To examine hip abductor strength in long-distance runners with iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), comparing their injured-limb strength to their nonaffected limb and to the limbs of a control group of healthy long-distance runners; and to determine whether correction of strength deficits in the hip abductors of the affected runners through a rehabilitation program correlates with a successful return to running. Case series. Stanford University Sports Medicine Clinics. 24 distance runners with ITBS (14 female, 10 male) were randomly selected from patients presenting to our Runners' Injury Clinic with history and physical examination findings typical for ITBS. The control group of 30 distance runners (14 females, 16 males) were randomly selected from the Stanford University Cross-Country and Track teams. Group differences in hip abductor strength, as measured by torque generated, were analyzed using separate two-tailed t-tests between the injured limb, noninjured limb, and the noninjured limbs of the control group. Prerehabilitation hip abductor torque for the injured runners was then compared with postrehabilitation torque after a 6-week rehabilitation program. Hip abductor torque was measured with the Nicholas Manual Muscle Tester (kg), and normalized for differences in height and weight among subjects to units of percent body weight times height (%BWh). Average prerehabilitation hip abductor torque of the injured females was 7.82%BWh versus 9.82%BWh for their noninjured limb and 10.19%BWh for the control group of female runners. Average prerehabilitation hip abductor torque of the injured males was 6.86%BWh versus 8.62%BWh for their noninjured limb and 9.73%BWh for the control group of male runners. All prerehabilitation group differences were statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level. The injured runners were then enrolled in a 6-week standardized rehabilitation protocol with special attention directed to strengthening the gluteus medius. After rehabilitation, the females demonstrated an average increase in hip abductor torque of 34.9% in the injured limb, and the males an average increase of 51.4%. After 6 weeks of rehabilitation, 22 of 24 athletes were pain free with all exercises and able to return to running, and at 6-months follow-up there were no reports of recurrence. Long distance runners with ITBS have weaker hip abduction strength in the affected leg compared with their unaffected leg and unaffected long-distance runners. Additionally, symptom improvement with a successful return to the preinjury training program parallels improvement in hip abductor strength.

This review examines a mechanism for the initiation of osteoarthritis after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury by considering the relationship between reported ambulatory changes after ACL injury, cartilage adaptation to load, and the association between cartilage loads during walking and regional variations in cartilage structure and biology. Taken together, these observations suggest that cartilage degeneration after ACL injury could be caused by a kinematic gait change that shifts ambulatory loading applied to cartilage. Such a shift may cause regions of cartilage to become newly loaded, be subjected to altered levels of compression and tension, or become unloaded. The metabolic sensitivity of chondrocytes to such changes in their mechanical environment, combined with the low adaptation potential of mature cartilage, could lead to cartilage degeneration and premature osteoarthritis after ACL injury. This proposed mechanism demonstrates the value of using the ACL injury model to understand the relationship between mechanics and biology, as well as helping to explain the importance of restoring normal ambulatory kinematics after ACL injury to avoid premature osteoarthritis.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury may result in neuroplastic changes due to lost mechanoreceptors of the ACL and compensations in neuromuscular control. These alterations are not completely understood. Assessing brain function after ACL injury and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) with functional magnetic resonance imaging provides a means to address this gap in knowledge. Objective: To compare differences in brain activation during knee flexion/extension in persons who have undergone ACLR and in matched controls. Methods: Fifteen participants who had undergone left ACLR (38.13 ± 27.16 months postsurgery) and 15 healthy controls matched on age, sex, height, mass, extremity dominance, education level, sport participation, and physical activity level participated. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained during a unilateral knee motor task consisting of repeated cycles of knee flexion and extension. Results: Participants who had undergone ACLR had increased activation in the contralateral motor cortex, lingual gyrus, and ipsilateral secondary somatosensory area and diminished activation in the ipsilateral motor cortex and cerebellum when compared to healthy matched controls. Conclusion: Brain activation for knee flexion/extension motion may be altered following ACLR. The ACLR brain activation profile may indicate a shift toward a visual-motor strategy as opposed to a sensory-motor strategy to engage in knee movement. Level of Evidence: Cohort, level 3. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2017;47(3):180–189. Epub 5 Nov 2016. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.7003

Oduces a higher ACL strain than either moment applied individually, the combined rotational moments at the physiological levels observed could theoretically increase strain in the ACL high enough to rupture the ACL, and the location of the peak contact force was at the posterior-lateral side for combined loading. Methods: The study was conducted by applying in vivo human loading data to a validated simulation model of the three-dimensional dynamic knee joint to predict ACL strains. Results: The peak ACL strain increased nonlinearly when either applied valgus moment or internal rotation moment was increased in the model. When the two rotational moments were applied individually, neither caused ACL strain >0.077. However, when applied in combination, the two rotational moments had a much larger effect, and the predicted peak ACL strain increased up to 0.105. During landing, the peak contact force occurred at the posterior-lateral side of the tibial cartilage in the model when the combined maximum valgus moment and tibial internal rotation moments were applied. Conclusions: Combined knee valgus and internal rotation moments increases ACL strain more than either alone. The combination of a valgus and internal rotational moment at magnitudes that occurs in vivo during landing can cause ACL strains that may be high enough to cause ACL rupture. This predicted high ACL strain and the contact force location suggest that combined valgus and internal tibial rotational moments during single-leg landing are relevant to ACL injuries....