experienced an injury requiring hospitalization ( Toft, Møller, & Laursen, 2010 ). Research has shown that athletes tend to play through pain ( Ivarsson et al., 2018 ; Weinberg, Vernau, & Horn, 2013 ), which could mean that the number of reported athletic injuries is an underestimate. In particular, Weinberg
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Laurel W. Sheffield and Lauren A. Stutts
Meaghan Hindle, Katherine Aldinger, and Geoff Dover
Chronic pain is a significant health care problem, and it is a challenge in Athletic Training and Athletic Therapy (AT) as well. It has been estimated that 57% of all adult Americans report recurrent or chronic pain in a calendar year. 1 Approximately 62% of those people reported being in pain for
Pablo Fanlo-Mazas, Elena Bueno-Gracia, Alazne Ruiz de Escudero-Zapico, Carlos López-de-Celis, César Hidalgo-García, Jacobo Rodríguez-Sanz, and María Orosia Lucha-López
Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) represents one of the most common musculoskeletal dysfunctions in physical therapy and sports medicine. 1 PFPS has a prevalence of 22.7% in the general population 2 and a tendency toward chronicity. 3 – 5 Therefore, PFPS imposes a substantial burden on
Michael C. Meyers, Anthony E. Bourgeois, Stacey Stewart, and Arnold LeUnes
It is generally recognized that athletes differ in their ability to function with pain following injury. In an effort to measure this differing ability, the Sports Inventory for Pain (SIP) was developed using input from injured athletes, a college student sample, and information generated through the pain research literature. The SIP consists of 25 items that identify five pain subscales (coping, cognitive, avoidance, catastrophizing, and body awareness) and a composite score (HURT). Cronbach's coefficient alpha levels, ranging from .88 to .61, confirmed internal consistency reliability. Test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from .69 to .88. ANOVA and subsequent post hoc analyses that compared groups (categorized by number of injuries, years of sport participation, and number of sports played) on each subscale and on the composite promise satisfactory validity. Pearson correlations between social desirability and the SIP subscales were nonsignificant (p>.05; n=39), ranging from −.06 to .22. The SIP serves as a sport-specific measure of an athlete's capacity to perform while in pain. Further research aimed at establishing its validity is warranted.
William A. Sands, Jeni R. McNeal, Michael H. Stone, G. Gregory Haff, and Ann M. Kinser
Serious stretching in many sports involves discomfort and is often an early ceiling on improvements.
Purpose:
To continue investigation of the use of vibration to enhance acute range of motion while assessing the influence of vibration and stretching on pressure-to-pain threshold perception.
Methods:
Ten young male gymnasts were assessed for split range of motion. One side split was randomly assigned as the experimental condition, and the other side split was assigned as the control. Both side splits were performed on a vibration device; the experimental condition had the device turned on and the control condition was performed with the device turned off. In addition, the athletes were assessed for pressure-to-pain transition using an algometer on the biceps femoris (stretched muscle) and vastus lateralis (nonstretched muscle) bilaterally.
Results:
Pre-post difference scores between the vibrated split (most improved) and the nonvibrated split were statistically different (P = .001, 95% confidence interval of the difference 2.3 to 5.8 cm). Following the stretching protocol, the force values for the pressure-to-pain threshold comparing the vibrated and nonvibrated biceps femoris muscle were not statistically different. The nonstretched vastus lateralis muscle also showed no statistical difference in pressure-to-pain threshold between the vibration and nonvibration conditions.
Conclusion:
This study showed that vibration improved split range of motion over stretching alone, but did not show a difference in pressure-to-pain perception in either the stretched or nonstretched muscles.
Lucas Ettinger, Jason Weiss, Matthew Shapiro, and Andrew Karduna
In this study, we aimed to determine if electromyography (EMG) normalization to maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) was influenced by subacromial pain in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. Patients performed MVICs in unique testing positions for each shoulder muscle tested before and after subacromial injection of local anesthetic. In addition to collection of MVIC data, EMG data during an arm elevation task were recorded before and after injection. From a visual analog pain scale, patients had a 64% decrease in pain following the injection. Significant increases in MVICs were noted in 4 of the 7 shoulder muscles tested: anterior, middle and posterior deltoid, and lower trapezius. No significant differences were noticed for the upper trapezius, latissimus dorsi, or serratus anterior. MVIC condition (pre and post injection) had a significant influence on EMG normalization for the anterior deltoid and lower trapezius muscle. Results indicate that subacromial pain can influence shoulder muscle activity, especially for the deltoid muscles and lower trapezius. In addition, normalization to MVIC in the presence of pain can have unpredictable results. Caution should be taken when normalizing EMG data to MVIC in the presence of pain.
Robert Weinberg, Daniel Vernau, and Thelma Horn
The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the influence of gender and athletic identity on recreational basketball players’ attitudes and behaviors with regard to playing through pain and injury. Participants included 130 male and female intramural basketball players who completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS), the Risk Pain and Injury Questionnaire (RPIQ), and a scale to measure behavioral tendencies toward playing with injury. Results from MANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses revealed that gender was not a factor in regard to either injury-related attitudes or behavioral tendencies. In contrast, athletic identity was a significant factor. Specifically, athletes who were higher in athletic identity exhibited more positive attitudes toward playing with injury as well as higher behavioral tendencies to do so. Study results are discussed in terms of the sport culture and sport ethic surrounding injury.
Nathalie Anne Roussel, Margot De Kooning, Jo Nijs, Patrick Cras, Kristien Wouters, and Liesbeth Daenen
This study evaluated whether dancers with pain experience more sensory changes during an experimentally induced sensorimotor incongruent task and explored the relationship between sensorimotor incongruence and self-reported measures (e.g., Short Form 36-questionnaire (SF-36), psychosocial variables and physical activity). Forty-four dancers were subjected to a bimanual coordination test simulating sensorimotor incongruence (i.e., performing congruent and incongruent arm movements while viewing a whiteboard or mirror) and completed standardized questionnaires. Significantly more dancers experienced sensory changes during the performance of incongruent movements while viewing a mirror (p < .01), but the intensity of the reported sensations was very low. No differences were observed between dancers with and without baseline pain, but significant negative associations were found between sensorimotor incongruence and subscores of the SF-36. Sensorimotor incongruence can provoke small sensory changes in dancers but appears unrelated to baseline pain symptoms. Sensorimotor incongruence appears to be related to quality of life.
Marc-Olivier St-Aubin, Philippe Chalaye, François-Pierre Counil, and Sylvie Lafrenaye
depression, anxiety) ( 27 , 35 ), and improved cognitive function ( 38 ). Importantly, physical exercise programs have been shown to reduce pain in various chronic pain conditions, such as chronic low back pain ( 1 ), chronic neck pain ( 43 ), osteoarthritis ( 19 ), migraine ( 8 ), and fibromyalgia ( 16
Irfan A. Khan and Kelley D. Henderson
Key Points ▸ Patients with medial knee osteoarthritis experienced significantly decreased levels of pain and improved levels of function when utilizing a valgus knee brace. ▸ A combination of a valgus knee brace and other orthoses may be more effective in reducing symptoms and improving function
