Media Coverage of Injury Prevalence in Tennis: a Content Analysis of Selected Online Newspapers

The health benefits of tennis have been well-described. However, like many other sports, playing tennis places athletes at risk of injury with a lot of physical and psychological effects. Thus, research has indicated the need for systematic studies to design useful strategies for the prevention and treatment of tennis-related injuries. Therefore, via a media-based analysis, this study aims to identify the most commonly reported tennis-related injuries and determine the extent of their news coverage in selected Nigerian online newspapers. Vanguard, Punch, The Nation, The Sun, and ThisDay were selected based on their popularity and online readership. A total of 113 tennis-related news articles were gathered via an internet-based search and subjected to content analysis. The articles were collected from January 2015 until December 2020 using “tennis” and “injury” as keywords. The findings showed that tennis-related injuries occur more often in lower extremities than upper extremities. Also, knee injury, hip injury, and elbow injury were the most commonly reported tennis-related injuries in the selected newspapers. Interestingly, these findings concur with previous clinical research on tennis-related injuries. Further analysis revealed that the selected newspapers paid much attention to tennis-related injuries. However, very few news stories reported official responses to tennis injuries. It was envisaged that this study could provide valuable insights on how to discover more efficient data for tennis injury analysis.

Comparison of Kinematic Sequences During Curveball and Fastball Baseball Pitches

Performance of a sequential proximal-to-distal transfer of segmental angular velocity (or Kinematic Sequence) is reported to reduce stress on musculoskeletal structures and thus the probability of injury while also maximizing ball velocity. However, there is limited investigation regarding the Kinematic Sequence of the five body segments (Pelvis, Trunk, Arm, Forearm, and Hand) among baseball pitchers. Some biomechanical and epidemiology studies have reported an association of the curveball with increased risk for elbow injury among youth pitchers. Kinematic Sequences with altered distal upper extremity (forearm and hand) sequences have been associated with greater elbow valgus and shoulder external rotation torques compared to other Kinematic Sequences. Identifying Kinematic Sequence patterns during curveball pitches may lead to improved understanding of injury susceptibility. This study investigated the Kinematic Sequence patterns (and their variability) during curveball pitching and compared them to the sequences identified during fastball pitches. Using 3D motion analyses, 14 baseball pitchers (four high school, eight college, and two professional) performed 5–6 curveball pitches and 12 pitchers also threw fastball pitches in a simulated bullpen session. Eleven different curveball Kinematic Sequences were identified and 8 fastball Kinematic Sequences. There was no significant variability in the number of Kinematic Sequences performed between the two pitch types, (Z = −0.431, p = 0.67). The median number of KSs performed by each group was 2.5. The most frequently used Kinematic Sequences for both pitch types were due to alteration in the sequence of the distal segments. The total percentage of Kinematic Sequences with altered distal segment sequencing for the curveball pitches was 49% and 43% for fastball pitches. Identifying the frequency of Kinematic Sequences with altered timing of hand and forearm peak velocities across pitch types may lead to a better understanding of the stresses that individual pitchers incur.

THE IMPROVEMENT OF PCA ALGORITHM AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE PREDICTION OF ELBOW KNEE JOINT INJURY

ABSTRACT Objective: There were many constraints produced by training time and joint injury to analyze the influence of the training intensity on the elbow and knee joints of athletes during the training process. Methods: An improved algorithm-based master component analysis (PCA) modeling method is proposed .1 4 4 athletes were selected in xxx and compared in three groups. Results: The improved PCA models for injury prediction were applied to athletes from group A, the traditional injury models for prediction were adopted for athletes from group B, and athletes from group C received the hospital physical examinations. The results showed that the accuracy of elbow injury in group A due to excessive exercise was 66.86%, the accuracy of hospital physical examination in group C was 67%, and the accuracy of the traditional algorithm in group B was 50%, finding that the accuracy of group A was obviously different from group B (P < 0.05). Compared with other injuries caused by excessive friction, the detection accuracy of knee injuries caused by excessive friction in group A was 62%, that in group B was 44%, and that in group C was 63%. There was a statistically marked difference between groups A and B (P < 0.05). Conclusions: A PCA - based model of athletes’ overtraining injury has high accuracy and adaptability, predicting elbow injury. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

BIOMECHANICAL SIMULATION OF RADIAL HEAD SUBLUXATION IN CADAVERIC PEDIATRIC ELBOWS

Background: Radial head subluxation, known as pulled elbow or Nursemaid’s elbow, is a common pediatric condition that occurs when a longitudinal traction force is applied to an elbow that is pronated and extended. Although the stability of the proximal radioulnar joint has been previously examined in cadaveric models, there are no current studies quantifying the biomechanics of nursemaid’s elbow. The purpose of our study was to demonstrate and quantify the axial traction force required to produce a nursemaid’s elbow in a pediatric cadaver specimen. Methods: Two fresh-frozen cadaveric elbows from a single 3 year-old male donor were dissected by a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon. An Instron 5944 testing machine with a 2 kN load cell was used to perform uniaxial testing. The radius and humerus were mounted to the Instron machine, and loaded in the axial direction with the elbow in full extension. Loading occurred at a rate of 10 mm/sec for 4 seconds, during which the force and actuator displacement were continuously recorded. The local instantaneous load and extension displacement at the time of subluxation were recorded, and data was synced with high-frame-rate video footage used to confirm the annular ligament subluxation. Results: The load to failure required to produce the nursemaid’s elbow injury in the first elbow was 31N, with a failure displacement of 4.6mm. The second elbow demonstrated a load to failure of 26N, with a failure displacement of 4.6mm. After subluxation, we reduced the annular ligament from the first specimen. The elbow was then re-tested and demonstrated a load to failure of 20N, with a failure displacement of 2.6mm. Conclusion: Axial traction applied to a pediatric cadaver specimen results in subluxation of the annular ligament into the radiocapitellar joint. The mean load to failure is 28.5N, and a lower load to failure was required to produce a recurrent subluxation in a previously injured specimen. Lower load for a recurrent subluxation may be attributed to damage on the annular ligament due to the first subluxation. [Figure: see text]