This week we discuss strength standards for fast vs slow linear sprinting speed in American football players. There is a known correlation between lower extremity strength/power and sprinting speed, so the authors aimed to find "how strong is strong enough?" They split a team of collegiate American football players into two groups based on body mass, with those above the median for the group classified as "heavy" and those below the median are "light." They recorded 40 yard dash time, 1RM back squat, 1RM hang clean, broad jump, and vertical jump height; and analyzed the data to determine a threshold for each of the 4 strength/power metrics which correctly classified athletes as either "slow" or "fast." Again, they determined slow vs fast relative to the group with the median 40 yard dash time being the cut-off score. In their discussion, they assert "optimal thresholds are likely to be sex-specific, population-specific, and training age specific, at a minimum." Having an understanding of which key performance indicators are relevant for the population you are working with is necessary to then know which strength/power standards are appropriate for your target population. This is just one article that can exist in a large collection of research studying "how strong is strong enough?"

The abstract can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37815260/

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This week we discuss sacral stress fractures in athletes. There are two distinct types of sacral stress fractures: fatigue and insufficiency. Fatigue fractures are typically seen in young athletes and results from abnormal stress on a normal bone, while Insufficiency fractures are typically seen in older adults with normal stress to abnormal bone. These definitions feel like unnecessary distinctions, as there must be some insufficiency present in the sacrum for the sacrum to be the site of a stress fracture in a young athlete, rather than a more typical location further down the extremities. Sacral stress fractures are rare, with there only being 53 identified in 11 years of records examined in this paper. Patients primarily present with diffuse low back/lumbosacral pain which is sudden onset of high pain which is provoke by walking/running, although standing and sitting both aggravate pain as well. Most young athletes with sacral stress fracture are runners and are misdiagnosed prior to MRI confirmation of sacral stress fracture. About half of the runners in this cohort returned to prior levels of running, and few returned to prior level of peformance.

The abstract can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37542387/

As always, if you enjoy what you hear, be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platform and on Instagram @readingrehabpod. If you have any article recommendations be sure to send them our way!

This week we discuss telerehabilitation vs in perosn rehab for chronic nonoperative shoulder pain. In this RCT, the digital health group performs 20 minute exercise sessions 3 times per week and is monitored via inertial units which give real time biofeedback. Physical therapists provide education through short written articles that can be accessed via an app, they also text and phone/video call to answer questions and ensure adherence. The in person group received 30 minute sessions of traditional physical therapy twice per week. After 8 weeks there was no significant difference their primary outcome measure, the QuickDASH. There were a lot of directions we took this article in the podcast, so be sure to check it out!

The abstract can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37490337/

As always, if you enjoy what you hear, be sure to follow us on your favorite podcast platform and on Instagram @readingrehabpod. If you have any article recommendations be sure to send them our way!