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Background: A recently published Dutch practice guideline emphasizes criterion-based rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) instead of time-based. As a consequence of this criterion-based rehabilitation, return to play is only suggested when athletes meet specific return to play (RTP) criteria. Purpose: The goal of this prospective observational study was to analyze if physical therapists adhere to ACLR practice guideline RTP criteria for testing and return to sport decisions, and to explore whether there is a difference in adherence between physical therapists specialized in sports versus those who are not. Methods: When the treating physical therapist cleared an athlete for RTP after ACLR, the primary researcher performed RTP measurements according to the ACLR practice guideline to investigate if all nine quantitative and qualitative RTP criteria were met. Results: Of the 158 athletes (54 females and 104 males, mean age 24±6 years, 12±3 months after surgery), 69 (44%) had performed the RTP measurements with their primary physical therapist. Of the athletes tested by their primary physical therapist 23% met all RTP criteria compared to 10% of the athletes who were not tested at all by their primary physical therapist (p=0.026). Of the athletes rehabilitating with a sports physical therapist, 52% had been tested by their primary physical therapist compared to 34% of the athletes rehabilitating with a non-sports physical therapist (p=0.024). Conclusion: Only 44% of the athletes were tested according to the guideline RTP criteria and only 23% of them were given an RTP advice consistent with the ACLR guideline. Although sports physical therapists adhered to the guideline more often than nonsports physical therapists, the adherence is still alarmingly low. More attention for the implementation of ACLR guidelines and RTP criteria is needed. Level of evidence: Therapy, level 2b. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine concentric shoulder external-internal rotator strength, dominant and non-dominant shoulder differences and agonist/antagonist ratios. Design: A transversal study of isokinetic dynamometry of healthy shoulders, 95% confidence intervals are presented. Participants: 35 asymptomatic elite, male volleyball players. Measurements: Peak torque normalized for body weight was recorded at 60, 180, and 300°/sec. with a Cybex 6000 dynamometer. Results: (1) internal rotators were significantly stronger than external rotators of the same shoulder; (2) internal rotators of the dominant arm were significantly stronger than of the non-dominant arm; (3) no difference existed between external rotators of the dominant and the non-dominant arm; (4) external--internal rotator ratios of the dominant arm were significantly lower than of the non-dominant arm; and (5) no differences were found between the ratios of each arm separately. Conclusions: Data presented are important for interpreting isokinetic shoulder rotator strength tests in elite volleyball players and could be relevant in rehabilitation and prevention of shoulder injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sport & Geneeskunde is the property of Arko Sports Media and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sport & Geneeskunde is the property of Arko Sports Media and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The isokinetic strength of ankle inversion-eversion was twice tested, over a period of one week, by the same examiner in apparently healthy 15 women and 15 men at 30 and 120°/s. Test - retest measurements were examined for 1 and 3 sets of three repetitions. Intraclass correlation coefficients for the highest peak torque out of 1 set of 3 repetitions varied from 0.47-0.82 for men and 0.70-0.94 for women. The ICC for the mean-based PT (the 3 highest PTs out of 3 sets of 3 replicates) ranged 0.74-0.83 for men and 0.80-0.97 for women. Bland-Altman plots have indicated a largely homoscedastic distribution of the test-retest parameters. The standard error of measurement (SEM) varied from 3.6-7.00 Nm for men and 3.3-4.7 Nm for women (highest PT-based) and 2.9-5.7 Nm for men and 1.6-4.0 Nm for women (mean PT-based). Irrespective of either paradigm, there was much dispersion in the ICCs for both genders in other isokinetic parameters such as the time to PT and angle at PT. It is therefore concluded that the only reproducible isokinetic parameter under this test protocol is the peak torque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nine male and seven female asymptomatic elite badminton players were tested bilaterally to determine concentric and eccentric strength values, conventional ratio and dynamic control ratio of shoulder rotator muscles. All tests were performed at 60 and 120°/sec. The study shows significant differences that were similar for men and women: the dominant arm was stronger than the non-dominant arm, normalised peak torque values at 60°/sec were higher than at 120°/sec, the concentric internal rotator strength (IRS) was larger than the concentric external rotator strength (ERS) and the eccentric ERS was larger than the concentric ERS. For females the eccentric ERS was larger than the concentric IRS as opposed to men in whom the concentric IRS was larger than the eccentric ERS. For both sexes the CVR for the dominant arm was significantly higher than for the non-dominant arm. The DCR at 60°/sec was significantly lower than at 120°/sec and the DCR for females was significantly higher than for men. Data presented are important for interpreting isokinetic shoulder rotator strength tests in elite badminton players and could be relevant in rehabilitation and prevention of shoulder injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Hip arthroscopies are often used in the treatment of intra-articular hip injuries. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) are an important parameter in evaluating treatment. It is unclear which PRO questionnaires are specifically available for hip arthroscopy patients. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate which PRO questionnaires are valid and reliable in the evaluation of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. Methods A search was conducted in Pubmed, Medline, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, Pedro, EMBASE and Web of Science from 1931 to October 2010. Studies assessing the quality of PRO questionnaires in the evaluation of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy were included. The quality of the questionnaires was evaluated by the psychometric properties of the outcome measures. The quality of the articles investigating the questionnaires was assessed by the COSMIN list. Results Five articles identified three questionnaires; the Modified Harris Hip Score (MHHS), the Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS) and the Hip Outcome Score (HOS). The NAHS scored best on the content validity, whereas the HOS scored best on agreement, internal consistency, reliability and responsiveness. The quality of the articles describing the HOS scored highest. The NAHS is the best quality questionnaire. The articles describing the HOS are the best quality articles. Conclusions This systematic review shows that there is no conclusive evidence for the use of a single patient-reported outcome questionnaire in the evaluation of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy. Based on available psychometric evidence we recommend using a combination of the NAHS and the HOS for patients undergoing hip arthroscopy.