Injury Surveillance and Reporting for Trainees with Bone Stress Injury: Current Practices and Recommendations.

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries, including lower extremity bone stress injuries (BSI) significantly impact initial entry training (IET) in the U.S. Army due to limited duty days, trainee attrition, early medical discharge, and related financial costs. Factors complicating trainee BSI surveillance include inconsistent BSI coding practices, attrition documentation as both administrative separations and medical discharges and the inability to code for BSI grade or severity when using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th revision (ICD-10) codes. Methods: A multidisciplinary expert panel developed policy guidance to enhance clinical and administrative management of BSI, following extensive analysis of current, peer-reviewed literature. Policy guidance incorporates leading practices concerning clinical BSI management, including imaging procedures, recommended notifications, early intervention, and ICD-10 diagnostic coding procedures. Policy guidance also standardizes BSI grading criteria for magnetic resonance imaging and skeletal scintigraphy (bone scan). Findings: Multidisciplinary expert opinion indicates inconsistent BSI diagnosis and management across IET due to variability in trainee BSI grading, documentation, and coding practices. Injury surveillance conducted by the United States Army Medical Command (USAMEDCOM) will benefit from routine, standardized musculoskeletal injury data base searches by BSI severity/grade and anatomical location upon implementation of BSI policy guidance. Discussion: Effective injury surveillance is critical for determining trainee BSI incidence and attrition, developing anticipated return to duty (RTD) timelines, and assessing long-term outcomes. BSI RTD timelines should account for gender, BSI grade/severity, anatomical location, and type of intervention. Well-defined RTD timelines would benefit administrative decision-making purposes, including whether to grant convalescent leave or enroll in the Warrior Training and Rehabilitation Program during BSI recovery. Enhanced management procedures may improve initial enlistment completion rates for trainees sustaining at least one BSI who eventually complete IET.

Orthopaedic manual physical therapy for shoulder pain and impaired movement in a patient with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis: a case report.

STUDY DESIGN: Case report. BACKGROUND: Comprehensive treatment strategies are needed for individuals with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis (OA), especially when they are young and active. Prior dislocation, with or without subsequent shoulder stabilization surgery, complicates the clinical presentation and increases the risk of OA progression. The purpose of this case report was to describe an orthopaedic manual physical therapy approach used in a patient with glenohumeral joint OA who presented with shoulder pain and impaired movement. CASE DESCRIPTION A 38-year-old male military officer presented with left-shoulder pain of 2 months in duration that was unrelieved with a subacromial injection. He reported a history of anterior-inferior dislocation with subsequent stabilization surgery 15 years prior and arthroscopic subacromial decompression 2 years prior. Physical examination demonstrated painful limitations in shoulder elevation and internal/external rotation movements, stiffness with testing using accessory glides, and rotator cuff and scapular musculature weakness associated with pain. OUTCOMES: Treatment consisted of 5 sessions provided over 4 weeks. The plan of care included manual physical therapy, exercises, and progressive functional activities specifically tailored to the patient's clinical presentation. Shoulder Pain and Disability Index scores decreased from 43% to 17%, and the Patient-Specific Functional Scale average score improved from 3.0 to 7.3 out of 10. After 4 additional weeks of a home exercise program, the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index score was 4% and Patient-Specific Functional Scale average score was 9.0. Improvements in self-reported function were maintained at 6 months. Four "booster" treatment sessions were administered at 9 months, contributing to sustained outcomes through 1 year. DISCUSSION: In a young, active patient with glenohumeral joint OA, clinically meaningful short-term improvements in self-reported function and pain, maintained at 1 year, were observed with manual physical therapy and exercise. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapy, level 4.

Suprascapular neuropathy after distal clavicle resection and coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction: a resident's case problem.

STUDY DESIGN: Resident's case problem. BACKGROUND: Acromioclavicular joint pathology is reported to be present in up to 30% of all patients complaining of shoulder dysfunction. The operative approach to treating acromioclavicular joint disease often includes a distal clavicle excision and, in circumstances of acromioclavicular joint instability, reconstruction of the coracoclavicular and/or the acromioclavicular ligament. Surgical complications for these procedures are rare, but potentially include suprascapular neuropathy secondary to the course of the suprascapular nerve posterior to the clavicle prior to entering the supraspinatus fossa. DIAGNOSIS: A 28-year-old Caucasian woman reported directly to an outpatient physical therapy clinic with a complaint of right shoulder weakness. Three years prior, the patient underwent a distal clavicle excision and coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction. A detailed examination, including diagnostic imaging, identified infraspinatus atrophy and weakness, increasing the suspicion for suprascapular nerve injury. Electromyography was ordered to confirm the clinical and imaging diagnosis of suprascapular neuropathy and to rule out other nerve lesions, especially considering the selective atrophy of the infraspinatus muscle without mechanical explanation. DISCUSSION: The clinical decision making and systematic use of diagnostic testing resulted in identifying a rare case of suprascapular neuropathy, selective to the infraspinatus, in a patient who previously underwent a distal clavicle excision and coracoclavicular ligament reconstruction. Without a spinoglenoid cyst or other suprascapular nerve lesion identified on advanced imaging, it is likely that the suprascapular neuropathy identified in this case was related to the surgical procedure. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Differential diagnosis, level 4.

Joint mobilization forces and therapist reliability in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study determined biomechanical force parameters and reliability among clinicians performing knee joint mobilizations. METHODS: Sixteen subjects with knee osteoarthritis and six therapists participated in the study. Forces were recorded using a capacitive-based pressure mat for three techniques at two grades of mobilization, each with two trials of 15 seconds. Dosage (force-time integral), amplitude, and frequency were also calculated. Analysis of variance was used to analyze grade differences, intraclass correlation coefficients determined reliability, and correlations assessed force associations with subject and rater variables. RESULTS: Grade IV mobilizations produced higher mean forces (P<0.001) and higher dosage (P<0.001), while grade III produced higher maximum forces (P = 0.001). Grade III forces (Newtons) by technique (mean, maximum) were: extension 48, 81; flexion 41, 68; and medial glide 21, 34. Grade IV forces (Newtons) by technique (mean, maximum) were: extension 58, 78; flexion 44, 60; and medial glide 22, 30. Frequency (Hertz) ranged between 0.9-1.1 (grade III) and 1.4-1.6 (grade IV). Intra-clinician reliability was excellent (>0.90). Inter-clinician reliability was moderate for force and dosage, and poor for amplitude and frequency. DISCUSSION: Force measurements were consistent with previously reported ranges and clinical constructs. Grade III and grade IV mobilizations can be distinguished from each other with differences for force and frequency being small, and dosage and amplitude being large. Intra-clinician reliability was excellent for all biomechanical parameters and inter-clinician reliability for dosage, the main variable of clinical interest, was moderate. This study quantified the applied forces among multiple clinicians, which may help determine optimal dosage and standardize care.

Integration of critically appraised topics into evidence-based physical therapist practice.

SYNOPSIS: Physical therapists frequently encounter situations that require complex differential-diagnosis decisions and the ability to consistently screen for serious pathology that may mimic a musculoskeletal complaint. By applying the evidence-based-practice process to diagnosis, screening, and referral, physical therapists can identify diagnostic and screening strategies that positively influence clinical decisions. A critically appraised topic document (a standard 1-page summary of the literature appraisal and clinical relevance in response to a specific clinical question) is a valuable tool in evidence-based practice. The creation of a critically appraised topic makes the educational process cumulative instead of duplicative, allowing the individual clinician to assimilate and consolidate knowledge after a search effort and improving search and appraisal skills. The purpose of this clinical commentary is as follows: (1) to describe the clinical reasoning process of 3 orthopaedic physical therapists that led to the development of specific clinical questions related to screening for nonmusculoskeletal pathology, (2) to describe the search and triage strategy that led each physical therapist to the current best evidence needed to rule out nonmusculoskeletal pathology in the patient, and (3) to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a critically appraised topic, the implementation of this process, and the tailoring of search strategies to find diagnostic and screening strategies.

Effect of running shoe type on the distribution and magnitude of plantar pressures in individuals with low- or high-arched feet.

BACKGROUND: Research addressing the effect of running shoe type on the low- or high-arched foot during gait is limited. We sought 1) to analyze mean plantar pressure and mean contact area differences between low- and high-arched feet across three test conditions, 2) to determine which regions of the foot (rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot) contributed to potential differences in mean plantar pressure and mean contact area, and 3) to determine the association between the static arch height index and the dynamic modified arch index. METHODS: Plantar pressure distributions for 75 participants (40 low arched and 35 high arched) were analyzed across three conditions (nonshod, motion control running shoes, and cushioning running shoes) during treadmill walking. RESULTS: In the motion control and cushioning shoe conditions, mean plantar contact area increased in the midfoot (28% for low arched and 68% for high arched), whereas mean plantar pressure decreased by approximately 30% relative to the nonshod condition. There was moderate to good negative correlation between the arch height index and the modified arch index. CONCLUSIONS: Cushioning and motion control running shoes tend to increase midfoot mean plantar contact area while decreasing mean plantar pressure across the low- or high-arched foot.