In Sri Lanka, four athletic deaths were reported in 2013. All four deaths took place while participating in school marathon competitions and the victims were teenaged school children. The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education took steps to temporarily remove marathon events from school athletic competitions in 2014. Three more athletic deaths were reported after the marathon events were resumed in 2015, which led to the development of guidelines in conducting Pre-Participation Physical Examination (PPE) for school athletes. There were no further deaths reported since the implementation of these guidelines.

Objectives: The iliotibial band (ITB) is a thick fascial band formed near the hip by merging the fascia of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and tensor fasciae latae muscles. Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a common overuse injury, manifests as pain on the outer side of the knee and hip due to ITB friction with the femur. Athletes may experience reduced hip and knee mobility, potentially impacting performance. This study aims to compare the efficacy of two ITBS treatments: Thera-Band Exercise Program (TBEP) as the experimental group and Electro-Physiotherapy (EPT) as the control group.Methods: A randomized controlled trial carried out at the Teaching Hospital Karapitiya, with thirty athletes in each group. The control group received EPT, and medications, for two weeks, the experimental group received TBEP and medications for the same duration. Abductor Muscle strength assessment was conducted on Day 01 and Day 28 using handheld dynamometer (HHD)Results: The mean ages in the control and experimental groups were 24.33±6.40 years and 24.97±6.87 years, respectively. Muscle strength (N) for the control group on Day 1 and Day 28 were 99.77± 24.81 and 108.83±22.36, respectively. In the experimental group, the corresponding values were 102.50±26.71 and 147.00±29.92, respectively. The mean differences for muscle strength of two groups in D1 and D28 were 2.733(P>0.683) and 38.167(P<0.001) (RM-ANOVA). TBEP had a statistically significant effect (p=0.000), and it explained 16.8% of the variance in muscle strength. The Partial Eta Squared was 0.168.Conclusions: The Thera band program works better in improving abductor muscle strength of the athletes with ITBS compared to electro- physiotherapy.

Introduction and Objectives: Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) is a common overuse injury in athletes, primarily impacting the knee and hip due to repetitive friction of the iliotibial band against the femur, resulting in pain and restricted hip abduction and knee extension. Muscle power and pain associated with ITBS can be measured using Hand-held Dynamometer (HHD) and Visual-Analog-Scale scores (VAS) respectively. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of two treatment groups, Manual-Therapy (MT) and Electro-Physiotherapy (EPT), in determining the most effective approach for managing ITBS. Materials and Methods: A RCT was conducted at the Sports Medicine Clinic of the Teaching Hospital Karapitiya, enrolling twenty athletes in each group as controls and experimental subjects. The control group received EPT, NSAIDS, and paracetamol for one week, while the experimental group received MT, NSAIDS, and paracetamol for the same duration. Muscle power and pain measurements were assessed using HHD & VAS on D1 and D28. P-values for statistical significance were obtained using RM-ANOVA followed by Bonferroni test. Results: Mean ages for EPT and MT groups were 24.4±6.6 and 25.4±6.6years, respectively. Muscle power (N) for EPT group on D1, and D28 were 101.7±26.3 and 112.7±23 respectively. The same parameters for MT group were 98.1±26 and 186.8±25.3. The mean differences for muscle power of two groups on D1 and D28 were -3.600(P=0.666) and 74.050(P<0.001). VAS scores for EPT group on D1, and D28 were 8.2±0.9 and 7±1 respectively. The same parameters for MT group were 7.9±0.8 and1.8±0.8. The mean differences for pain of two groups on D1 and D28 were 0.250(P=0.395) and -5.200(P<0.001). Partial-Eta-Squared for the two groups were 0.355 and 0.758respectively. ManualTherapy group’s higher effectiveness was statistically significant (p<0.001) and a 35.5% variance in muscle power and 75.8% variance in VAS score was attributable to it. Conclusion:Manual-therapy is superior to electro-physiotherapy in improving muscle power and decreasing in VAS scores of athletes with ITBS.

Was not provided for this article.

Objectives: Bicipital tendinopathy causes shoulder pain and reduced range of motion (ROM). Analgesics and physiotherapy are used as treatments. The objective is to study the effectiveness of myofascial release for bicipital tendinopathy.Methods: Sixty patients with anterior shoulder pain were randomly allocated to control and experimental groups (n=30/group). Control group received conventional physiotherapy for 10 days, while experimental group received myofascial release. Pain scores and ROM of the shoulder were assessed using a visual analog scale and digital inclinometer respectively, on days 1, 5 and 10. On each day, measurements were obtained before and after intervention.Results: Control group consisted of 8 females and 22 males with a mean age of 35.1± 15.2 years. Interventional group consisted of 9 females and 21 males with a mean age of 34.4± 12.3 years. Rest pain for control group on day 1, day 5 and day 10 (pre and post intervention) were 6.7±0.29,6.03±0.29, 5.63±0.29, 5.17±0.24, 4.90±0.26, 4.43±0.27, respectively. Same parameters for the experimental group were 6.60±0.35, 5.00±0.39, 4.30±0.30, 3.60±0.26, 3.10±0.26, 2.56±0.25, respectively. Both interventions significantly reduced pain scores compared to the baseline. Notably, experimental group demonstrated a greater reduction in pain score from day 1 to day 10 compared to the control group (p<0.0001). In the control group, change in ROM from the baseline for each session was 2.960±0.97, 3.660±1.22, 4.560±1.27, 4.430±1.07, and 5.200±1.17. In the experimental group, the corresponding values were 15.100±5.37, 16.430±5.51, 20.870±6.66, 22.670±7.41, and 23.330±7.71. The experimental group showed significantly greater improvement in ROM compared to the control group at each session (p<0.001).Conclusions: Myofascial release works better than conventional physiotherapy for bicipital tendinopathy as it results in greater improvement of pain and ROM. Further research warrants to explore what could be the exact mechanism by which those improvements were happened.

Objectives: Functional ability is critical for quality of life (QOF), and its evaluation is vital in a clinical context. However, there is a deficiency of a universally recognized grading scale in Sinhala for assessing functional capacity in athletes with lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions. This research aimed to validate the linguistic and cross-cultural adaptation of a translated Sinhala version of the lower extremity functional scale (S-LEFS). Materials and Methods: A two-stage observational study was conducted. The lower extremity functional scale was cross-culturally adapted to Sinhala through independent, double forward, and backward translation. An experienced clinical researcher tested the translated version to establish the linguistic validation of S-LEFS. The finalized version was validated for construct, convergent, and criterion validity. A total of 112 participants, comprising 57 healthy (50.89%) and 55 unhealthy (49.11%) lower limb athletes, completed S-LEFS. Results: S-LEFS demonstrated excellent reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.952. Exploratory factor analysis revealed good factor loadings (>0.48) for all 20 items, with three components accounting for 70.63% of cumulative variance. Scale got a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 81% at a cutoff point of 67.5. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.918 (P < 0.0001), and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant (P < 0.01). No correlation was detected between S-LEFS and World Health Organization QOF-Bref (r = 0.281). Conclusion: S-LEFS is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating lower limb function in athletes.