ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: The literature largely addresses questions of diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic accuracy. However, the magnitude of the clinical impact of syndesmosis injury is commonly described in intuitive yet qualitative terms. This systematic review aimed to quantify the impact of syndesmosis injury. METHODS: Published clinical outcomes data were used to compute an effect size reflecting the impact of syndesmosis injury. This was done within the clinical contexts of isolated syndesmosis injury and syndesmosis injury with concomitant ankle fracture. Clinical outcomes data included Olerud-Molander (OM) and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, visual analog scale for pain, and days missed from sport competition. Parametric data were compared with Student t tests. Effect size was computed using Cohen's d. RESULTS: In ankle fracture patients, syndesmosis injury demonstrated a large effect size for OM (d = 0.96) and AOFAS (d = 0.83) scores. In athletic populations without concomitant ankle fracture, syndesmosis injury demonstrated a large effect size on days missed from competition (d = 2.32). DISCUSSION: These findings confirm the magnitude of the negative impact of syndesmosis injury in athletic populations with isolated injury and in ankle fracture patients. In ankle fracture patients, this large negative effect remains despite surgery. Thus, syndesmosis repair may not fully mitigate the impact of the injury. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level III: Systematic review.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Some recreational runners with obesity successfully train or compete without musculoskeletal injury. Insight into the key kinetic strategies of injury-free heavier runners is necessary to appropriately guide development of safe training programs for this population. OBJECTIVE: To determine key biomechanical strategies of running in individuals with body mass index (BMI) values above and equal to and higher than 30 kg/m2 . DESIGN: This was a case-control study. PARTICIPANTS: Runners with obesity (n =18; 42.7 years, 38.9% women) who were matched by sex, age, footstrike type, footwear characteristics, and running speed with healthy runners (n = 36; 41.7 years, 32.5% women). SETTING: Research laboratory affiliated with an academic medical center. METHODS: A seven-camera optical motion analysis system was used to capture running kinematics and an instrumented treadmill captured kinetic data. MAIN OUTCOMES: Main outcomes were temporal spatial parameters, joint excursions, peak ground reaction forces (GRFs), joint moments, vertical average loading rate (VALR), impulses, and vertical stiffness (Kvert ). RESULTS: Runners with obesity demonstrated 15% less vertical excursion of the center of mass, 18% wider strides, and 3% longer stance times than nonobese runners (P < .05). Normalized peak GRFs and VALRs were higher in the nonobese group. GRF impulse was higher in the group with obesity compared to the nonobese group (means ± SD; 339.6 ± 55.2 Ns vs. 255.0 ± 45.8 Ns; P = .0001). Kvert was higher in the obese group compared to the nonobese group (238.6 ± 50.3 N/cm vs. 183.1 ± 29.4 N/cm; P = .0001). Peak hip moments were higher in runners with obesity in the sagittal and frontal planes (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Runners with obesity dampened impact forces and controlled loading rate more than nonobese runners by increasing lower body stiffness and constraining vertical displacement.
