducted to assess whether patient-specific functional impairment and experienced daily disability improved after treatment to address active movement control of the low back.MethodA prospective study was carried out in two outpatient physiotherapy practices in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. 38 patients (17 males and 21 females) suffering from non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) and movement control impairment were treated. The study participants had an average age of 45 ± 13 years, an average height of 170 ± 8 cm and an average weight of 73 ± 15 kg. Patients were assessed prior and post treatment. Treatment was aimed at improving movement control of the lumbar spine, pain and disability. Six physiotherapists treated each patient on average nine times (SD 4.6). Treatment effects were evaluated using a set of six movement control tests (MCT), patient-specific functional pain scores (PSFS) and a Roland and Morris disability questionnaire (RMQ). Means, standard deviations, confidence intervals and paired t-tests were calculated. The effect size (d) was based on the change between t1 (time prior intervention) and t2 (time post intervention) using a significance level of p < 0.05, with d > 0.8 being considered a large effect. Power calculations were performed for type I & II error estimation. Results: Movement control (MCT) showed a 59% improvement from 3.2 (max 6) to 1.3 positive tests (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), complaints (PSFS) decreased 41% from 5.9 points (max 10) to 3.5 (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), and disability (RMQ) decreased 43% from 8.9 to 5.1 points (d = 1.0, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this controlled case series study, based on prior and post intervention, showed that movement control, patient specific functional complaints and disability improved significantly following specific individual exercise programs, performed with physiotherapeutic intervention. The results obtained warrant performance of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to substantiate our findings.

Intra-articular angiolipoma of the knee: a case report

Makoto Nishimori — 2010-04-13T00:00:00Z

We report a case of intra-articular angiolipoma of the knee. This case report describes our experience in excising an intra-articular angiolipoma of the knee joint. Complete resection under arthroscopy was performed in a 30-year-old man. Two years after the surgery, no evidence of recurrence was seen. Intra-articular angiolipomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intra-articular masses in adolescents with recurrent hemarthrosis without trauma.

Uncommon cause for anterior knee pain: Aggressive aneurysmal bone cyst of the patella

Maurice Balke — 2010-04-01T00:00:00Z

A 56-year-old man presented with a two month history of increasing anterior knee pain without previous trauma. As usual we recommended physiotherapy with stretching exercises of the quadriceps muscle. Since symptoms did not improve after 6 weeks MRI was performed. Surprisingly a hyperintense lobulated mass of the patella with small fluid-filled cavities at the inferior pole was revealed. We performed an open biopsy to exclude any malignancy and diagnosed an aneurysmal bone cyst. Further examination with CT scans showed an aggressive behaviour with cortical breakthrough.We performed an intralesional curettage with additional high-speed burring and bone cement packing. Sixteen months later the patient was free from any complaints and without signs of local recurrence.Primary bone tumors of the patella are extremely rare and occurrence of aneurysmal bone cysts in this localization is very uncommon. This case report indicates that although anterior knee pain is a very frequent and usually harmless symptom, it is essential to consider that it might also be caused by more severe disorders such as bone tumors.