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The flexor pronator muscles (FPMs) have been reported to act as dynamic stabilizers against valgus forces in overhead-throwing athletes. Several studies have demonstrated the anatomic, biomechanical, and clinical effects of the FPMs. However, no studies have investigated the in vivo kinematics of the FPMs against the valgus forces on the elbow. This study aimed to clarify the clinical contribution of the FPMs as dynamic stabilizers in medial ulnar collateral ligament (MUCL) insufficiency. Eighteen baseball players with MUCL injury participated in this study. The elbow was flexed to 90°, and the forearm was placed in the supinated position. Manual valgus stress was applied to the elbow joint until maximal shoulder external rotation was achieved. The width of the ulnohumeral joint space was measured using ultrasonography, and any changes in medial elbow pain were recorded before and after isometric forearm pronation. All the subjects had MUCL tenderness and felt medial elbow pain when elbow valgus stress was applied. The width of the medial joint space was significantly larger on the injured side than on the healthy side (5.1 ± 1.0 mm vs. 3.2 ± 1.0 mm) with elbow valgus stress. During isometric forearm pronation, the width of the medial joint space was significantly decreased (3.1 ± 0.9 mm vs. 2.6 ± 1.0 mm) and medial elbow pain had completely diminished. Isometric forearm pronation reduces valgus stress–induced widening of the medial joint space and medial elbow pain in patients with MUCL insufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arthroscopic debridement for elbow osteoarthritis has been widely used as a minimally invasive treatment; however, in some cases, it can be a technically demanding procedure, such as in patients with severe osteoarthritis with large spur formation and severe synovitis. The anterocentral transbrachialis portal is a recently developed portal for elbow arthroscopy, which allows easy and convenient access to the anterior compartment for sufficient debridement. This report describes in detail the anterocentral transbrachialis portal and its usefulness for debridement of the elbow joint in osteoarthritis. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several guidelines for the prevention of throwing injuries recommend a sufficiently long off-season; however, few studies providing scientific evidence to support these recommendations exist. Our study aimed to clarify the association between off-season duration and throwing elbow injuries among elementary school–aged baseball players. This study enrolled 680 elementary school–aged baseball players who underwent medical checkups. The experience with elbow pain and the off-season duration were investigated via the administration of a self-completed questionnaire. Ultrasonographic assessment of the elbow joint was performed on the day of the medical checkup to assess for morphologic abnormalities. The prevalence of elbow pain and morphologic abnormalities of the medial epicondyle (medial epicondyle lesions) was significantly decreased when the subjects' off-season duration was longer. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk of elbow pain was significantly lower in the group whose off-season lasted 1 to 2 months (odds ratio [OR], 0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15-0.62; P =.0006) and in the group whose off-season lasted longer than 2 months (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.37-0.95; P =.0316). The risk of medial epicondyle lesions was also significantly lower in the group whose off-season lasted 1 to 2 months (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.22-0.67; P =.0005) and in the group whose off-season lasted longer than 2 months (OR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.23-0.56; P <.0001). On the contrary, no significant correlation was found between capitellar osteochondritis dissecans and off-season duration. Off-season duration has a significant correlation with elbow pain and morphologic abnormalities of the medial elbow joint in elementary school–aged baseball players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traceability is important knowledge for improving the artifacts of software and systems and processes related to them. Even in a single system, various kinds of artifacts exist. Various kinds of processes also exist, and each of them relates to different kinds of artifacts. Traceability over them has thus large diversity. In addition, developers in each process have different types of purposes to improve their artifacts and process. Research results in traceability have to be categorized and analyzed so that such a developer can choose one of them to achieve his/her purposes. In this paper, we report on the results of Systematic Literature Review (SLR) related to software and systems traceability. Our SLR is preliminary one because we only analyzed articles in ACM digital library and IEEE computer society digital library. We found several interesting trends in traceability research. For example, researches related to creating or maintaining traceability are larger than those related to using it or thinking its strategy. Various kinds of traceability purposes are addressed or assumed in many researches, but some researches do not specify purposes. Purposes related to changes and updates are dominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]