Here are eight new studies impacting sports medicine. These studies were published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine unless otherwise noted.
1. PRP Not Effective for Treating Achilles Tendon Ruptures. Thirty patients with Achilles tendon ruptures participated in the study. Sixteen patients were injected with 10 mL of PRP and 14 were not. The mechanical variables show a large degree of variation between the patients that cannot be explained by measuring error.
There was no significant difference between the groups in elasticity modulus or heel raise index. The Achilles Tendon Total Rupture Score was lower in the PRP group.
2. NFL Players Often Return-to-Play After Lumbar Discectomy. National Football League linemen return-to-play rates after lumbar discectomy 85.7 percent of the time, and those who are treated surgically have superior outcomes to those who are treated nonoperatively. In all, 66 linemen (36 offensive and 30 defensive) were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and 52 were treated surgically. The players had an average body mass index of 35.4 and was approximately 27.6 years old.
Of the players treated surgically, 80.8 percent successfully returned to play, while 63.5 percent became starters after treatment. Among these players, 13.5 percent required revision decompression and 85.7 percent successfully returned to play. Only 2.86 percent of the players who received nonoperative intervention returned to play.
3. PRP Enhances ACL Cell Viability and Function In Vitro. For the study, researchers obtained fresh blood and ACL remnants from four patients undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery. Platelet-poor plasma and platelet-rich plasma were prepared from the samples with various growths concentration factors.
Researchers found that the concentration of the main growth factors were higher in the platelet-rich clot than the platelet-poor clot. The in vitro treatment of ACL cells with platelet-rich clot releasate resulted in a significant increase in cell number, and the total collagen production by the platelet-rich clot releasate-treated cells was significantly higher because of the enhanced cell proliferation.
There was no significant effect of the platelet-rich clot releasate treatment on gene expression for type-I collagen. However, type-III collagen was significantly enhanced, according to the report. The study was published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
4. Osteochondral Grafts May Be Safe for Young Knee Replacement Patients. Harvesting osteochondral grafts may not have adverse effects on donor knee function in young athletes after undergoing osteochondral autograft transplantation for capitellar osteochondritis dissecans. Twelve young patients with severe osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum were treated with osteochondral autograft transplantation from the contralateral knee joint, and 10 of those patients were found pain-free at the three-month follow-up. None of the patients had knee joint effusion, and 10 of the patients gained 100 points on the Lysholm score.
The muscle power of the knee extensor in eight patients showed reduced muscle strength at the three-month follow-up. Eleven patients reached preoperative knee extensor muscle strength at the 12-month follow-ups. None of the patients had knee osteoarthritis.
5. Surgical Treatment for Hip Dislocation Effective for Professional Athletes. Researchers studied 22 professional male athletes who received surgical treatment for hip dislocation. While several variables were treated, the primary outcome variable was return to professional sports.
At the 45-month follow-up, 21 of the patients were still competing professionally and 19 were at their previous level of play. Of these patients, 18 were satisfied with their hip surgery and 19 were satisfied with their current sports ability. The mean activity level was 7.6 on the Hip Sports Activity Scale, and pain levels were at 1.8 on the visual analog scale during sporting activities.
6. Double-Bundle PCL Reconstruction Produces Good Outcomes. Researchers studied 25 cases of single-bundle reconstruction and 28 cases of double-bundle reconstruction using Achilles tendon allograft with a minimum two-year follow-up. The evaluation compared range of motion, stability and International Knee Documentation Committee scores.
There was no difference in range of motion and IKDC subjective knee evaluation between the two groups at the last follow-up. There was no preoperative difference in the posterior instability between the groups, but there was a significant difference at the last follow-up. On the IKDC knee examination form, the double-bundle reconstruction group presented better results in grade distribution.
7. Study: MRI Doesn't Effectively Predict Reparability of Meniscal Tears. Researchers examined patients with meniscal tears who were either treated with repair or meniscectomy. Two senior musculoskeletal radiologists blindly reviewed the preoperative MRI of the 119 menical tears independently and graded the images based on established arthroscopic criteria.
The radiologists correctly estimated reparability 58 percent and 62.7 percent of the time. The two agreed 73.7 percent of the time on which knees were reparable.
8. PRFM Makes Little Long-Term Difference When Performing Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair. Platelet-rich fibrin matrix could be an effective treatment for medium rotator cuff tears and has possible benefits for treating massive rotator cuff tears. In all, 88 patients were randomly assigned to receive arthroscopic rotator cuff repair without or with augmentation with autologus platelet-rich fibrin matrix. After a 16-month follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference in total Constant score between the two groups. There was also no statistically significant difference in MRI tendon score between the two groups.
1. PRP Not Effective for Treating Achilles Tendon Ruptures. Thirty patients with Achilles tendon ruptures participated in the study. Sixteen patients were injected with 10 mL of PRP and 14 were not. The mechanical variables show a large degree of variation between the patients that cannot be explained by measuring error.
There was no significant difference between the groups in elasticity modulus or heel raise index. The Achilles Tendon Total Rupture Score was lower in the PRP group.
2. NFL Players Often Return-to-Play After Lumbar Discectomy. National Football League linemen return-to-play rates after lumbar discectomy 85.7 percent of the time, and those who are treated surgically have superior outcomes to those who are treated nonoperatively. In all, 66 linemen (36 offensive and 30 defensive) were diagnosed with lumbar disc herniation and 52 were treated surgically. The players had an average body mass index of 35.4 and was approximately 27.6 years old.
Of the players treated surgically, 80.8 percent successfully returned to play, while 63.5 percent became starters after treatment. Among these players, 13.5 percent required revision decompression and 85.7 percent successfully returned to play. Only 2.86 percent of the players who received nonoperative intervention returned to play.
3. PRP Enhances ACL Cell Viability and Function In Vitro. For the study, researchers obtained fresh blood and ACL remnants from four patients undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery. Platelet-poor plasma and platelet-rich plasma were prepared from the samples with various growths concentration factors.
Researchers found that the concentration of the main growth factors were higher in the platelet-rich clot than the platelet-poor clot. The in vitro treatment of ACL cells with platelet-rich clot releasate resulted in a significant increase in cell number, and the total collagen production by the platelet-rich clot releasate-treated cells was significantly higher because of the enhanced cell proliferation.
There was no significant effect of the platelet-rich clot releasate treatment on gene expression for type-I collagen. However, type-III collagen was significantly enhanced, according to the report. The study was published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
4. Osteochondral Grafts May Be Safe for Young Knee Replacement Patients. Harvesting osteochondral grafts may not have adverse effects on donor knee function in young athletes after undergoing osteochondral autograft transplantation for capitellar osteochondritis dissecans. Twelve young patients with severe osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum were treated with osteochondral autograft transplantation from the contralateral knee joint, and 10 of those patients were found pain-free at the three-month follow-up. None of the patients had knee joint effusion, and 10 of the patients gained 100 points on the Lysholm score.
The muscle power of the knee extensor in eight patients showed reduced muscle strength at the three-month follow-up. Eleven patients reached preoperative knee extensor muscle strength at the 12-month follow-ups. None of the patients had knee osteoarthritis.
5. Surgical Treatment for Hip Dislocation Effective for Professional Athletes. Researchers studied 22 professional male athletes who received surgical treatment for hip dislocation. While several variables were treated, the primary outcome variable was return to professional sports.
At the 45-month follow-up, 21 of the patients were still competing professionally and 19 were at their previous level of play. Of these patients, 18 were satisfied with their hip surgery and 19 were satisfied with their current sports ability. The mean activity level was 7.6 on the Hip Sports Activity Scale, and pain levels were at 1.8 on the visual analog scale during sporting activities.
6. Double-Bundle PCL Reconstruction Produces Good Outcomes. Researchers studied 25 cases of single-bundle reconstruction and 28 cases of double-bundle reconstruction using Achilles tendon allograft with a minimum two-year follow-up. The evaluation compared range of motion, stability and International Knee Documentation Committee scores.
There was no difference in range of motion and IKDC subjective knee evaluation between the two groups at the last follow-up. There was no preoperative difference in the posterior instability between the groups, but there was a significant difference at the last follow-up. On the IKDC knee examination form, the double-bundle reconstruction group presented better results in grade distribution.
7. Study: MRI Doesn't Effectively Predict Reparability of Meniscal Tears. Researchers examined patients with meniscal tears who were either treated with repair or meniscectomy. Two senior musculoskeletal radiologists blindly reviewed the preoperative MRI of the 119 menical tears independently and graded the images based on established arthroscopic criteria.
The radiologists correctly estimated reparability 58 percent and 62.7 percent of the time. The two agreed 73.7 percent of the time on which knees were reparable.
8. PRFM Makes Little Long-Term Difference When Performing Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair. Platelet-rich fibrin matrix could be an effective treatment for medium rotator cuff tears and has possible benefits for treating massive rotator cuff tears. In all, 88 patients were randomly assigned to receive arthroscopic rotator cuff repair without or with augmentation with autologus platelet-rich fibrin matrix. After a 16-month follow-up, there was no statistically significant difference in total Constant score between the two groups. There was also no statistically significant difference in MRI tendon score between the two groups.