Factors That Foster Therapeutic Alliance in Pediatric Sports and Orthopedics: A Systematic Review.

Therapeutic alliance has been defined as building rapport between provider and patient in order to enhance patient motivation to improve outcomes. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors that patients look for that help build a strong therapeutic alliance in their pediatric sports or orthopedics healthcare provider, to identify if these factors differ across healthcare professions, and to identify any differences in therapeutic alliance between patients and their provider regarding in-person and telehealth visits. Scientific databases were searched from inception until August 2022. The search strategy resulted in 2195 articles with 11 studies included in the final analysis. The main attributes adolescents look for in their pediatric sports healthcare provider were shared decision making and understanding patients' sports and goals. These factors were found to differ among parents, sex, race, and socioeconomic status. The top factors improving therapeutic alliance in telehealth were having an already established relationship with the provider, visits lasting longer than 30 min, and having an English-speaking provider for English-speaking patients. The available literature highlights factors that contribute to the development of a stronger therapeutic alliance in the pediatric sports and orthopedics population. As these factors differ among adolescents, parents, sex, race, and socioeconomic status, this review provides insight in what patients and families look for in their provider when seeking care.

Performance on a Motor Control Test in an Asymptomatic Adolescent Population.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain is a condition present during both adulthood and adolescence. Adolescents with low back pain may benefit from treatment focused on improving abdominal muscle performance and motor control. The supine double leg lowering test (SDLLT) may be a reliable measure to assess core stability in adults, but adolescent performance on the SDLLT has not yet been established in the literature. PURPOSE: To examine performance on the SDLLT in healthy adolescents ages 13 to 18 years and describe influences of gender, age, body mass index, and participation in sport. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-Sectional Study. METHODS: Four licensed physical therapists administered the SDLLT with a Stabilizer pressure biofeedback cuff and inclinometer in 90 adolescents without low back pain (females = 41, males = 49) from three schools in a mid-western metropolitan area. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, two-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficients were utilized to analyze the data. RESULTS: Average SDLLT score was 72.36 +/- 12.54 degrees. A significant difference between SDLLT score was present between genders with males performing better than females. No interactions between performance and involvement in sport were demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: Female and male adolescents appear to perform differently on the SDLLT with a stabilizer and appear to perform worse than scores recorded for adults. The SDLLT may be used to measure motor control in adolescents, but clinicians should utilize age-appropriate data for clinical decision making. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Level 2c.

REHABILITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR SPONDYLOLYSIS IN THE YOUTH ATHLETE.

Low back pain in adolescent athletes is quite common, and an isthmic spondylolysis is the most common identifiable cause. Spondylolysis, a bone stress injury of the pars interarticularis, typically presents as focal low back pain which worsens with activity, particularly with back extension movements. Research on spondylolysis has focused on diagnosis, radiographic healing, the effects of bracing, and rest from activity. Although physical therapy is frequently recommended for adolescent athletes with spondylolysis, there have been no randomized controlled trials investigating rehabilitation. Additionally, there are no detailed descriptions of physical therapy care for adolescent athletes with spondylolysis. The purpose of this clinical commentary is to provide a brief background regarding the pathology of isthmic spondylolysis and provide a detailed description of a proposed plan for physical therapy management of spondylolysis in adolescent athletes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5.