Efficacy of Hip Strengthening Exercises Compared With Leg Strengthening Exercises on Knee Pain, Function, and Quality of Life in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of hip and leg strengthening exercise programs on knee pain, function, and quality of life (QOL) of patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). DESIGN: Single-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial. SETTING: Patients with KOA. PARTICIPANTS: Male and female subjects were recruited from patients referred to the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Center and from newspaper advertisements. INTERVENTIONS: Thirty-seven and 35 patients with KOA were randomly assigned to either a 12-week hip or leg strengthening exercise program, respectively. Both exercise programs consisted of strengthening and flexibility exercises, which were completed 3 to 5 days a week. The first 3 weeks of exercise were supervised and the remaining 9 weeks consisted of at-home exercise. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Score (KOOS) and Western Ontario McMaster Arthritis Index (WOMAC) questionnaires, 6-minute walk test, hip and knee range of motion (ROM), and hip and leg muscle strength. RESULTS: Statistically and clinically significant improvements in the KOOS and WOMAC pain subscale scores were observed in both the hip and leg strengthening programs. There was no statistical difference in the change in scores observed between the 2 groups. Equal improvements in the KOOS and WOMAC function and QOL subscales were observed for both programs. There was no change in hip and knee ROM or hip and leg strength in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated hip and leg strengthening exercise programs seem to similarly improve knee pain, function, and QOL in patients with KOA. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this study show that both hip and leg strengthening exercises improve pain and QOL in patients with KOA and should be incorporated into the exercise prescription of patients with KOA.

The Burden and Risk Factors of Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathy in Youth Basketball: A Cohort Study.

This study aimed at evaluating the burden and risk factors of patellar and Achilles tendinopathy among youth basketball players. Patellar and Achilles tendinopathy were prospectively monitored in 515 eligible male and female youth basketball players (11-18 years) through a competitive season. Overall, the season prevalence of patellar tendinopathy was 19.0% (95% CI: 15.7-22.7%), 23.2% (95% CI: 18.6-28.2%) in males and 12.5% (95% CI: 8.3-17.9%) in females. The season prevalence of Achilles tendinopathy was 4.3% (95% CI: 2.7-6.4%), 4.1% (95% CI: 2.2-7.0%) in males and 4.5% (95% CI: 2.1-8.4%) in females. Median proportion of symptoms duration was 83% of average total weeks of basketball exposure for patellar tendinopathy and 75% for Achilles tendinopathy. Median time to patellar tendinopathy onset was 8 weeks for male players and 6 weeks for female players. Higher odds of patellar tendinopathy risk were seen in males (OR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.10-4.69) and players with previous anterior knee pain had significantly elevated odds (OR: 8.5, 95% CI: 4.58-16.89). The burden and risk of patellar tendinopathy is high among competitive youth basketball players. Risk factors include sex and previous anterior knee pain. These findings provide directions for practice and future research.

Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures for studies of injuries in rugby union.

Wide variations in the definitions and methodologies used for studies of injuries in rugby union have created inconsistencies in reported data and made interstudy comparisons of results difficult. The International Rugby Board established a Rugby Injury Consensus Group (RICG) to reach an agreement on the appropriate definitions and methodologies to standardise the recording of injuries and reporting of studies in rugby union. The RICG reviewed the consensus definitions and methodologies previously published for football (soccer) at a meeting in Dublin in order to assess their suitability for and application to rugby union. Following this meeting, iterative draft statements were prepared and circulated to members of the RICG for comment; a follow-up meeting was arranged in Dublin, at which time all definitions and procedures were finalised. At this stage, all authors confirmed their agreement with the consensus statement. The agreed document was presented to and approved by the International Rugby Board Council. Agreement was reached on definitions for injury, recurrent injury, non-fatal catastrophic injury, and training and match exposures, together with criteria for classifying injuries in terms of severity, location, type, diagnosis and causation. The definitions and methodology presented in this consensus statement for rugby union are similar to those proposed for football. Adoption of the proposals presented in this consensus statement should ensure that more consistent and comparable results will be obtained from studies of injuries within rugby union.