There is a well-documented disparity in the methods we use to determine readiness to return to sport in patients with lower versus upper body injuries. Patients who have undergone either the Latarjet or Bankart surgical procedures to correct anterior shoulder instability will complete a collection of tests of muscular strength, endurance and power for the shoulder at six months post-operative.  … Read More

While there are many tests of upper body strength, power and endurance, the consistency in scoring (reliability) has not been established when tests are combined as a multi-test battery.  Validation of these tests is required in healthy controls prior to use in patient populations. Healthy individuals will be asked to complete two testing sessions separated by one week where they … Read More

There are multiple surgical procedures that can be used to correct shoulder instability yet the practice patterns of Canadian orthopaedic surgeons are not well defined.  This survey study will document how clinical practices of orthopaedic surgeons vary in their management of a patient with shoulder instability. An electronic survey will be distributed to active members of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association … Read More

Patients adopt movement strategies to avoid using their ACL reconstructed knee, and these patterns persist for months (and years) after their ACL reconstruction.  These patterns act to shield the knee, and may limit the ability of rehabilitation exercises to target muscles that are weakened following ACL injury and reconstruction. Patients are asked to attend two appointments where they will complete … Read More

Certain performance tests favor individuals of either high or low body mass.  Statistical methods can be used to remove the effect that body mass has on measures of muscular strength, that may allow for an “apples-to-apples” comparison between athletes of differing body sizes. 181 AAA hockey players completed a Nordic hamstring curl on the NordBord hamstring dynamometer and their height, … Read More

The assessment of hamstring muscle strength can be an important component of return to sport assessment in patients who have had a hamstring graft or those following hamstring strain injury.  This study evaluated three different pieces of equipment of varying price points to compare scores between the machines and determine how consistent scores are between testers and over time. Healthy … Read More

Equipment to determine hamstring strength can be expensive and is unlikely to be widely adopted within physiotherapy practices.  This study used accelerometers to define when participants “fell” (break angle) when completing a Nordic hamstring curl, and will attempt to create an equation based on participant height, weight and break angle to estimate hamstring strength with their iPhone. 180 hockey players … Read More

Despite considerable research into effective return to play assessment for patients following ACL reconstruction, few tests provide the ability to predict re-injury and many require specialized equipment that is uncommon in rehabilitation clinics.  There has been a shift from tests that simply measure performance (i.e. how far you can hop on the injured or uninjured leg), to those that consider … Read More

Prior studies have highlighted how orthopaedic surgeons may differ from each other in their management of patients with ACL injury.  As new evidence emerges, it is important to characterize how trends in patient management shift with time. An electronic survey will be distributed to active members of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association that have treated at least one patient in the … Read More

Following an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture and surgery, individuals typically decrease the volume of physical activity they participate in.  Standard rehabilitation programs try to increase muscle strength and range of motion at the joint, but it is unknown how an individual’s cardiorespiratory fitness is affected by this injury.  This study will allow for cardiorespiratory fitness to be evaluated in … Read More