PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to report the functional outcomes of young active soccer players with lumbar spondylolysis undergoing conservative treatment.

METHODS

Between 2002 and 2004, all soccer players diagnosed with spondylolysis with a minimum 2-year follow-up were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were treated nonoperatively with cessation of sports activity and rehabilitation for 3 months. The rehabilitation protocol was identical for all patients and emphasized strengthening of abdominal muscles, stretching of the hamstrings, "core" stability exercises, and trunk rotational movements in a pain-free basis. Those patients with pain at rest and with daily life activities were also treated with a thoracolumbar orthosis. Symptomatic patients or those with positive SPECT were not allowed to return to sports and continued the rehabilitation protocol for 3 more months.

RESULTS

The mean time of cessation of sports activity was 3.9 months (SD 0.8) and 5.2 months (SD 2.1) for a complete return to sports. At the 2-year follow-up, 28 patients (82%) obtained excellent results, 4 (12%) good results, 1 patient (3%) a fair result, and 1 patient (3%) a poor result.

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative treatment of spondylolysis in young soccer players with cessation of sports and rehabilitation, with or without thoracolumbar orthosis, was associated with excellent functional results in terms of return to sports and level of achievable physical activity.

SYR 2013 Accepted Poster abstracts: 1. Benefits of Yoga as a Wellness Practice in a Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Care Setting: If You Build It, Will They Come? 2. Yoga-based Psychotherapy Group With Urban Youth Exposed to Trauma. 3. Embodied Health: The Effects of a Mind�Body Course for Medical Students. 4. Interoceptive Awareness and Vegetable Intake After a Yoga and Stress Management Intervention. 5. Yoga Reduces Performance Anxiety in Adolescent Musicians. 6. Designing and Implementing a Therapeutic Yoga Program for Older Women With Knee Osteoarthritis. 7. Yoga and Life Skills Eating Disorder Prevention Among 5th Grade Females: A Controlled Trial. 8. A Randomized, Controlled Trial Comparing the Impact of Yoga and Physical Education on the Emotional and Behavioral Functioning of Middle School Children. 9. Feasibility of a Multisite, Community based Randomized Study of Yoga and Wellness Education for Women With Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy. 10. A Delphi Study for the Development of Protocol Guidelines for Yoga Interventions in Mental Health. 11. Impact Investigation of Breathwalk Daily Practice: Canada�India Collaborative Study. 12. Yoga Improves Distress, Fatigue, and Insomnia in Older Veteran Cancer Survivors: Results of a Pilot Study. 13. Assessment of Kundalini Mantra and Meditation as an Adjunctive Treatment With Mental Health Consumers. 14. Kundalini Yoga Therapy Versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Co-Occurring Mood Disorder. 15. Baseline Differences in Women Versus Men Initiating Yoga Programs to Aid Smoking Cessation: Quitting in Balance Versus QuitStrong. 16. Pranayam Practice: Impact on Focus and Everyday Life of Work and Relationships. 17. Participation in a Tailored Yoga Program is Associated With Improved Physical Health in Persons With Arthritis. 18. Effects of Yoga on Blood Pressure: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. 19. A Quasi-experimental Trial of a Yoga based Intervention to Reduce Stress and Promote Health and Well-being Among Middle School Educators. 20. A Systematic Review of Yoga-based Interventions for Objective and Subjective Balance Measures. 21. Disparities in Yoga Use: A Multivariate Analysis of 2007 National Health Interview Survey Data. 22. Implementing Yoga Therapy Adapted for Older Veterans Who Are Cancer Survivors. 23. Randomized, Controlled Trial of Yoga for Women With Major Depressive Disorder: Decreased Ruminations as Potential Mechanism for Effects on Depression? 24. Yoga Beyond the Metropolis: A Yoga Telehealth Program for Veterans. 25. Yoga Practice Frequency, Relationship Maintenance Behaviors, and the Potential Mediating Role of Relationally Interdependent Cognition. 26. Effects of Medical Yoga in Quality of Life, Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate in Patients With Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation. 27. Yoga During School May Promote Emotion Regulation Capacity in Adolescents: A Group Randomized, Controlled Study. 28. Integrated Yoga Therapy in a Single Session as a Stress Management Technique in Comparison With Other Techniques. 29. Effects of a Classroom-based Yoga Intervention on Stress and Attention in Second and Third Grade Students. 30. Improving Memory, Attention, and Executive Function in Older Adults with Yoga Therapy. 31. Reasons for Starting and Continuing Yoga. 32. Yoga and Stress Management May Buffer Against Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior Increases in College Freshmen. 33. Whole-systems Ayurveda and Yoga Therapy for Obesity: Outcomes of a Pilot Study. 34. Women�s Phenomenological Experiences of Exercise, Breathing, and the Body During Yoga for Smoking Cessation Treatment. 35. Mindfulness as a Tool for Trauma Recovery: Examination of a Gender-responsive Trauma-informed Integrative Mindfulness Program for Female Inmates. 36. Yoga After Stroke Leads to Multiple Physical Improvements. 37. Tele-Yoga in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Heart Failure: A Mixed-methods Study of Feasibility, Acceptability, and Safety. 38. Effects of an Ashtanga Yoga-based Health and Wellness Curriculum on Physical and Emotional Well-being, Engagement Toward School, and Academic Performance of K-6 Students. 39. Yoga as a Facilitator for Participation Following an 8-week Yoga for Individuals With Chronic Stroke. 40. Standardization of Design and Reporting of Yoga Interventions for Musculoskeletal Conditions: A Delphi Approach. 41. Creating S.P.A.C.E. Through Yoga: Africa Yoga Project Teachers Promote Personal Transformation, Peaceful Communities, and Purpose-filled Service.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

A torn quadriceps tendon is an exceptional finding generally observed after high-energy knee trauma in patients over 40 who present a sprain-like syndrome or after low-energy trauma in elderly subjects who experience knee instability. We reviewed a series of 47 cases of traumatic quadriceps tendon tears treated between 1976 and 1996 in order to evaluate outcome after surgical repair.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Clinical diagnosis was the rule. Forty-two patients, mean age 55 years (range 17-92) were treated for tears of one or both quadriceps tendons subsequent to low-energy trauma (40 tears) or high-energy trauma in younger subjects. The diagnosis was established early in all cases except eight (diagnosis at three weeks to one year). Surgical repair was performed in all cases except one. After surgery, the knee was either immobilized with a plaster cast or held in a removable splint to allow early mobilization.

RESULTS

Average time to recovery compatible with daily life or occupational activities was four months. Recovery was not complete at this time. Long-term follow-up revealed that complete recovery with very good or good subjective results was achieved in 90% of the cases. Complete joint motion and normal quadriceps force was achieved in 80% of the cases. Patients who started rehabilitation exercises early generally achieved less satisfactory results although no significant correlation was identified with objective clinical variables.

DISCUSSION

Quadriceps tendon tear is a clinical diagnosis which does not require complementary exploration for confirmation. Plain x-rays may be useful to identify associated bony lesions and specific signs of tendon tears. Early surgical repair followed by complete immobilization appears to be preferable for functional recovery allowing better recovery of muscle force without compromising flexion.

New recovery pathways to improve and sustain strength and functional outcomes in the veteran amputee population are required to reduce the onset of comorbidities with aging. To date, no comprehensive study has quantified key gait parameters with clinically applied tests and measured lower limb strength in this cohort and their relationship to potential indicators of onset of musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. This study fills this gap. ADVANCE Study cohorts of unilateral transtibial (UTT; n = 12) and unilateral transfemoral (UTF; n = 10) veteran amputees were matched to military able-bodied controls (n = 10). Participants were tested using 3D motion capture system and force plates permitting analysis of the spatial-temporal intact knee joint kinetic parameters during a 6-minute walking test. An isokinetic dynamometer measured peak knee extension/flexion isometric torque and Hamstring:Quadriceps (H:Q) ratio. UTT amputees displayed a H:Q torque ratio below recommended, an imbalance that may alter their gait functionality within their intact limb. The intact knee extension-flexion torques across the cohorts did not display significant differences, suggesting the extensive military rehabilitation outcomes remained successful 12.5 years post injury. Six-minute walk test (6MWT) analysis demonstrated a similar walking speed and total distance covered between controls and UTT amputees. However, significantly lower values were found for UTF amputees. Ground reaction forces during weight acceptance on the intact side showed no significant differences between cohorts. However, at mid-support and push-off both injured cohorts displayed significantly greater forces in the last 30 s of the 6MWT, indicating kinetic asymmetries. The literature suggests that such differences may indicate unhealthy knee joints. This biomechanical study suggests that the U.K. veteran population conserved exceptional strength levels in their intact limb. However, submaximal exercises representing activities of daily living revealed focus for improvement in amputee gait. This highlights that individualized rehabilitation protocols and tools concentrating on prolonging patient quality of life may delay the early onset of MSK comorbidities.

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