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Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of a late evening competition on sleep characteristics and perceived recovery in team-sport players using a validated self-applicable and portable polysomnographic device. Methods: Sixteen team-sport players (age: 25.4 [1.4] y; body mass index: 23.6 [0.5] kg/m2) completed the study. Objective and subjective sleep data were collected for 4 consecutive nights: 2 nights before (PRE2 and PRE1) and the 2 nights after an evening match (POST1), performed between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM. Total quality of recovery values were also collected in the morning. Results: A significantly delayed bedtime (P <.0001; η p 2 =.68 , large) was observed in the first night after the competition (2 h 29 min [1 h 15 min]) compared both to PRE2 (+88 min; P <.0001), PRE1 (+98 min; P <.0001), and POST1 (+100 min; P <.0001), and similar results were observed for wake-up time (P =.033; η p 2 =.39 , large): Players woke up significantly later in evening match (9 h 20 min [1 h 55 min]) compared with PRE2 (+85 min; P =.050) and POST1 (+85 min; P =.049). Conversely, total sleep time; sleep efficiency; sleep onset latency; wake after sleep onset; cortical arousals; N1, N2, N3, and REM (rapid eye movement) percentages; total quality of recovery values; and scores of subjective sleep quality did not vary among the 4 study nights. Conclusions: Team-sport players had delayed bedtime and wake-up time following an evening competition; however, sleep quality, duration, and subjective scores of recovery were not affected by the evening match. The delayed wake-up time seems to protect athletes' sleep efficiency/duration against the evening-match-induced delayed bedtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: We aimed to collect and analyse clinical and functional variables of patients undergoing rehabilitation after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), to identify the variables that influence the postoperative hospital length of stay (LOS). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 1,082 consecutive patients (746 females and 336 males) who underwent primary TKA and rehabilitation in our orthopaedic institute between January 2013 and July 2017. Clinical and anthropometric data were analysed using a multivariate linear regression model. Results: The average LOS was 5.08 ± 2.52 days in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and 12.67 ± 5.54 days in the Sports Rehabilitation Unit. Factors such as age, female sex and the presence of comorbidities were predictive of a longer stay. The presence of caregiver assistance at home was associated with shorter LOS. There was no evidence of a statistically significant positive association between body mass index and LOS. Conclusion: An in‑depth and early knowledge of factors that influence LOS may enable the multidisciplinary team to plan a patient‑tailored rehabilitation path and better allocate resources to maximise patients’ functional recovery, while reducing LOS and the overall cost of the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress fracture of the ulna is a rare overuse injury often arising from repetitive excessive forearm rotation. Here we report the first case of ulnar stress fracture in a female ice dancer. Diagnosis was made by history and physical examination, with the aid of imaging studies (plain x-ray, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging), and biomechanical analysis of forearm pronation and supination. Following identification and modification of the causal technical element, the ice dancer was able to continue training and competing without cessation of activity. Treatment was with a 30-day course of capacitively coupled bone stimulation to promote fracture healing, confirmed on radiography and magnetic resonance imaging. Such injuries to ice dancers may be prevented at the planning stage of technical elements in the dance program if coaches place more attention on the potentially deleterious effects of difficult positions the lifted dancer must sustain to reward points on the technical elements score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The incidence rate of muscle injuries and re-injuries in professional elite soccer players actually is very high and may interfere with the fate of a championship. Purpose. To investigate the effect of a two-tiered injury prevention programme on first injury and re-injury incidence in top level male soccer players. Study design Case Series Study. Muscle injuries and re-injuries sustained by a group of 36 soccer player of an italian elite soccer team have been collected during 2010-2011 season. These data have been compared with those collected during the previous season in the same elite soccer team. Results. A total of 64 injuries occurred, 36 (56%) of which during practice and 28 (44%) during matches. Muscle injuries accounted for 31.3% of the total (n=20), 70% (n=14) of which occurred during practice and 30% (n=6) during matches. Hamstring were the muscles most often injured (n=11) In all, 3 re-injuries occurred (15% of muscle injuries). No early re-injuries occurred. The incidence was 2.5 injuries/1000 hours and the burden was 37 days absence/1000 hours. Conclusions. Through the implementation of a group and personalized injury prevention program, we were able to reduce the total number of muscle injuries and days absent because of injury, in a team of elite soccer players, as compared to the previous season. Specifically, muscle injuries accounted for 31% of all injuries, as compared to 59% of all injuries sustained by the team during the previous season. The number of injuries/ 1000 hours of exposure was reduced by half (from 5.6 to 2.5) and the days absent/1000 hours fell from 106 to 37. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muscle strains are one of the most common sports-induced injuries. Depending on the severity and location of the muscle strain, different treatment approaches can be taken. This review highlights recent trends in conservative, pharmacologic, and surgical approaches to the management of sports-induced muscle injuries as presented at a symposium held during the 93rd Annual Congress of the Italian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology (SIOT) in Rome, Italy in November 2008. Conservative approaches now include growth factor therapy and administration of autologous platelet-rich plasma during the early postinjury period; however, its use is currently considered a doping violation under the World Anti-Doping Agency code, therefore restricting its use to nonelite sports people only. Topical anti-inflammatory therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy, since it allows local analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects while minimizing systemic adverse events. As the drug delivery system is critical to clinical effectiveness, the advent of a new delivery system for ketoprofen via a new-generation plaster with a marked increase in tissue penetration and a clinical efficacy comparable with that of oral administration, provides a viable option in the treatment of single sport lesions. Surgical treatment of muscle lesions is less common than conservative and topical therapies and indications are limited to more serious injuries. Presentations from SIOT 2008 show that advances in our understanding of the healing process and in conservative, pharmacologic, and surgical treatment approaches to the management of sports-induced muscle strains contribute to better clinical outcomes, faster healing, and a swifter return to normal training and activity levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence rate of muscle injuries and re-injuries in professional elite soccer players actually is very high and may interfere with the fate of a championship., Purpose: To investigate the effect of a two-tiered injury prevention programme on first injury and re-injury incidence in top level male soccer players. Study design., Case Series Study: Muscle injuries and re-injuries sustained by a group of 36 soccer player of an italian elite soccer team have been collected during 2010-2011 season. These data have been compared with those collected during the previous season in the same elite soccer team., Results: A total of 64 injuries occurred, 36 (56%) of which during practice and 28 (44%) during matches. Muscle injuries accounted for 31.3% of the total (n=20), 70% (n=14) of which occurred during practice and 30% (n=6) during matches. Hamstring were the muscles most often injured (n=11) In all, 3 re-injuries occurred (15% of muscle injuries). No early re-injuries occurred. The incidence was 2.5 injuries/1000 hours and the burden was 37 days absence/1000 hours., Conclusions: Through the implementation of a group and personalized injury prevention program, we were able to reduce the total number of muscle injuries and days absent because of injury, in a team of elite soccer players, as compared to the previous season. Specifically, muscle injuries accounted for 31% of all injuries, as compared to 59% of all injuries sustained by the team during the previous season. The number of injuries/1000 hours of exposure was reduced by half (from 5.6 to 2.5) and the days absent/1000 hours fell from 106 to 37.