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* BACKGROUND: Sport-specific training is an integral component of returning to sport following injury. Frameworks designed to guide sport-specific rehabilitation need to integrate and adapt to the specific context of elite sport. The control-chaos continuum (CCC) is a flexible framework originally designed for on-pitch rehabilitation in elite football (soccer). The concepts underpinning the CCC transfer to other elite sport rehabilitation environments. * CLINICAL QUESTION: How can practitioners and clinicians transfer the CCC to elite basketball, to support planning and return to sport? On-court rehabilitation is a critical sport-specific rehabilitation component of return to sport, yet there are no frameworks to guide practitioners when planning and delivering on-court rehabilitation. * KEY RESULTS: Based on our experience working in the National Basketball Association, we report how the CCC framework can apply to elite basketball. We focus on the design and delivery of progressive training in the presence of injury in this basketball-specific edition of the CCC. Given the challenges when quantifying "load" in basketball, we encourage practitioners and clinicians to consider the qualitative aspects of performance such as skill, sport-specific movement, contact, and decision making. * CLINICAL APPLICATION: The 5-phase framework describes training progression from high control, a return to on-court running, to high chaos, a return to "live" unrestricted basketball. The model can be adapted to both short- and long-term injuries based on injury and progression criteria. Strength and power "diagnostics" can be strategically implemented to enhance decision making throughout the return to sport continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to investigate, first, whether six weeks of intensive ballet dance exposure is associated with structural and clinical changes in the Achilles tendon; second, the importance of demographics, self-reported Achilles pain, and generalized joint hypermobility (GJH). Data were collected at baseline and at six weeks' follow-up, using Achilles tendon ultrasound tissue characteristics (UTC) as primary outcome (percentage distribution of echo-type I-- IV: type I = intact and aligned bundles, type II = discontinuous/wavy bundles, type III = fibrillar, and type IV = amorphous cells/fluid). Secondary outcomes included clinical signs of Achilles tendinopathy, Achilles tendon pain during single-leg heel raise, self-reported symptoms (VISA-A questionnaire), and GJH. Sixty-three ballet dancers (aged 18-41) participated. From baseline to follow-up, UTC echo-type I decreased significantly (β = -3.6, p = 0.001; 95% CI: -5.8; -1.4), whereas echotype II increased significantly (β = 3.2, p < 0.0001, 95% CI: 1.6;4.8). Furthermore, a significant effect of limb (left limb showed decreased echo-type I and increased echo-type III + IV) and sex (women showed decreased echo-type I and increased in type II) was found. No significant changes in the remaining secondary outcomes were found. Ballet dancers showed structural changes in UTC, corresponding to a decreased echo-type I distribution after six weeks of rehearsing for Swan Lake ballet. No changes in self-reported symptoms, clinical signs of Achilles tendinopathy, and single-leg heel raise test were seen from pre- to post-rehearsal. Thus, UTC changes in the Achilles tendon seem to appear earlier than clinical signs of tendinopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehabilitation is an important treatment for non‐insertional Achilles tendinopathy. To date, eccentric loading exercises (ECC) have been the predominant choice; however, mechanical evidence underlying their use remains unclear. Other protocols, such as heavy slow resistance loading (HSR), have shown comparable outcomes, but with less training time. This study aims to identify the effect of external loading and other variables that influence Achilles tendon (AT) force in ECC and HSR. Ground reaction force and kinematic data during ECC and HSR were collected from 18 healthy participants for four loading conditions. The moment arms of the AT were estimated from MRIs of each participant. AT force then was calculated using the ankle torque obtained from inverse dynamics. In the eccentric phase, the AT force was not larger than in the concentric phase in both ECC and HSR. Under the same external load, the force through the AT was larger in ECC with the knee bent than in HSR with the knee straight due to increased dorsiflexion angle of the ankle. Multivariate regression analysis showed that external load and maximum dorsiflexion angle were significant predictors of peak AT force in both standing and seated positions. Therefore, to increase the effectiveness of loading the AT, exercises should apply adequate external load and reach maximum dorsiflexion during the movement. Peak dorsiflexion angle affected the AT force in a standing position at twice the rate of a seated position, suggesting standing could prove more effective for the same external loading and peak dorsiflexion angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achilles and patella tendon pain is very common, but the precise nature of the complaint is difficult to diagnose and treat. The new imaging modality of ultrasound tissue characterisation (UTC) produces high resolution scans of the tendon, providing an in-depth analysis of the health of the tendon tissue. In the future this technology will become indispensable for preventing tendon overload, diagnosing tendon conditions and monitoring rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]