sports physiotherapy – SEMS-journal

Has COVID-19 Changed the Future of Physiotherapy?

Life post Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will not be same for anyone and like so many professions it will be a challenging time for physiotherapists and health care providers. A lot of practitioners are going through economic challenges because of the imposed lock down in various countries. As the situation recovers and more people resume their working life, we physiotherapists should be more concerned now while attending to our clients. As front-line practitioners, physiotherapists are more prone to have direct contact with patients affected with COVID-19.

sports physiotherapy spine

Barbell strength training for non-specific low back pain rehabilitation: a prospective case series

Non-specific low back pain is considered a widespread disease and therefore leads to a high financial burden on the health care system. Among other things, reduced muscle strength of the trunk extensors is discussed as major risk factor. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the influence of a barbell training on the strength capacity of the trunk muscles and on the pain-related restrictions in the everyday life of low back pain patients.

sports physiotherapy sports science team management education innovation

Learning and sharing at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games medical clinic

The Youth Olympic Games are an elite sporting event that include a series of educational activities and we built the whole concept of medical care at the village in the same spirit. We wanted not only to build a clinic with a lot of expertise, but to create a space for education for the young athletes, their medical teams and our volunteers.

exercise physiology sports science muscle muscle

Differential coordination behaviour between concentric and eccentric contractions – many questions remain unanswered

Concentric and eccentric muscle work is characterized through different biochemical activating cascades. Concentric contraction is characterized by an ATP O2 coupling dependent interaction of the myofibril proteins Aktin and Myosin. In eccentric contraction, according to the Winding-filament hypothesis, a rotation movement around the thin filament is caused which is ATP independent. In addition, the processes of motor anticipation vary greatly between the two. This leads to the aim of the study: What are the differences in concentric versus eccentric muscle work concerning anticipation, perception and execution.

exercise physiology sports science muscle

Sex differences in thigh muscles characteristics: a systematic review

Objective: To determine differences between male and female subjects in the thigh muscles characteristics, separated into architectural (pennation, thickness, and/or fascicle length), mechanical (mass, strength, power, and/or stiffness), neuromuscular (activity) and fatigue aspects, in order to better understand the sex-related differences in the risk of muscle injuries. Methods: A systematic literature search on Pubmed was performed with different keywords: skeletal muscle AND sex characteristics AND muscle contraction, with the following limits: humans and adults (19–44 years old).

elite sports sports injury spine sports physiotherapy preparticipation

Back pain and core strength in elite cycling

Back pain is common among elite cyclists. Experiences of athletes and observations of coaches show that it may influence training quality and sometimes even limit performance during competition. Therefore the following study questions were investigated: 1) How many athletes of the Swiss cycling national teams suffer back pain during training or competition? 2) How good is athletes’ core strength? 3) What correlation exists between back pain and core strength? 4) Does an intensified core strength training reduce back pain? A total of 111 elite cyclists, 45 athletes (38 m, 7f; 19.6 ± 3.5y) of technical disciplines (BMX, Trial, Downhill, 4X) and 66 athletes (39 m, 27f; 19.5 ± 5.8y) of endurance disciplines (road, MTB, Cyclo-cross) all members of Swiss cycling national teams, took part in in the study.

elite sports RTS sports injury ligament muscle sports physiotherapy RTS

Strength deficits of the hamstrings following surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament: a case-control study of elite alpine ski racers

Background: Research to date clearly shows that injuries to the cruciate ligaments are a frequent occurrence in alpine ski racing. The hamstrings play an important role in protecting the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Here eccentric muscle activity, in particular, is of great significance as it plays a more important role in terms of duration and intensity than concentric muscle activity in alpine ski racing. The aim of this study was to establish whether the hamstrings of alpine ski racers show eccentric strength deficits following surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament.

sports injury hip & groin sports physiotherapy RTS RTS

Return to sport following hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: return to sport rates and methodological considerations

Research studies on “Return to sport” (or return to play) have been recently published also in the field of hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) in athletes. While most published papers discuss cases series (low level of evidence), Lasse Ishoi and the group of K. Thorborg and P. Hölmich (Copenhagen, Denmark) conducted one of the first prospective cohort studies on this topic. The paper has already been published in AJSM and the results were presented at the #SportSuisse2018 conference. One of the key methodological points is the definition of “Return to sport” when conducting studies: is it return to any sport at any level, or return to preinjury sport at preinjury level?

sports injury hip & groin sports physiotherapy

Hip-related pain and femoroacetabular impingement syndrome: How common is it? How does it impact on biomechanics? How does it affect muscle function?

The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence of bony morphology in football players with and without hip related groin pain, and to determine the association between pain and bony morphology in these athletes (soccer and Australian football players; subelite level; mean age: 26 years old, 80% men; 187 symptomatic and 55 asymptomatic). All subjects underwent specific x-rays exams (supine AP pelvis, Dunn 45°) and filled the International Hip Outcome Tool (IHOT-33).

sports injury knee sports physiotherapy

Effects of Use of Prophylactic Knee Orthoses among Ice Hockey Players in Switzerland

Introduction: The use of prophylactic knee orthoses is very common among Swiss ice hockey players to prevent recurrent lesions of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). However, their effects are still widely discussed in the literature. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of a given protocol (recruitment, resources, data management, surveys...) for a future national study and to present the preliminary results of the prophylactic orthotics effects on recurrent injuries. Methods: Retrospective epidemiological pilot study.