August 2019 journal review roundup

August 2019 Sports Medicine Journal Roundup


The American Journal of Sports Medicine (Aug 2019)

  • The rate of SRC sustained in high school football practice decreased by 57% after a rule change limiting the amount and duration of full-contact activities, with no change in competition concussion rate. Limitations on contact during high school football practice may be one effective measure to reduce the incidence of SRC.

  • Both single and multiple injections of PRP exert similar anti-inflammatory effects on the synovium in the short term. However, this effect is sustained in the long term only for multiple injections.

  • Multiple injections of PRP exert a chondroprotective effect, but only in the short term. This effect is not seen with a single injection of PRP.

  • There were no meaningful differences in patient satisfaction or clinical outcomes between patients with traumatic and degenerative tears and no or mild OA. Predictors of dissatisfaction with APM were female sex, obesity, and lateral meniscal tears. Our findings suggested that APM was an effective medium-term option to relieve pain and recover function in middle-aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears, without obvious OA, and with failed prior physical therapy.

British Journal of Sports Medicine (Aug Vol 15, Aug Vol 16)

  • Knee joint loading exercise seems to not be harmful for articular cartilage in people at increased risk of, or with, knee OA. However, the quality of evidence was low, including some interventions studying activities considered outside the therapeutic loading spectrum to promote cartilage health.

  • The incidence of isolated syndesmotic injuries in elite professional European football annually increased between 2001 and 2016.

  • Isolated syndesmotic injury incidence was 0.05 injuries per 1000 hours of exposure (95% CI 0.04 to 0.06) or one injury per team every three seasons.

  • The injury incidence during match play was 13 times higher compared with during training

  • One in 29 female athletes and 1 in 50 male athletes ruptured their ACL in a window that spanned from 1 season to 25 years.

  • The incidence rate (IR) of ACL injury among female athletes in a season was 1.7 times higher than the IR of ACL injury among male athletes

  • Incidence proportion (IP) of ACL injury among female athletes was 1.5 times higher than the IP of ACL injury among male athletes.

Sports Medicine (Aug 2019)

  • Sleep loss appears to have the greatest negative impact on aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and military-specific performance in military populations.

  • However, due to the limited evidence and inter-individual variability in results there is no clear consensus on the specific volume of sleep loss that induces significant or meaningful performance decrements.

  • The use of MGs reduced the overall risk of orofacial injuries in 12 cohort trials (summary RR [nonusers/users] = 2.33, 95% CI 1.59-3.44), and 11 trials involving self-report questionnaires (summary RR [nonusers/users] = 2.32, 95% CI 1.04-5.13).

  • The influence of MGs on concussion incidence in five cohort studies was modest (summary RR [nonusers/users] = 1.25, 95% CI 0.90-1.74).

  • Pupils’ physical fitness partially mediated the pathway between family socioeconomic status and academic achievement.

  • Workplace-based physical activity interventions consisting of at least moderate-intensity activity improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

  • At the present time, we surmise that no single group of employees (e.g. older employees or less fit individuals) can be definitively identified as standing to benefit more from workplace physical activity interventions than others.

Sports Health Journal (July / August 2019)

  • The psychological readiness of the player is a major factor in successful safe return to sport (SRTS) decision making. Although strength, performance, and functional tests presently form the mainstay of SRTS criteria, there exists very little scientific evidence for their validity. More protection should be provided to athletes with known risk factors. Movement quality is important, if not more important than the quantifiable measures. As a result of the significantly high rerupture rate in young individuals, delayed SRTS should be considered preferably beyond 9 months postsurgery.

  • LESS analysis of both DVJ landings might improve neuromuscular control screening in female athletes and augment lower extremity and anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention programs.

  • PRP leads to a reduction in pain; however, evidence for clinically significant efficacy is limited. Available evidence supports the use of PRP in the management of lateral epicondylitis as well as knee osteoarthritis