Objective To estimate the incidence proportion (IP) and incidence rate (IR) for ACL injury in athletes. Design Systematic review with meta-analysis Data sources The PubMed, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus electronic databases were searched from inception to 20 January 2017. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Studies were included if they reported total number of participants/population by sex, total number of ACL injuries by sex and total person-time by sex. Results Fifty-eight studies were included. The IP and IR of ACL injury in female athletes were 3.5% (1 out of every 29 athletes) and 1.5/10 000 athlete-exposures over a period of 1 season-25 years. The IP and IR of ACL injury in male athletes were 2.0% (1 out of every 50 athletes) and 0.9/10 000 athlete-exposures over a period of 1–25 years. Female athletes had a higher relative risk (RR) for ACL injury compared with males (RR=1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 1.9; P<0.01) and a higher incidence rate ratio (IRR) of ACL injury compared with males over 1 season–25 years (IRR=1.7; 95% CI 1.4 to 2.2; P<0.010). When accounting for participation level, the disparity in the IR between female and male athletes was highest for amateur athletes compared with intermediate and elite athletes (IRR=2.1; 95% CI 1.3 to 3.4; P<0.01; I²=82%). Amateur female athletes remained at higher risk of ACL injury than did with amateur male athletes. In studies where follow-up length was <1 year, female athletes had a higher IR of ACL injury than did to males (IRR=1.7; 95% CI 1.3 to 2.2; P<0.01). Where follow-up was 1 year and beyond, there was no sex difference in the IR of ACL injury (IRR=2.1; 95% CI 0.9 to 4.8; P=0.06; I²=65%). Summary/conclusions One in 29 female athletes and 1 in 50 male athletes ruptured their ACL in a window that spanned from 1season to 25 years. The IR of ACL injury among female athletes in a season was 1.7 times higher than the IR of ACL injury among male athletes and the IP of ACL injury among female athletes was 1.5 times higher than the IP of ACL injury among male athletes. The reported sex disparity in ACL injury rates is independent of participation level and length of follow-up.

Kinesiology tape, an elastic tape used by sports medicine clinicians to enhance sports performance in athletes, is purported to facilitate a reduction in pain during physical activity in individuals with orthopedic injuries, but high-quality literature on this topic remains scarce. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to critically examine and review the existing literature to evaluate the effect of kinesiology tape application on pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injury. English-language publications from 2003 to 2013 were surveyed by searching SPORTDiscus, Scopus, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and PEDro databases using the terms kinesio tap*, kinesiology tap*, kinesiotap*, and pain. Thirteen articles investigating the effects of kinesiology tape application on pain with at least level II evidence were selected. The combined results of this meta-analysis indicate that kinesiology tape may have limited potential to reduce pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injury; however, depending on the conditions, the reduction in pain may not be clinically meaningful. Kinesiology tape application did not reduce specific pain measures related to musculoskeletal injury above and beyond other modalities compared in the context of included articles. We suggest that kinesiology tape may be used in conjunction with or in place of more traditional therapies, and further research that employs controlled measures compared with kinesiology tape is needed to evaluate efficacy.

Objective: To estimate the incidence proportion (IP) and incidence rate (IR) of ACL injury in football players. Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis. Data sources: PubMed, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus electronic databases were searched from inception to 20 January 2017. Eligibility criteria for selecting study: Studies that reported the total number of participants/population by sex, total number of ACL injuries by sex and total person-time by sex were included. Results: Twenty-eight studies were included. The IP and IR of ACL injury in female football players were 2.0% (95% CI 1.2% to 3.1%) and 2.0/10 000 athlete exposures (AEs) (95% CI 1.6 to 2.6; I²=91%) over a period of one season to 4 years. The IP and IR of ACL injury in male players were 3.5% (95% CI 0.7% to 8.2%) and 0.9/10 000 AEs (95% CI 0.7 to 1.1; I²=94%). Studies that evaluated matched cohorts of female and male players showed no difference in IP (relative risk=1.2; 95% CI 0.9 to 1.6; P=0.47) over a period of one season to 4 years. Women were at greater risk than men (incidence rate ratio (IRR)=2.2; 95% CI 1.6 to 3.1; I²=83%; P<0.001). When accounting for participation level, the difference in IR between women and men was greatest for intermediate players (IRR=2.9; 95% CI 2.4 to 3.6) compared with amateur (IRR=2.6; 95% CI 1.4 to 4.8) and elite (IRR=2.0; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.4) players. Summary/conclusion: Overall, more men sustained ACL injury in football. There was no difference in the relative risk of ACL injury between female and male football players in a window that spanned one season to 4 years. The IR of ACL injury among women was 2.2 times higher than the IR of ACL injury among men. The reported sex disparity in ACL injury was independent of participation level.

There were two aims of this study: first, to investigate physical fitness and match performance differences between under-16 (U16) and under-18 (U18) female basketball players, and second, to evaluate the relationship between physical fitness and game-related performances. Twenty-three young, female, elite Spanish basketball players (16.2 1.2 years) participated in the study. The sample was divided into two groups: U16 and U18 players. The average scores from pre- and post-season physical fitness measurements were used for subsequent analyses. Anthropometric variables were also measured. To evaluate game performance, game-related statistics, including the number of games and minutes played, points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game, were recorded for every competitive match in one season. When anthropometric and physical performance variables were compared between groups, the U18 group demonstrated significantly (p<0.05) higher values in upper (+21.2%) and lower (+27.11%) limb strength compared to the U16 group. Furthermore, no significant differences between groups were observed in match performance outcomes. Only two performance variables, steals and assists per game, correlated significantly with jump capacity, speed, agility, anaerobic power, repeated sprint ability and aerobic power (p ≤ 0.005). These findings can help optimize training programs for young, elite female basketball players.

MUSCLE STIFFNESS, DEFICITS IN POSTURAL STABILITY, ALTERED PROPRIOCEPTION, AND FEED-FORWARD CONTROL. THE SECOND PART OF THIS REVIEW PROVIDES A FLEXIBLE APPROACH TO INTEGRATIVE NEUROMUSCULAR TRAINING WITH THE GOAL TO IMPROVE INJURY RESILIENCE AND TO ENHANCE SPORT AND MOTOR SKILL PERFORMANCE....