in Diagnose & Treat, Leg injuries
Tracy Ward presents a criteria-based rehabilitation plan for returning to sport post-adductor injury and how this protocol can reduce days lost to injury. Athletes forced into isolation and withdrawn from contact exposure due to COVID-19 face an uphill challenge to return to professional levels of play and competition. With soccer as one of the first... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Hip injuries
Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) primarily strikes young male athletes. The syndrome is often best managed with surgical correction. However, it’s important to understand how FAI affects the biomechanics of those who try a conservative approach. Researchers at Marquette University realized that gait assessment alone doesn’t mimic the extreme hip motion needed in sport(1). Therefore, they enrolled... MORE
in Diagnose & Treat, Leg injuries
Although rare, herniation of the tibialis anterior muscle may be more common than previously thought. Andrew Hamilton explores the causes, diagnosis, and treatment options for this injury. Muscle herniation, also known as a myofascial defect, is the protrusion of a muscle through the surrounding fascia. The most common location of muscle herniation is in the... MORE
in Diagnose & Treat, Neck and back injuries
Chris Mallac explores the concept of extension pattern back pain in athletes and provides insights for clinicians treating low back injuries. Low back pain is common in the general population, with reported rates as high as 84%(1). In athletes, complaints of low back pain are less common, only accounting for about 6-10% of injuries behind... MORE
in Diagnose & Treat, Shoulder injuries
In the second part of this two-part series, Chris Mallac highlights some clinically relevant exercises designed to retrain serratus anterior function. Overhead athletes need stable shoulders. Their power and performance comes directly from the stability and mobility offered in this joint. As reviewed in part I of this series, the serratus anterior (SA) helps stabilize... MORE
in Diagnose & Treat, Email Newsletters, Knee injuries
Adolescence is often a period of rapid growth for most children. Because bones grow faster than muscles, this growth can lead to tension from the tendons at their insertion on the bone, causing an apophysitis. One of the most difficult-to-treat conditions related to such growth is Osgood-Schlatter Disease (OSD), an apophysitis at the tibial tuberosity.... MORE
in Diagnose & Treat, Shoulder injuries
Dysfunction in the serratus anterior can lead to shoulder injuries and affect performance. In the first of a two-part series, Chris Mallac looks at its anatomy and biomechanics, Shoulder pain is a common complaint in overhead athletes involved in sports such as swimming, tennis and the throwing sports. Overhead arm movements place high demands on... MORE
in Email Newsletters, Knee injuries
Knee injuries are the bane of athletes in nearly all sports (see figure 1)(1). Clinicians and sports scientists continue to explore the best way to prevent such injuries. The knee, a hinge joint, moves in the sagittal plane. The thought is that most knee injuries occur from forced movement in the frontal plane. Therefore, control... MORE
in Ankle and foot injuries, Diagnose & Treat
Chris Mallac investigates the causes, diagnosis, and management of navicular stress fractures in athletes. First described by Towne and colleagues in 1970(1), stress fractures of the navicular bone are uncommon in the general population. However, male athletes in their mid-20s participating in sports such as sprinting, middle distance running, hurdling, and basketball are more at... MORE
in Ankle and foot injuries, Diagnose & Treat
Chris Mallac explores the etiology and classification of 5th metatarsal fractures in athletes, provides diagnostic guidance, and available treatment options. First described in 1903 by Sir Robert Jones(1), fractures of the fifth metatarsal (MET) are relatively common fractures of the foot(2). The estimated incidence of fifth MET fracture is 1.8 per 1000 person-years(3,4), and 68%... MORE
