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We measured the Joint Position Sense (JPS) in adduction angle in patients with ankle lateral ligament injury, using our original Goniometer foot plate. The injury group comprised 15 patients with chronic ankle lateral ligament injury, and the JPS was measured as preoperative assessment. For the patients, the preoperatively assessed side was defined as the injury side, while the other side was defined as the non-injury side. We recorded the Absolute Error (AE) between target angle and replicated angle, and compared with the control group (20 healthy volunteers). Statistically significant differences were noted in the AE between the injury side and control group (p<0.05). This suggests that the patients with ankle lateral ligament injury exhibit a JPS deficit in adduction angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stretching is performed for sports activities and health. However, it is unknown how an in vivo muscle-tendon unit responds to added stretching stimulation. When stretching is performed, we need to know long the muscle-tendon unit is extended by stretching. The study aimed to determine an effective stretching time for Achilles tendon extension. Forty female subjects (mean age, 27.4 ± 3.6 years old ; mean height, 175.1 ± 9.2cm ; mean weight, 65.5 ± 10.5kg) performed stretches for his study. A marker as a landmark of the muscle-tendon junction was determined on the human medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle from ultrasonic images taken in a standing position. We set the position of the muscle-tendon junction on the skin and determined the Achilles tendon length between the mark and the calcaneal tuber length. All subjects performed static stretching on a stretching board with maximal ankle dorsiflexion. Just after stretching, we measured the Achilles tendon length by the same method as before stretching and compared measurements. The times for stretching were one, three, five and ten minutes. We carried out each measurement with intervals of at least five days. Achilles tendon extension for one minute of stretching was 3.4 ± 2.5mm, two 6.8 ± 2.1mm, three 6.9 ± 1.0mm, five 7.2 ± 0.7mm, and ten 7.4 ± 0.8mm. Achilles tendon length was significantly extended for up to two minutes of stretching (p<0.01). However, there was no significant difference for stretching for three or more minutes. From these results, we conclude that two minutes of static stretching is the most effective time for Achilles tendon extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify each angle of the shoulder complex, which consists of the glenohumeral joint, scapulothoracic joint, and thoracic joint, at the maximum external rotation (MER) of the shoulder complex during throwing in baseball players. The subjects were 19 collegiate baseball players. Throwing motion data was collected by three high-speed cameras and three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of the shoulder complex were established by the direct leaner translation method for the MER calculation. A 3D analysis was performed to obtain the external rotation (ER) angle of the glenohumeral joint, the posterior tilt angle of the scapula, and the extension angles of the thoracic at the MER of the shoulder complex. The mean (+ SD) value of the MER was 145.1±11.5°. The mean (±SD) values of the glenohumeral ER, the scapula posterior tilt angle and the thoracic extension angle at the MER were 107.2±15.8°, 22.9±13.8°, and 9.5±7.6°, respectively. The ER angle of the glenohumeral joint was just 107 degrees at the MER of the shoulder complex that apparently shows 145 degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]