The effects of a four week jump-training program on frontal plane projection angle in female gymnasts.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of a four week jump training program on frontal plane projection angle (FPPA) in young female gymnasts. DESIGN: Intervention study, consisting of a four week jump training program performed for 15 min as part of a warm-up, three days per week for four weeks. SETTING: Gymnastics training center. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen youth female gymnasts (age: 13.5 ± 2.14 years, height: 1.54 ± 0.11 m, body mass: 46.23 ± 7.68 kg). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Change in FPPA during a 30 cm drop landing and tuck back somersault. RESULTS: Large and significant decreases (p < 0.001) in FPPA of 6.8° (39%) and 8.4° (37%) during the drop landing and tuck back somersault, respectively. CONCLUSION: The jump training program was successful in improving FPPA in female gymnasts and is advised to be implemented into the warm-ups and training programs of competitive female gymnasts to improve FPPA and therefore reduce the risk factors associated with knee injuries.

Reproducibility of kinematic measures of the thoracic spine, lumbar spine and pelvis during fast running.

This study evaluated the reproducibility of the angular rotations of the thoracic spine, lumbar spine, pelvis and lower extremity during running. In addition, the study compared kinematic reproducibility between two methods for calculating kinematic trajectories: a six degrees of freedom (6DOF) approach and a global optimisation (GO) approach. With the first approach segments were treated independently, however with GO approach joint constraints were imposed to stop translation of adjacent segments. A total of 12 athletes were tested on two separate days whilst running over ground at a speed of 5.6ms(-1). The results demonstrated good between-day reproducibility for most kinematic parameters in the frontal and transverse planes with typical angular errors of 1.4-3°. Acceptable repeatability was also found in the sagittal plane. However, in this plane, although kinematic waveform shape was preserved between testing session, there were sometimes shifts in curve offset which lead to slightly higher angular errors, typically ranging from 1.9° to 3.5°. In general, the results demonstrated similar levels of reproducibility for both computational approaches (6DOF and, GO) and therefore suggest that GO may not lead to improved kinematic reproducibility during running.

The inter-tester reliability of a clinical measurement used to determine the medial-lateral orientation of the patella.

An important aspect of the patellar taping technique, a common treatment for patellofemoral pain is the assessment of patellar position. The inter-tester reliability of the assessment method has been regarded as poor, as has the validity (Powers et al. 1999). The purpose of the study was to determine inter-tester reliability of a group of trained manual physiotherapists. This was achieved using a clinical measurement to assess the medial/lateral orientation of the patella and compare these findings against a known criterion valid measurement of patella position. Twenty experienced manual physiotherapists evaluated medial/lateral orientation of the patella. The findings of the clinical assessment were then compared to the position of the patella as determined through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The MRI and the clinical assessment were carried out on the right knee of a single subject, who was supine with the knee in 20 degree flexion with the quadriceps relaxed. Both measures found the patella to be laterally displaced. Using the clinical method the mean difference between medial and lateral measurements was 6.4 mm (+/- 3.9 mm). The MRI measure of lateral patella displacement found the patella to be displaced 5 mm laterally. The inter-tester reliability of the clinical test showed good agreement, r = 0.91 for the medial measure and r = 0.94 for the lateral measure. The agreement between the clinical and MRI measures was (r = 0.9) which was also a significant agreement. This study appears to demonstrate that experienced manual physiotherapists can reliably measure relative patella medial/lateral position.