Lower extremity muscle strength, postural stability and functional movement screen in female basketball players after ACL reconstruction. Preliminary report.

PURPOSE: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is a common injury in basketball. Its consequence is a long absence from training, being a consequence of surgical treatment and long physiotherapy. The aim of the study was to assess muscle strength, postural stability and functional movements in female basketball players, who returned to professional sport careers after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. METHODS: The study population consisted of 10 female basketball players after surgical reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament. The control group consisted of 10 players without ACL injury. We used the Biodex System 4 Pro dynamometer to assess the muscle strength of the knee. We used it to conduct the test of flexors and extensors of the knee in isokinetic conditions. We also used Keiser Power Squat A300 in the single leg squat to measure power and the Biodex Balance SD dynamographic platform to assess balance in single leg stance. RESULTS: We found deficits in both movement patterns and in muscle strength in the study population, compared to control group. CONCLUSIONS: The basketball players after ACL reconstruction had significant differences between the operated and non-operated limb. The differences may predispose them towards repeated ACL injuries.

Shoulder proprioception - lessons we learned from idiopathic frozen shoulder.

BACKGROUND: Of all the most frequent soft tissue disorders of the shoulder, idiopathic frozen shoulder (IFS) offers the greatest potential for studying proprioception. Studies concerning the presence of proprioception dysfunctions have failed to determine the potential for spontaneous healing of passive shoulder stabilizers (anterior and posterior capsule, middle and inferior gleno-humeral ligaments), its relationship with passive (PJPS) and active (AJPS) shoulder proprioception for internal and external rotation (IR, ER), as well as the isokinetic muscle performance of the internal and external rotators. This study investigates these dependencies in the case of arthroscopic release of IFS. METHODS: The study group comprised 23 patients (average aged 54.2) who underwent arthroscopic release due to IFS and 20 healthy volunteers. The average follow-up time was 29.2 months. The Biodex system was used for proprioception measurement in a modified neutral arm position and isokinetic evaluation. The results were analysed using the T-test, Wilcoxon and interclass correlation coefficient. P-values lower than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found between involved (I) and uninvolved (U) shoulders only in the cases of PJPS and AJPS, peak torque, time to peak torque and acceleration time for ER (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was noted between PJPS IR and PJPS ER or between AJPS IR and AJPS ER (p > 0.05) for the U shoulders. CONCLUSIONS: The anatomical structure of anterior (capsule, middle and anterior band of inferior gleno-humeral ligament) and posterior (capsule and posterior band of inferior gleno-humeral ligament) passive shoulder restraints has no impact on the difference in PJPS values between ER and IR in a modified neutral shoulder position. The potential for spontaneous healing of the anterior and posterior passive shoulder restraints influences PJPS recovery after arthroscopic release of IFS. ER peak torque deficits negatively affect AJPS values. PJPS and AJPS of ER and IR can be measured with a high level of reproducibility using an isokinetic dynamometer with the arm in a modified neutral shoulder position. Differences greater than 15 % for PJPS and >24 % for AJPS for ER and IR can be helpful for future studies as baseline data for identification of particular passive and active shoulder stabilizers at risk.