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Objective: Tibial stress injuries are challenging in terms of early diagnosis, management strategy, and safe return-to-play. In the present study, pain production associated with the application of therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) was used as a primary diagnostic tool to assess tibial bone stress injuries, and the sensitivity of this procedure was compared with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)., Subject and Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data on tibial bone stress injuries in elite Track and field athletes attending the National Track and Field Athletics Centre in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the period 1995-2007. All patients underwent evaluation by TUS, and the sensitivity of the procedure was compared with MRI., Results: Four of 29 athletes showed a positive TUS examination for stress injury while MRI showed normal findings. Additionally, 5 athletes evidenced MRI findings typical of a tibial bone stress injury, while TUS evaluation was negative. Using MRI as the standard, TUS displayed a sensitivity of 79.2%., Conclusion: Therapeutic ultrasound is a reproducible modality with satisfactory reliability and sensitivity related to MRI, and could represent a useful tool for clinicians to primarily assess suspected tibial bone stress injuries in high qualification Track and Field athletes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Arthroscopic procedures are commonly performed for rotator cuff pathology. Repair of rotator cuff tears is a commonly performed procedure. The intraoperative evaluation of the tear size and pattern contributes to the choice and completion of the technique and the prognosis of the repair., Aim: To compare the arthroscopic and open measurements with the real dimensions of three different patterns of simulated rotator cuff tears of known size using a plastic shoulder model., Methods: We created three sizes and patterns of simulated supraspinatus tears on a plastic shoulder model (small and large U-shaped, oval-shaped). Six orthopaedic surgeons with three levels of experience measured the dimensions of the tears arthroscopically, using a 5 mm probe, repeating the procedure three times, and then using a ruler (open technique). Arthroscopic, open and computerized measurements were compared., Results: A constant underestimation of specific dimensions of the tears was found when measured with an arthroscope, compared to both the open and computerized measurements (mean differences up to -7.5 ± 5.8 mm, P < 0.001). No differences were observed between the open and computerized measurements (mean difference -0.4 ± 1.6 mm). The accuracy of arthroscopic and open measurements was 90.5% and 98.5%, respectively. When comparing between levels of experience, senior residents reported smaller tear dimensions when compared both to staff surgeons and fellows., Conclusion: This study suggests that arthroscopic measurements of full-thickness rotator cuff tears constantly underestimate the dimensions of the tears. Development of more precise arthroscopic techniques or tools for the evaluation of the size and type of rotator cuff tears are necessary., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have nothing to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: A retrospective single centre cohort analysis was performed to evaluate an individualised radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) protocol for treatment of symptomatic calcific shoulder tendinopathy., Methods: 67 patients (79 Shoulders) were identified with 76 shoulders included for analysis. rESWT treatment protocol was adapted according to individual response to treatment. Variables included number of sessions, shockwave impulses, pressure and frequency. Success rate was estimated as the percentage of patients having ≥60% visual analogue score (VAS) pain decrease at follow-up. Recurrence at 1 year was recorded., Results: Using this individualised symptom guided protocol, patients underwent a mean of 7 ± 1.5 rESWT sessions, with mean pressure of 1.7 ± 0.2 bar, mean frequency of 5 ± 0.3 Hz and 2175 ± 266 impulses. The mean pre-treatment VAS score of 6.7 ± 1.1 was significantly decreased to 3.2 ± 0.8 immediately post-treatment, 2.6 ± 0.9 at 1 month, 1.7 ± 1.0 at 3 months and 0.8 ± 1.0 at 1 year follow up (α = 0.05). One-year success rate was estimated at 92% and 1-year recurrence rate was 7%., Conclusions: We conclude that in this retrospective study an individualised rESWT protocol resulted in a high success rate with low number of recurrences. Randomised controlled trials to support these findings are recommended.

Objective: To ascertain whether therapeutic ultrasound (TUS) can be used to assess the progression of conservative management in navicular stress injuries., Design: This is a prospective, clinical case series. Level of evidence IV., Setting: All participants were examined and followed up in a private Sports Injury Clinic., Participants: Ten elite track and field athletes with severe dorsal midfoot pain over the navicular bone participated in this study., Interventions: All patients underwent both TUS and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. The painful threshold of TUS on initial evaluation was a mean of 0.707 ± 149 W/cm, and MRI detected a navicular stress injury in all patients. The athletes received conservative treatment and underwent sequential TUS evaluations at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks., Main Outcome Measures: Therapeutic ultrasound pain threshold values were recorded, and the patients were additionally asked to grade local tenderness on a Visual Analogue Scale. Time to return to play was also recorded., Results: The level of pain produced by the application of TUS on a navicular stress fracture seemed to correlate well with Visual Analogue Scale scores and the grade of fracture demonstrated on MRI. The initial low TUS painful mean value increased to a normal mean value of 1.97 ± 0.067 W/cm by 16 weeks. When clinical and TUS findings had returned to normal, the patients were allowed to return to sports activities, with no recurrences experienced during the study period., Conclusions: The production of pain associated with the application of TUS on a navicular stress fracture is a safe and reproducible method of monitoring the resolution of these fractures. We have used it successfully in making return-to-play decisions for elite level track and field athletes.