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Existing patellofemoral pain (PFP) literature has primarily been focused on quadriceps muscle volume, with limited attention given to the deep and superficial muscle volume of the lower limbs in individuals with unilateral and bilateral PFP. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap. To explore superficial and deep lower extremity muscle volume in women with unilateral or bilateral PFP compared with a normative database of pain-free women. Cross-sectional study. University imaging research center. Twenty women with PFP (10 unilateral and 10 bilateral) and 8 pain-free women from a normative database. We quantified lower extremity muscle volume via 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging. Two separate 1-way analyses of variance were performed: (1) unilateral PFP (painful versus nonpainful limb) versus pain-free control groups and (2) bilateral PFP (more painful versus less painful limb) versus pain-free control groups. We observed no differences in age and body mass index across groups (P >.05). Compared with the pain-free group, the unilateral and bilateral PFP groups had bilaterally smaller volumes of the anterior (iliacus: P ≤.0004; d range, 2.12–2.65), medial (adductor brevis, adductor longus, gracilis, and pectineus: P ≤.02; d range, 1.25–2.48), posterior (obturator externus, obturator internus, and quadratus femoris: P <.05; d range, 1.17–4.82), and lateral (gluteus minimus: P ≤.03; d range, 1.16–2.09) hip muscles and knee extensors (rectus femoris: P ≤.003; d range, 1.67–2.16) and flexors (long and short head of the biceps femoris: P ≤.01, d range, 1.56–1.93). Women with unilateral and those with bilateral PFP displayed less volume of multiple superficial and deep muscles of the bilateral hips and knees than pain-free women. Interventions should bilaterally target lower limb muscles when treating PFP, and hypertrophy exercises for specific muscles should be explored to increase choices for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anterior knee pain (AKP) is ubiquitous in early career military members and exacerbated during functional tasks required during military duties. Therefore, it is important to understand the risk of this condition among male and female tactical athletes in diverse military occupations. To assess sex and occupation with respect to the AKP risk in military members. Descriptive epidemiology study. United States Armed Forces. All military members diagnosed with anteropatellar or retropatellar pain, patellar instability, or knee tendinopathy on their initial encounter from 2006 to 2015. The Defense Medical Epidemiology Database was queried for the number of individuals with AKP. Relative risk (RR) and χ2 statistics were calculated in the assessment of sex and occupational category. Regressions were calculated to determine associations between service branch, sex, and AKP across time. From 2006 to 2015, a total of 151 263 enlisted and 14 335 officer service members were diagnosed with AKP. Enlisted females had an incidence rate of 16.7 per 1000 person-years compared with enlisted males' incidence rate of 12.7 per 1000 person-years (RR = 1.32; 95% CI = 1.30, 1.34; P <.001) across all AKP diagnoses. Female officers had an incidence rate of 10.7 per 1000 person-years; male officers had an incidence rate of 5.3 per 1000 person-years (RR = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.94, 2.09). Differences in risk were also noted across military occupations for both enlisted and officer service members (P values <.05). Sex and military occupation were salient factors for the AKP risk. Evaluating training requirements and developing intervention programs across military occupations could serve as a focus for future research aiming to decrease the incidence of chronic knee pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present recommendations for athletic trainers and other health care providers regarding the identification of risk factors for and management of individuals with patellofemoral pain (PFP). Background: Patellofemoral pain is one of the most common knee diagnoses; however, this condition continues to be one of the most challenging to manage. Recent evidence has suggested that certain risk factors may contribute to the development of PFP. Early identification of risk factors may allow clinicians to develop and implement programs aimed at reducing the incidence of this condition. To date, clinicians have used various treatment strategies that have not necessarily benefitted all patients. Suboptimal outcomes may reflect the need to integrate clinical practice with scientific evidence to facilitate clinical decision making. Recommendations: The recommendations are based on the best available evidence. They are intended to give athletic trainers and other health care professionals a framework for identifying risk factors for and managing patients with PFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a study conducted to determine whether the use of allied healthcare workers (nurses and physiotherapist)- driven protocol to wean traumatic injury patients from Mechanical Ventilation (MV) resulted in decreased intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay. The study concluded that the use of a weaning and extubation protocol led by nursing staff and physiotherapists resulted in a clinically significant reduction in MV time, reducing risk of ventilator associated complications.

The article presents the findings of a cross-sectional study which determines the relationship between lower extremity muscle activity and knee-flexion angle during a jump-landing task. The study showed that the vastus lateralis (VL) and vastus medialis oblique (VMO activity predicted 49.5% of the variance in knee-flexion displacement. It revealed that small knee-flexion angles were influenced by high quadriceps.