Knee fibrosis is characterized by the presence of excessive connective tissue due to dysregulated fibroblast activation following local or systemic tissue damage. Knee fibrosis constitutes a major clinical problem in orthopaedics due to the severe limitation in the knee range of motion that leads to compromised function and patient disability. Knee osteoarthritis is an extremely common orthopedic condition that is associated with patient disability and major costs to the health-care systems worldwide. Although knee fibrosis and osteoarthritis (OA) have traditionally been perceived as two separate pathologic entities, recent research has shown common ground between the pathophysiologic processes that lead to the development of these two conditions. The purpose of this review was to identify the pathophysiologic pathways as well as key molecules that are implicated in the development of both knee OA and knee fibrosis in order to understand the relationship between the two diagnoses and potentially identify novel therapeutic targets.
Purpose: To determine the effects of maturation stage (eg, classified in the same intervention protocol as early-, and late-mature) on linear sprinting speed adaptations to plyometric jump training (PJT) in youth (aged <18 years) male team sports players.
Patients and methods: Eligibility criteria was determined based on PICOS: (P) healthy youth male team sport players classified in the same intervention protocol in ≥2 maturation-related categories, based on a recognized maturation stage-determination method, including (but not limited to) Tanner stage; peak height velocity (eg, Mirwald method); radiography-based method (eg, Fels method); (I) athletes exposed to PJT with a minimum of 4 weeks duration; (C) athletes non-exposed to PJT (non-dedicated intervention, ie, only field-based regular training) or performing a parallel intervention not-related with PJT organized by maturation levels; (O) sprinting speed (eg, time, maximal sprint speed) measured in any linear sprint test trajectories before and after the intervention; (S) only randomized controlled and/or parallel trials. Searches were conducted on December 2021 in EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science, restricted to Portuguese, Spanish and English languages, with no restrictions regarding publication date, and no filters applied. The PEDro scale was used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies. Meta-analysis was computed using the inverse variance random-effects model. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.
Results: The search identified 1219 titles. From those, four studies were selected for qualitative and quantitative synthesis. Four studies provided data for sprinting performance, involving 10 experimental and 8 control groups showing a small effect of trained participants on sprinting performance (ES = 0.31; p = 0.064; I2 = 41.3%) when compared to controls. No significant moderator effect was noted for somatic maturity (p = 0.473 between groups).
Conclusion: PJT had no significant effect on sprinting performance, although the inclusion criteria partially may explain that.
Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of orthopedic injuries associated with the technical-tactical profiles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) fighters, according to the fighters' graduation level (beginner and advanced).
Patients and methods: Cross-sectional study, which included the participation of amateur and professional BJJ athletes, aged between 18 and 60 years and practitioners of the sport for at least six months. All answered a mixed self-reported morbidity questionnaire. Participants were divided into four groups, according to the technical-tactical profile in the fight (keeper and passer) and the fighter's graduation level (beginner and advanced), and also into four subgroups, divided by joining the groups in pairs above. Descriptive and analytical statistical procedures were used, with a level of statistical significance set at 5% (p < 0.05).
Results: A total of 198 participants were included in the study. There was a higher prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries in advanced fighters (p<0.001), with no significant difference between the profiles of guard and passer fighters. Sprains were the most common type of injury in all studied groups and subgroups. The anatomical segments knee and shoulder, respectively, were the most affected in all groups, and both segments showed significant associations of the athletes in the advanced and guard groups.
Conclusion: The study showed important data for creation of specifics injury prevention protocols, through the higher prevalence of injuries in athletes of the advanced profile and in the segments of the knee and shoulder, with emphasis on the guard fighters.
Shoulder instability is a relatively common injury especially in the young athletic population and its surgical management continues to remain a controversial topic in sports medicine orthopedics. Anterior instability is the most common type encountered and is estimated to have an incidence rate of 0.08 per 1000 person-years in the general population; however, this figure is likely higher in the young athletic population. While in recent practice, arthroscopic surgery has become the new gold standard for management, reported failure rates as high as 26% and high recurrence rates in specific subpopulations such as young men in high collision sports have led to the consideration of alternative open procedures such as open Bankart repair, Latarjet, capsular shift, and glenoid bone grafting. These procedures may be preferred in specific patient subgroups such as young athletes involved in contact sports and those with Hill-Sachs defects and multidirectional instability, with postoperative recurrence rates of instability as low as 10%. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of different open surgical techniques in the management of shoulder instability and summarize patient outcomes including recurrence rates for shoulder instability, return to sport, range of motion (ROM), muscle strength, and complications either individually by procedure or in comparison with other techniques, with special focus on their impact in the athletic population.
Background: The rate of medial meniscus tear (MMT) in professional soccer players is high. There are no studies on objective performance metrics following medial meniscus repair in these athletes.
Purpose: Examine the impact of MMT treated with surgical repair on performance metrics and career longevity in Major League Soccer (MLS) players.
Methods: MLS players who sustained an MMT between 1993 and 2019 were identified via publicly available databases. These players were each matched to 2 uninjured controls by debut date, experience, position, race, ethnicity, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI). Demographic data and performance metrics were then collected for both groups. Matches, minutes, goals, assists, shots, shots on target, duels, and duel percentage won are collectively referred to as performance metrics. Statistical analysis compared demographic distributions and performance metrics between the MMT and control groups.
Results: Thirty-three MLS players who had undergone medial meniscus repair were identified and matched to 66 controls. All performance metrics decreased in the MMT group when compared to their controls in the first year after injury. This difference remained significant even when the performance metrics were normalized with respect to time, indicating that the injured players both played less and were not as productive. At 2 years after injury, performance metrics returned to pre-injury levels and were equivalent to those of the healthy controls. Career length was found to be significantly different between the two groups at 8.81 ± 3.9 years for the MMT group and 12.63 ± 3.51 years for the control group (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: MLS players undergoing medial meniscus repair had decreased performance metrics in the first year after injury but returned to baseline levels of play at the second year after injury. Their careers were also shorter than those of their uninjured controls.
Introduction: The use of dietary supplements and ergogenic aids (DSEA) is popular among physical activity enthusiasts. Particularly, resistance training (RT) practitioners represent important DSEA consumers due to its easy access and the appeal of claims related to muscle hypertrophy, aesthetics, and physical performance improvements.
Methods: Our aim was to study knowledge, prevalence, and profile of DSEA used by Brazilian recreational RT practitioners. For this, RT practitioners of both sexes (n=129, female=58 and male=71) answered a paper-based questionnaire. The questionnaire was specifically created for the studied population to assess different aspects of the DSEA used and sociodemographic variables.
Results: Seventy-seven percent of the participants (n=99) declared that they had already used DSEA. The majority (53%) searched the internet to obtain information about DSEA. Whey protein (66%) was the most used followed by branched chain amino acids (48%).
Conclusion: The use of DSEA, before coronavirus outbreak, was popular among RT practitioners; protein and amino acids were the most used DSEA. Most users used internet to obtain information about DSEA. The results suggest the need for appropriate attitude and guidance by health professionals who deal with this population, especially dietitians, nutritionists, and physical training professionals in order to promote best and security practices.
Anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions (ACLR) are a relatively common procedure in orthopedic sports medicine with an estimated 130,000 arthroscopic operations performed annually. Most procedures are carried out on an outpatient basis, and though success rates of ACLR are as high as 95%, pain remains the most common postoperative complication delaying patient discharge, and thereby increasing the costs associated with patient care. Despite the success and relative frequency of ACLR surgery, optimal and widely accepted strategies and regimens for controlling perioperative pain are not well established. In recent years, the paradigm of pain control has shifted from exclusively utilizing opiates and opioid medications in the acute postoperative period to employing other agents and techniques including nerve blocks, intra-articular and periarticular injections of local anesthetic agents, NSAIDs, and less commonly, ketamine, tranexamic acid (TXA), sedatives, gabapentin, and corticosteroids. More often, these agents are now used in combination and in synergy with one another as part of a multimodal approach to pain management in ACLR, with the goal of reducing postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and the incidence of delayed hospital discharge. The purpose of this review is to consolidate current literature on various agents involved in the management of postoperative pain following ACLR, including the role of classically used opiate and opioid medications, as well as to describe other drugs currently utilized in practice either individually or in conjunction with other agents as part of a multimodal regimen in pain management in ACLR.
Background: Bilateral leg power is being increasingly investigated as a proxy for the recovery of muscle performance after injury. Functional tests like the single leg hop for distance (SLHD) and single leg vertical jump (SLVJ) are often used to determine symmetry and return to play (RTP) readiness. As an injury predictor, leg power is accurately measured with the Keiser Air420 seated leg press.
Purpose: To measure and analyze lower leg asymmetry in healthy collegiate athletes across each test battery.
Methods: Eighty-eight healthy student-athletes (44 males, 44 females) across 14 varsity teams at Wake Forest University performed the SLHD, SLVJ, and the Keiser. Horizontal and vertical displacement were measured via the SLHD and SLVJ, respectively. Peak power was recorded via the Keiser Air420 leg press. Pearson correlations and repeated measures ANOVA were used to calculate associations and compare bilateral asymmetry indices (BAI) and raw scores.
Results: There was a significant effect on each test's raw BAI (P < 0.01). The mean absolute BAI were 5.42 ± 4.9%, 6.64 ± 4.9% and 5.36 ± 4.7% for the SLHD, SLVJ and Keiser, respectively. The SLVJ and Keiser (dominant leg r = 0.832, nondominant leg r = 0.826) were more highly correlated than the SLHD and Keiser (dominant leg r = 0.645, nondominant leg r = 0.687), all of which were statistically significant (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: At the 90th percentile, healthy collegiate athletes attained <15% BAI. We recommend the implementation of a battery of tests to determine normative lower limb asymmetry. A battery of functional tests may present different asymmetry indices as opposed the 10% reference asymmetry.
Introduction/background: Surfing, wind surfing and kite surfing enjoy a growing popularity with a large number of athletes worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the injury profiles and compare the injury profiles of these three extreme water sports.
Materials and methods: These data for this retrospective cohort study were collected through an online standardised questionnaire during the 2017-18 season. The questionnaire included questions about anthropometry, skill level, injury diagnosis, injury mechanism, environmental conditions and training regimes.
Results: The 626 athletes included reported 2584 injuries. On average, each athlete sustained 4.12 injuries during the season. The most frequent injury location was in the lower extremity, in particular the foot, with 49 (16.4%) injuries in surfing, 344 (18.3%) in wind surfing and 79 (19.7%) in kite surfing. Surfing demonstrated a particularly high rate of head injuries (n = 37; 12.4%). Other frequent injury types were skin lesions (up to 42.1%) and contusions (up to 40.5%). The most common injury across all surfing sports was skin lesions of the foot (wind surfing: 11.7%; kite surfing: 13.2%; surfing: 12.7%). In surfing, skin lesions of the head were frequently observed (n = 24; 8.0%). In surfing, a 'too large wave' (n = 18; 24.7%) was main cause of the injury, while in wind surfing (n = 189; 34.5%) and kite surfing (n = 65; 36.7%) 'own incompetence' led to the most injuries.
Conclusion: This unique study compares injury epidemiology and mechanism in the three most popular surfing sports: wind surfing, kite surfing and surfing. Overall, injuries were sustained mainly in the lower extremity, while surfing also demonstrated a high rate of head injuries.

