Background and Objectives: Muscle properties are critical for performance and injury risk, with changes occurring due to physical exertion, aging, and neurological conditions. The MyotonPro device offers a non-invasive method to comprehensively assess muscle biomechanical properties. This systematic review evaluates the reliability of MyotonPro across various muscles for diagnostic purposes. Materials and Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted in Medline (PubMed), Ovid (Med), Epistemonikos, Embase, Cochrane Library, Clinical trials.gov, and the WHO International Clinical Trials platform. Studies assessing the reliability of MyotonPro across different muscles were included. A methodological quality assessment was performed using established tools, and reviewers independently conducted data extraction. Statistical analysis involved summarizing intra-rater and inter-rater reliability measures across muscles. Results: A total of 48 studies assessing 31 muscles were included in the systematic review. The intra-rater and inter-rater reliability were consistently high for parameters such as frequency and stiffness in muscles of the lower and upper extremities, as well as other muscle groups. Despite methodological heterogeneity and limited data on specific parameters, MyotonPro demonstrated promising reliability for diagnostic purposes across diverse patient populations. Conclusions: The findings suggest the potential of MyotonPro in clinical assessments for accurate diagnosis, treatment planning, and monitoring of muscle properties. Further research is needed to address limitations and enhance the applicability of MyotonPro in clinical practice. Reliable muscle assessments are crucial for optimizing treatment outcomes and improving patient care in various healthcare settings.

Background: As large language models (LLMs) are becoming increasingly integrated into different aspects of health care, questions about the implications for medical academic literature have begun to emerge. Key aspects such as authenticity in academic writing are at stake with artificial intelligence (AI) generating highly linguistically accurate and grammatically sound texts. Objective: The objective of this study is to compare human-written with AI-generated scientific literature in orthopedics and sports medicine. Methods: Five original abstracts were selected from the PubMed database. These abstracts were subsequently rewritten with the assistance of 2 LLMs with different degrees of proficiency. Subsequently, researchers with varying degrees of expertise and with different areas of specialization were asked to rank the abstracts according to linguistic and methodological parameters. Finally, researchers had to classify the articles as AI generated or human written. Results: Neither the researchers nor the AI-detection software could successfully identify the AI-generated texts. Furthermore, the criteria previously suggested in the literature did not correlate with whether the researchers deemed a text to be AI generated or whether they judged the article correctly based on these parameters. Conclusions: The primary finding of this study was that researchers were unable to distinguish between LLM-generated and human-written texts. However, due to the small sample size, it is not possible to generalize the results of this study. As is the case with any tool used in academic research, the potential to cause harm can be mitigated by relying on the transparency and integrity of the researchers. With scientific integrity at stake, further research with a similar study design should be conducted to determine the magnitude of this issue.

Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are increasingly being used to assess knee function. The aim of the study was to record patients’ activity levels and to detect new parameters for knee function in the early postoperative phase after TKA. Twenty patients (n = 20) were prospectively enrolled. Two sensors were attached to the affected leg. The data were recorded from the first day after TKA until discharge. Algorithms were developed for detecting steps, range of motion, horizontal, sitting and standing postures, as well as physical therapy. The mean number of steps increased from day 1 to discharge from 117.4 (SD ± 110.5) to 858.7 (SD ± 320.1), respectively. Patients’ percentage of immobilization during daytime (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) was 91.2% on day one and still 69.9% on the last day. Patients received daily continuous passive motion therapy (CPM) for a mean of 36.4 min (SD ± 8.2). The mean angular velocity at day 1 was 12.2 degrees per second (SD ± 4.4) and increased to 28.7 (SD ± 16.4) at discharge. This study shows that IMUs monitor patients’ activity postoperatively well, and a wide range of interindividual motion patterns was observed. These sensors may allow the adjustment of physical exercise programs according to the patient’s individual needs.

Antigravity treadmill training provides a viable option for physiotherapeutic care after knee surgery, especially for conditions that do not allow full weight bearing during the early phase post-intervention. This overview of the current state of knowledge identifies gaps and highlights areas where more research on antigravity treadmill training after knee surgery is needed. This review aimed to analyze and summarize the available evidence concerning the effects of antigravity treadmill training on patients after knee joint surgical procedures, including anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and total (TKA) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). Several databases were searched for relevant material, including PubMed, Epistemonikos, the Cochrane Library, the Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Seven studies investigating antigravity treadmill training after various procedures were included, including ACLR and TKA. The studies were summarized, and the quality of evidence was evaluated using the appropriate tools. The evidence yielded by these studies suggests that antigravity treadmill training might be useful after knee surgery. However, the superiority over traditional physiotherapeutic measures has yet to be established. Therefore, future high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to investigate the effect of antigravity treadmill training due to the low quality of available evidence. Also, a cost-effectiveness analysis is required to determine whether the investigated intervention fits the purpose.

Background: Compliance with rehabilitative physiotherapeutic measures leads to an improvement in outcomes in patients suffering from a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. To date, a tool for assessing the parameters that lead to non-adherence to physical therapy does not exist in the German language. The objective of this paper is to cross-culturally adapt a non-compliance questionnaire to German. Methods: In reference to the “Guidelines for the Process of Cross-Cultural Adaption of Self-Reported Measures”, the questionnaire was translated into German followed by a back-translation into the original language. An expert committee met and refined the pre-final version. A preliminary version was handed out to patients for evaluation of the quality of the resulting German version. Results: After the forward- and back-translation of the questionnaire, some discrepancies were discovered between the translators on the one hand and between the back-translations and the original document on the other. The statistical analysis showed satisfactory results regarding the quality of the questionnaire. Conclusion: The translation and adaption of the items proved to have a high degree of reliability. The German version will be made available for German-speaking researchers and used for evaluating a mobile-application-based physical therapy regimen by the authors of the paper.