Reading Rehab

This week we discuss outcomes with femoroacetabular impingement syndrome FAIS), defined as "as a clinical triad of symptoms, signs, and imaging findings related to the underlying hip pathology." There are three bony morphologies associated with FAIS: cam, pincer, and mixed. Cam morpohlogy is a bony growth on the femoral head/neck, while a pincer morphology is bony growth of the acetabulum. Mixed m...

This week we discuss considerations when utilizing the limb symmetry index (LSI) as a metric for return to sport testing following ACL reconstruction. Limb symmetry index is a popular metric which compares the performance of the involved limb to the uninvolved limb during a test. Commonly, a 90% threshold is used to determine if there is acceptable levels of asymmetry. However, there are a few poi...

This week we discuss microscopic changes to muscle architecture following eccentric hamstring exercise. Twelve recreationally active participants in their mid-20s performed 9 weeks of eccentric hamstring training via Nordics: 3 session per week, progressively building from 4x6 to 5x8 at the end. After the 9 weeks of training, they had a 3 week detraining period. Eccentric hamstring strength during...

This week we discuss tendon adaption. This review aims to define the mechanoresponses that lead to tendon adaptation, and whether or not these are positive or negative adaptations. All adaptations can be considered through a person- or tissue-level lens. Person-level adaptations involve a number of systems and are measured via athletic performance tasks, while tissue-level adaptations are isolated...

This week we're talking about a new classification approach for the stretch-shortening cycle! The original distinction of fast vs slow movements based on a ground contact time of 250 ms was developed in the 90's, and has not been subjected to much critique since it was introduced. Therefore, the authors aim to confirm the validity of the 250 ms threshold value by investigating factors relating to...

This week we are talking all about hip extension strength testing! The abstract can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366177441_You_don't_run_lying_down_-_A_novel_tool_to_assess_standing_isometric_hip-extension_strength_A_pilot_study As always, if you enjoy what you hear, be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platform and on Instagram @readingrehabpod.   If you have a...

This week we discuss an article looking at adherence to aerobic and muscular strengthening guidelines across 32 countries. For adults and older adults, the WHO activity guidelines are: 150-300 min of moderate aerobic or 75-150 min of vigorous aerobic activity per week, and 2 days per week of muscle strengthening of moderate intensity. It is important to meet both guidelines as this relates to vari...

This week we discuss strength standards for fast vs slow linear sprinting speed in American football players. There is a known correlation between lower extremity strength/power and sprinting speed, so the authors aimed to find "how strong is strong enough?" They split a team of collegiate American football players into two groups based on body mass, with those above the median for the group class...

This week we discuss sacral stress fractures in athletes. There are two distinct types of sacral stress fractures: fatigue and insufficiency. Fatigue fractures are typically seen in young athletes and results from abnormal stress on a normal bone, while Insufficiency fractures are typically seen in older adults with normal stress to abnormal bone. These definitions feel like unnecessary distinctio...

This week we discuss telerehabilitation vs in perosn rehab for chronic nonoperative shoulder pain. In this RCT, the digital health group performs 20 minute exercise sessions 3 times per week and is monitored via inertial units which give real time biofeedback. Physical therapists provide education through short written articles that can be accessed via an app, they also text and phone/video call t...

This week we discuss reverse engineering strength and conditioning programming. Reverse engineering is a decision-making process which starts with the end goal in mind and works backwards to determine when different athletic qualities should be emphasized in a training program. While people can have a wide range of goals, different activities rely on the development of certain physical characteris...

This week's article is a reivew of minimal dose resistance exercise programs among the general population from the article "Resistance exercise minimal dose strategies for increasing muscle strength in the general population: an overview." Roughly 80% of the population does not meet current weeky resistance exercise minimum guidelines with about 58% of people not participating in resistance traini...

This week's article is a narrative review titled "Biology and physiology of tendon healing." This article should be titled "Microbiology and physiology of tendon healing" because it goes very in-depth on the molecular and cellular components of tendons and their roles in tendon health; including tenocytes, extracellular matrix proteins, hormonal factors, and immune cells. For the most part, this g...

This week's article is a systematic review of the literature investigating the impact running has on knee osteoarthritis. There were 17 studies which met inclusion criteria, with over 14,141 participants included. The presence of knee pain ranged from 10.2-35.4% in runners and 13.4%-58.8% in nonrunners, but the paper talks little about this outside of saying there is lower presence of knee pain in...

This week's article details the objectives from ACSM's "Moving Through Cancer" initiative's leadership team. They outline 5 priority areas: workforce enhancement, program development, research and evaluation, stakeholder awareness, empowerment and engagement; and policy, funding, and sustainability. Workforce enhancement is targeted at both current rehab curricula and continuing education opportun...

This week's article is " Effectiveness of progressive tendon-loading exercise therapy in patients with patellar tendinopathy: a randomised clinical trial" by Breda et al. published in 2021 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It compares a progressive tendon loading program using a 3/10 pain threshold to an eccentric exercise program with >5/10 pain threshold for management of patellar tendi...

This week's article, "Judgment and decision making in clinical and return-to-sports decision making: a narrative review," dives deep into decision making frameworks and theories for how we make decisions. While this is written to the specific context of sports rehab and return to sport decision making, the decision making process is a critical aspect of all areas of rehab whether we are deciding i...

With a musculoskeletal injury prevalence as high as 77% among adult athletes, it is easy to overlook the mental health consequences of an injury. Athletes are particularly susceptible to mental health challenges when injured due to their athletic identity and associated identity loss when injured, along with a social environment which can suppress personal autonomy. Across the board, injury among...

This scoping review investigated the impact Achilles tendon rupture had on performance in elite sports, and if there was a difference between operative and non-operative management. A clear takeaway from their results is that performance after Achilles rupture is position dependent in many sports, and the positions or sports which require a high degree of acceleration/deceleration and explosive mo...

This week is about manipulating training variables. We discuss " Dose-response modelling of resistance exercise across outcome domains in strength and conditioning: a meta analysis" by Swinton et al., published in Sports Medicine in 2024. There are thousands of minute changes to resistance training variables, like intensity, frequency, and volume, that rehab and strength and conditioning professio...

This week we talk about " The Cutting Movement Assessment Score (CMAS) Qualitative Screening Tool: Application to Mitigate Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Risk during Cutting" published in Biomechanics in 2021. The Cutting Movement Assessment Score (CMAS) is a 9-item qualitative screening tool to assess hip, knee, foot, and trunk kinematics during 45 to 90 degree cutting tasks. Most items are sc...

This week, the squad sits down to talk about stretching training with this narrative review " Discussing conflicting explanatory approaches in flexibility training under consideration of physiology: a narrative review" published by Warneke et al. in Sports Medicine in 2024. The abstract can be found here:  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-024-02043-y As always, if you enjoy what yo...

Mike and Pat talk running again! This time, we talk about " The "impacts cause injury" hypothesis: running in circles or making new strides" by Gruber, published in 2023 in the Journal of Biomechanics. The abstract can be found here:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37364393/ As always, if you enjoy what you hear, be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platform and on Instagram @readingreha...

Mike and Pat talk about an article that is hot off the press: " Early Surgery Versus Exercise Therapy and Patient Education for Traumatic and Nontraumatic Meniscal Tears in Young Adults—An Exploratory Analysis From the DREAM Trial." This was published in the Journal of Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy by Damsted et al.  The article abstract can be found here: https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.251...

This week we discuss " Effects of blood flow restriction training on muscular strength and hypertrophy in older individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis" by Centner et al. This was published in 2019 in Sports Medicine. The article abstract can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30306467/ The safety consideration article can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publicat...