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Background and Purpose Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injury is a common elbow injury among overhead athletes, particularly baseball pitchers. However, limited research exists for non-throwing athletes, especially regarding rehabilitation. The purpose of this case report is to illustrate the use of early weight-bearing activities into the rehabilitation protocol for non-operative management of athletes with a UCL injury. Case Description The subject was a 17-year-old female competitive cheerleader. Two weeks prior, during the performance of an acrobatic skill in which she transitioned to full upper extremity (UE) weight-bearing, she sustained an injury to her right elbow. Physical therapy examination findings indicated a diagnosis of a UCL sprain. Self-reported outcome measures revealed a FOTO score of 69/100 and a Quick Dash score of 43/100. The subject attended 14 therapy sessions over nine weeks to address physical function and performance, which were assessed at intervals during her therapy program. Rehabilitation consisted of therapeutic exercise for the progression of UE functional weight-bearing including planks, ball push-ups, handstands, crab walks, stool pulls, handstand walks, and UE plyometric jumps. Outcomes Along with documented improvement of the standard musculoskeletal examination measures of range of motion, strength, and functional performance, the subject demonstrated no elbow instability and improved FOTO and Quick Dash scores of 98 and 0, respectively. The subject demonstrated 105% limb symmetry index with the return to sport (RTS) UE functional testing of one-armed seated shot-put throw (SSPT) and achieved normative values with the closed kinetic chain upper extremity stability test (CKCUEST). Conclusion This case report highlights the successful treatment of a subject with a UCL injury and the integration of therapy interventions with a focus on UE weight-bearing. Further research on performing high level UE weight-bearing activities during rehabilitation and RTS guidelines is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Muscle strength testing of an injured infraspinatus muscle (IM) is confounded by actions of synergistic muscles such as the posterior deltoid (PD). Hypothesis/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe a condition for testing of the IM that results in less EMG activity of the PD musculature. The researchers hypothesized that greater inhibition of the PD could be achieved through active adduction (AA), creating reciprocal inhibition of the PD. Study Design: Prospective cohort descriptive study Methods: Thirty-four (19 females and 15 males) right-handed subjects between the ages of 22-31 (mean 24.2 years +/- 6.2) with no previous history of shoulder surgery or pathology participated. Surface electrodes were placed over the muscle bellies of the IM and PD of the right shoulder along with a ground electrode over the C7 spinous process. EMG activity was recorded during resisted external rotation in four different testing conditions (seated active and passive adduction, and side-lying active and passive adduction). The order of test positions was randomly assigned, and each subject completed all four positions with appropriate rest. During AA conditions, subjects were asked to adduct the humerus against a sphygmomanometer (using 80% maximum force output) while maximal effort external rotation was manually resisted. Results: PD activity was significantly less during AA than with no AA (p<0.05) in both test positions. No significant difference occurred between IM EMG activity in the various test conditions. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that clinicians can reduce activity of the PD without reducing activity of the IM by using AA of the humerus before applying manual resistance to test the IM during manual muscle testing. Levels of Evidence: 1b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate longitudinal muscle strength changes in response to exercise training in people with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Twenty-one people with type 2 diabetes were randomly allocated to either amoderate or high-intensity exercise training group with the only difference between the groups being the prescribed exercise training intensity. Muscle strength (8 repetition maximum in kilograms) was measured weekly for 12 weeks using the chest press, leg press, row, and knee extension exercises. Muscle strength was expressed as the sum of 8 repetition maximum scores for each exercise. Results: Linear mixed models indicated significant gains inmuscle strength (P< .001) in both groups and no significant difference in gains in muscle strength (P = .47) between the groups. Pooled data from both groups indicated significant improvement inmuscle strength (P<.05) week-to-week beginning afterweek 1 and continued untilweek 9. Conclusion: Participation in either a moderate or high-intensity exercise training program can result in similar gains in muscle strength for people with type 2 diabetes. Muscle strength improvements can occur on a weekly basis for the first 8 weeks of exercise training, with a plateau in gains occurring at week 9 through week 12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]