Plantar fasciopathy is a common foot-related musculoskeletal disorder. It has been hypothesized that this disorder could be linked to a dysfunctional windlass mechanism. However, no study to date has quantified this link to validate or refute this hypothesis. The first metatarsophalangeal joint (1st MPJ) dorsiflexion resistance test is a reliable test to evaluate the force required to initiate the windlass mechanism. Comparing the results of this test in individuals with and without plantar fasciopathy will allow for a better understanding of the relationship between plantar fasciopathy and the windlass mechanism. Thus, this study aimed to compare 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance in individuals with plantar fasciopathy and healthy controls. Additionally, this study aimed to explore the correlations between 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance and other commonly used foot orthopedic tests, specifically the supination resistance test and the Foot Posture Index. Twenty participants with plantar fasciopathy and 20 healthy controls were recruited in this case-control study. First MPJ dorsiflexion resistance was quantified and compared between groups and between feet using a repeated measures ANOVA with one within-subject factor with two levels and one between-subject factor with two levels. It was also correlated with supination resistance and the Foot Posture Index. There were no significant differences in 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance between injured and healthy feet as well as control and plantar fasciopathy groups. There was a moderate to strong correlation (r = 0.674 to 0.891) between 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance and supination resistance in both groups. There was no significant correlation between 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance and the Foot Posture Index. The lack of alterations in 1st MPJ dorsiflexion resistance among individuals with plantar fasciopathy implies a potential need to reconsider the biomechanical model, proposing that a dysfunctional windlass mechanism is associated with the development of plantar fasciopathy, may need reconsideration.

Knapp, ZR, Minger, AJ, Trent, RA, Sandvik, JE, Mihalik, JD, Dobbs, WC, McBride, SP, and Almonroeder, TG. Relationships between countermovement jump metrics and skating speed among male and female collegiate hockey athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026—The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the extent to which lower-body power, propulsive force, velocity, jump height, and reactive strength during a countermovement jump (CMJ) are related to skating speed among male and female collegiate ice hockey athletes. Twenty-six male and 22 female collegiate hockey athletes participated in this cross-sectional study. Athletes completed CMJ testing on a force platform and an on-ice skating speed test. CMJ-derived variables included peak power, mean power, peak force, mean force, peak velocity, jump height, and the modified reactive strength index. Pearson product-moment correlation analyses were conducted separately for men and women to examine relationships between CMJ metrics and average skating speed. Faster skating speed was associated with greater peak/mean power, peak velocity, jump height, and reactive strength for both men and women ( r ≥ 0.43). By contrast, the relationships between skating speed and peak force ( r ≤ 0.13) and mean force ( r ≤ 0.30) were weak, with 95% confidence intervals spanning 0. Greater lower-body power was associated with faster skating speed in both male and female collegiate hockey athletes; this relationship seemed to be driven primarily by movement velocity rather than propulsive force magnitude. These findings suggest that the ability to rapidly generate force may be more relevant to skating speed than force production alone. In addition, jump height may serve as a practical off-ice metric for monitoring neuromuscular qualities related to skating speed when on-ice testing is not feasible.

Introduction: The National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) pass rate is widely regarded as a key outcome measure for assessing the effectiveness of physical therapist education programs. As program expansion continues and first-time pass rates have declined nationally, identifying factors associated with NPTE outcomes has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that are associated with first-time NPTE pass rates among physical therapist education programs in the United States. Review of Literature: Prior research has linked student-level characteristics to NPTE success, but there is limited recent data on predictors related to institutional, programmatic structure, clinical education, faculty, and student cohort characteristics across multiple institutions, particularly as the educational landscape has evolved. Subjects: Two hundred sixty-eight accredited physical therapist education programs for which 2022–2023 first-time 2-year pass rates were available. Methods: Institutional, program, clinical education, faculty, and student related variables were extracted from the 2023 Annual Accreditation Reports submitted to the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Pass-rate data were dichotomized using a median split. Univariate analyses identified candidate variables, and multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine predictors of an above-median pass rate. Results: Four variables were significantly associated with above-median pass rates: decreased length of the terminal clinical experience, increased undergraduate grade point average, greater number of part-time core faculty, and the use of a nonholistic admissions process. Discussion and Conclusion: These findings suggest that both program structure and admissions strategies are linked to NPTE outcomes. Shorter terminal clinical experiences, stronger undergraduate academic performance, and strategic faculty composition may contribute to higher pass rates. Programs employing holistic admissions may need to enhance academic support infrastructure to maintain NPTE performance. These results can inform program development, curricular planning, and admissions practices in entry-level physical therapist education.

Introduction.: It is essential that students perform optimally on multiple-choice examinations such as the National Physical Therapy Examination, which is comprised entirely of multiple-choice questions. Students are frequently advised to avoid changing initial answers on multiple-choice examinations. This belief is reinforced by faculty and student misconceptions. This study investigated the frequency and impact of answer changes among physical therapy students completing anatomy examinations on a computer-based platform. Review of Literature.: Prior studies show that answer changing is generally beneficial. However, most studies were conducted decades ago, and only a few were found that were conducted in health care education. Almost all previously published studies used paper examinations and were limited to 3 main answer-changing patterns, whereas computer-based testing can more accurately identify patterns in how students change their answers. Subjects.: Subjects include 174 first-year hybrid Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Methods.: In this retrospective cohort study, participants completed 4 computer-based multiple-choice examinations. Exam snapshot data from ExamSoft were imported into MATLAB, which categorized items into 1 of 7 answer-changing patterns. Examination scores were calculated with and without answer changes. Analyses included descriptive statistics, a generalized linear mixed model, a linear mixed-effects model, Pearson correlations, and a partial correlation. Results.: Across 30,133 answered items, 11.3% involved an answer change, with an average of 94.07% of students changing answers. The most common change was from incorrect to correct, representing 52.41% of changed items, whereas only 12.8% of changes were from correct to incorrect. Examination scores allowing answer changes were, on average, 5% higher than scores based on initial responses. Lower-performing students changed more answers, showing greater total benefit, while higher-performing students benefited more per question. Discussion and Conclusion.: Students frequently changed answers on computer-based examinations, and answer changing generally improved performance. Although some students experienced detrimental changes, beneficial changes occurred far more often. Findings suggest that discouraging answer changing may disadvantage students, and educators should promote informed reconsideration of responses during multiple-choice testing.

Background/Objectives: National Football League (NFL) American football players are exposed to osteoarthritis risk factors of obesity and high joint loads. We sought to examine the association between total body mass (TBM), lean body mass (LBM), body fat percentage (BF%), and normalized compressive knee joint reaction forces (JRFcomp), peak knee adductor moments (KAM), and vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF) in NFL draft-eligible players during a high-speed run. Methods: A total of 125 participants ran a single trial at 5.5–6.5 m/s for 5 s on an instrumented treadmill. Bilateral vGRF and knee joint kinetics were calculated using inverse dynamics. Body composition was assessed using bioelectrical impedance. Results: LBM demonstrated significant moderate associations with vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.56, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.60, p < 0.001) and low-to-negligible associations with KAM (left, r(123) = −0.20, p = 0.026; right, r(123) = −0.30, p < 0.001) and JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.39, p = 0.020; right, r(123) = −0.38, p = 0.015), respectively. TBM showed significant moderate negative associations with vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.56, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.61, p < 0.001) and low-to-negligible associations with KAM (left, r(123) = −0.21, p = 0.021; right, r(123) = −0.28, p = 0.002) and JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.39, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.37, p < 0.001), respectively. BF% showed significant low-to-negligible negative associations with JRFcomp (left, r(123) = −0.21, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.22, p < 0.001) and vGRF (left, r(123) = −0.39, p < 0.001; right, r(123) = −0.41, p < 0.001), respectively, and no significant associations with KAM, p > 0.05. The heavier group exhibited significantly lower normalized JRFcomp, and vGRF, p < 0.05. Conclusions: Heavier, but not fatter, players attenuate knee loads. Dampening may be a short-term protective strategy for joints of heavier players.