Effects of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction on neuromuscular tensiomyographic characteristics of the lower extremity in competitive male soccer players

Female collegiate athletes have been reported to have a higher rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury compared to male collegiate athletes. This finding has spawned a branch of research focused on understanding and preventing this injury pattern. To determine if the trends reported in 1994 have continued. Descriptive epidemiology study. The National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System database was reviewed for all data relating to men's and women's basketball and soccer anterior cruciate ligament injuries for 1990 to 2002. No significant difference was seen in basketball comparing frequency of contact versus noncontact injuries between men (70.1%) and women (75.7%). Male basketball players sustained 37 contact injuries and 78 noncontact injuries. Female basketball players sustained 100 contact injuries and 305 noncontact injuries. In soccer, there was a significant difference in frequency of injury for male (49.6%) and female (58.3%) athletes when comparing contact and noncontact injuries (chi2=4.1, P<.05). Male soccer players sustained 72 contact injuries and 66 noncontact injuries. Female soccer players sustained 115 contact injuries and 161 noncontact injuries. The magnitude of the difference in injury rates between male and female basketball players (0.32-0.21, P=.93) remained constant, whereas the magnitude of the difference in the rate of injuries between male and female soccer players (0.16-0.21, P=.08) widened. Comparing injury within gender by sport, soccer players consistently sustained more anterior cruciate ligament injuries than did basketball players. The rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury for male soccer players was 0.11 compared to 0.08 for male basketball players (P=.002). The rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury for female soccer players was 0.33 and for female basketball players was 0.29 (P=.04). The rates for all anterior cruciate ligament injuries for women were statistically significantly higher (P<.01) than the rates for all anterior cruciate ligament injuries for men, regardless of the sport. In soccer, the rate of all anterior cruciate ligament injuries across the 13 years for male soccer players significantly decreased (P=.02), whereas it remained constant for female players. In this sample, the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury, regardless of mechanism of injury, continues to be significantly higher for female collegiate athletes than for male collegiate athletes in both soccer and basketball. Despite vast attention to the discrepancy between anterior cruciate ligament injury rates between men and women, these differences continue to exist in collegiate basketball and soccer players. Also demonstrated is that although the rate of injury for women is higher than for men, the actual rate of injury remains low and should not be a deterrent to participation in sports.

Tensiomyography (TMG) is a relatively novel technique to assess muscle mechanical response based on radial muscle belly displacement consecutive to a single electrical stimulus. Although intra-session reliability has been found to be good, inter-rater reliability and the influence of sensor repositioning and electrodes placement on TMG measurements is unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the inter-rater reliability of vastus medialis muscle contractile property measurements obtained with TMG as well as the effect of inter-electrode distance (IED). Five contractile parameters were analyzed from vastus medialis muscle belly displacement-time curves: maximal displacement (Dm), contraction time (Tc), sustain time (Ts), delay time (Td), and half-relaxation time (Tr). The inter-rater reliability and IED effect on these measurements were evaluated in 18 subjects. Intra-class correlation coefficients, standard errors of measurement, Bland and Altman systematic bias and random error as well as coefficient of variations were used as measures of reliability. Overall, a good to excellent inter-rater reliability was found for all contractile parameters, except Tr, which showed insufficient reliability. Alterations in IED significantly affected Dm with a trend for all the other parameters. The present results legitimate the use of TMG for the assessment of vastus medialis muscle contractile properties, particularly for Dm and Tc. It is recommended to avoid Tr quantification and IED modifications during multiple TMG measurements.