Abstract
many anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) prevention programs have been published, few have achieved significant reductions in injury rates and improvements in athletic performance indices; both of which may increase compliance and motivation of athletes to participate. A supervised neuromuscular retraining program (18 sessions) was developed, aimed at achieving both of these objectives. The changes in neuromuscular indices were measured after training in 1000 female athletes aged 13–18 years, and the noncontact ACL injury rate in 700 of these trained athletes was compared with that of 1120 control athletes. There were significant improvements in the drop-jump test, (p < 0.0001, effect size [ES] 0.97), the single-leg triple crossover hop (p < 0.0001, ES 0.47), the t-test (p < 0.0001, ES 0.64), the multi-stage fitness test (p < 0.0001, ES 0.57), hamstring strength (p < 0.0001), and quadriceps strength (p < 0.01). The trained athletes had a significant reduction in the noncontact ACL injury incidence rate compared with the controls (1 ACL injury in 36,724 athlete-exposures [0.03] and 13 ACL injuries in 61,244 exposures [0.21], respectively, p = 0.03). The neuromuscular retraining program was effective in reducing noncontact ACL injury rate and improving athletic performance indicators. OPEN ACCESS
Sports 2015, 3 57 Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament; neuromuscular retraining; noncontact ACL injury; female athlete 1. Introduction It is well known that adolescent female athletes have a 4- to 8-fold higher incidence of sustaining a complete noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury compared with male athletes participating in the same sport or activity [1–3]. A complete ACL injury is indicated by 5 mm or more of increased anteroposterior tibial displacement on an instrumented or clinical Lachman test and a fully positive pivot shift test (grade 2 or 3 on a 0–3 point scale). At least two-thirds of ACL tears are noncontact in nature and occur when an athlete is cutting, pivoting, accelerating, decelerating, or landing from a jump [4–6]. The short- and long-term consequences of ACL injuries in young athletes include high cost of medical treatment, a heightened risk of future reinjuries (to both knee joints), psychological morbidity, lost productivity in work or school, potential for lost scholarship funding, and premature osteoarthritis [7–10]. Over the past 20 years, many ACL injury prevention programs have been developed in an effort to decrease the injury rate in female athletes [11,12]. There is tremendous variation among these programs in regard to the components that comprise the intervention, the duration and intensity of training, supervision and compliance tracking, and when training takes place (pre-season or within-season). Consensus statements from research retreats and committees agree that the ideal ACL-injury prevention program remains unclear in terms of exercise components, amount of supervision required, and timing due to the complex problem of the injury itself [13–16]. Reviews of published programs have suggested that plyometric and strengthening components are important components, and that the favorable effects of training are most pronounced in female soccer players under 18 years of age [17–21]. Investigators from the sixth ACL Research Retreat recommended that ACL injury prevention programs should be evaluated to determine their effect on both noncontact ACL injuries and athletic performance indices [15]. It has been hypothesized that programs that have a positive influence on both injury rate reduction and performance enhancement will have better compliance with training [15]. This
of age [17–21]. Investigators from the sixth ACL Research Retreat recommended that ACL injury prevention programs should be evaluated to determine their effect on both noncontact ACL injuries and athletic performance indices [15]. It has been hypothesized that programs that have a positive influence on both injury rate reduction and performance enhancement will have better compliance with training [15]. This is due to the perception that convincing athletes, parents, coaches, and others of the necessity for injury prevention training may be more successful if evidence exists that athletic performance will also benefit. Although several programs have reported ACL injury incidence data, few have undergone a rigorous assessment of their ability to improve athletic performance indices. A 6-week, 18-session supervised ACL injury prevention program was developed and first described in 1996 [22]. Subsequently, this program was shown to significantly reduce the incidence of noncontact ACL injuries in young female athletes [23]. A group of 366 athletes that completed training had 17,222 athlete-exposures (AE) and 0 noncontact ACL injuries. A control group of 463 athletes that did not undergo training had 23,138 AE and five noncontact ACL injuries (incidence rate, 0.022, p < 0.05). Studies in relatively small numbers of athletes that completed this training program (34 volleyball players [24], 57 basketball players [25], 62 soccer players [26]), demonstrated significant improvements in athletic indices such as estimated VO 2max [24–26], agility and sprint
Sports 2015, 3 58 tests [26], a sit-up test [24], and vertical jump tests [24,26]. There were also improvements in overall lower limb alignment on landing during a video drop-jump in these athletes [24–26]. As our experience continued to grow with this training program, we wished to determine if these same goals (significant decrease in ACL injury rates and increase in athletic performance indices) would be met in a larger group of athletes. The goal of this investigation was to determine, in a group of 1000 female adolescent athletes, if significant improvements occurred after training in tests that measured neuromuscular and athletic indices such as lower limb alignment on a drop-jump, distance and limb symmetry on single-leg hop tests, agility, speed, lower limb muscle strength, and estimated VO 2max. The second goal was to determine noncontact ACL injury rates in a subset of 700 of the trained athletes compared with 1120 control athletes matched for age, sport, and body mass index. We hypothesized that this program would significantly improve neuromuscular and athletic performance indicators and significantly decrease the risk of noncontact ACL injuries in female high school athletes. 2. Subjects and Methods 2.1. Subjects There were 1,000 female athletes (age 13–18 years, height 167 ± 7 cm, weight 59 ± 9 kg, body mass index 21 ± 3) from Cincinnati area high schools and club leagues who volunteered to participate in the training program over an 8-year time period. Initially, researchers and athletic trainers from our Center approached coaches and invited their teams to participate (free of charge) [23]. After the first four years, individual athletes began to request to participate based on observations and discussions with others who had completed team training. All athletes in this study completed one 6-week training session; those who completed more than one session were excluded. From these 1000 athletes, a subgroup of 700 were followed for one season to determine ACL injury incidence rates. These 700 athletes completed training just before the beginning of their sports season and were in high schools in which our athletic trainers worked and were able to track
6-week training session; those who completed more than one session were excluded. From these 1000 athletes, a subgroup of 700 were followed for one season to determine ACL injury incidence rates. These 700 athletes completed training just before the beginning of their sports season and were in high schools in which our athletic trainers worked and were able to track athlete-exposures (AE) on a weekly basis during the subsequent sports season. One AE equaled participation in one practice or game. Before data collection, all athletes and their parents provided their informed written consent in accordance with the Internal Review Board of the Jewish Hospital of Cincinnati, Ohio for use of human subjects. All procedures were performed in accordance with the 1964 World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. The sports the trained athletes participated in at the time of the study were volleyball (401), basketball (202), soccer (192), lacrosse (30), softball (15), field hockey (8), gymnastics (7), track and field (4), and multiple sports (141). Tanner staging [27,28] was not performed on these subjects. There were 118 subjects aged 13, 353 subjects aged 14, 260 subjects aged 15, 174 subjects aged 16, 83 subjects aged 17, and 12 subjects aged 18. In girls, the mean time to achieve peak height velocity is 11.5 years [29] and the mean time to reach skeletal maturity is 13.3 years [30]. Therefore, it appeared that the majority of athletes had completed expected growth and maturation. No athlete had a history of a serious knee injury or surgery.
Sports 2015, 3 59 An additional 1120 athletes from Cincinnati area high school teams served as controls and were matched to the trained athletes for age (13–18 yr), sport, and body mass index (21 ± 3). These athletes participated in their team practices and games, but did not perform any component of the ACL injury prevention program. Because this was not a randomized study, there was no intention to treat analysis performed. Exclusionary criteria for training for this investigation were pre-existing multiple ankle sprains, evidence of a lower extremity joint effusion, or a history of a noteworthy knee injury such as a ligament rupture, meniscus tear, or patellar dislocation. 2.2. Study Design The athletes underwent a series of tests no more than one week before the first training session (pre-test) and no more than one week after the last training session (post-test) in either the laboratory or at the training sites, which were usually indoor high school gymnasiums or soccer fields. Before testing and training, the athletes completed approximately 10 min of supervised dynamic warm-up exercises. Training sessions lasted 1–1.5 h and were held three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) in the afternoons for six weeks. All 18 training sessions were supervised by certified Sportsmetrics instructors. The entire program was completed just before the athletes' sports season began (i.e., pre-season). Because neuromuscular and athletic performance testing evolved over time, with the addition and deletion of certain tests, not all subjects underwent the same tests reported. In addition, certain agility and speed tests were designated for specific sports and, therefore, were not conducted in all athletes. The number of athletes that completed each test is shown in Table 1. Table 1. Number of athletes that completed each test. Test Number of Athletes Video drop-jump 912 Single-leg triple crossover hop 280 Single-leg triple hop 223 Vertical jump, no countermovement 807 Vertical jump with countermovement 502 Agility t-test 221 37-m sprint 136 18-m sprint 350 Multi-stage fitness test 356 Sit-up test 110 Isokinetic strength test, 300°/s, quadriceps & hamstrings 141 Athlete exposures (AE) were documented for every practice and game the players
of Athletes Video drop-jump 912 Single-leg triple crossover hop 280 Single-leg triple hop 223 Vertical jump, no countermovement 807 Vertical jump with countermovement 502 Agility t-test 221 37-m sprint 136 18-m sprint 350 Multi-stage fitness test 356 Sit-up test 110 Isokinetic strength test, 300°/s, quadriceps & hamstrings 141 Athlete exposures (AE) were documented for every practice and game the players (trained and control) participated in on a weekly basis. Coaches, athletic trainers, and research assistants assisted with ensuring weekly AE logs were completed. There was a larger number of control athletes than trained athletes due to the voluntary nature of this multi-year study; more athletes declined training than accepted to participate.
Sports 2015, 3 60 All knee injuries were tracked for the one sport season that followed the training. All athletes that sustained knee injuries were examined by the senior author. ACL ruptures were determined clinically according to grade 2–3 Lachman [31] and pivot shift [32] tests and magnetic resonance imaging. 2.3. Video Drop-Jump Test A video drop-jump test was used to measure overall lower limb alignment in the coronal plane [33]. A camcorder equipped with a memory stick was placed on a stand 102.24 cm in height and positioned approximately 365.76 cm in front of a box (dimensions: 30.48 cm in height, 38.1 cm in width). Velcro circles (2.54 cm) were placed on each of the four corners of the box that faced the camera. The athletes were dressed in fitted, dark shorts and low cut gym shoes. Reflective markers were placed at the greater trochanter and lateral malleolus of both legs and velcro circles were positioned on the center of each patella. The jump-land sequence was demonstrated and the athletes completed two practice trials allowed to ensure they understood the test. No verbal instructions regarding how to land or jump were provided. The athletes were simply instructed to land straight in front of the box to be in the correct angle for the camera to record properly. The athletes performed the jump-land sequence by first jumping off the box, landing, and immediately performing a maximum vertical jump. This sequence was repeated three times. After completion of the test, all three trials were viewed and the one that best represented each athlete’s jumping ability was selected for measurement. Advancing the video frame-by-frame, the following images were captured as still photographs: (1) pre-land, the frame in which the athlete’s toes just touched the ground after the jump off of the box; (2) land, the frame in which the athlete was at the deepest point; and (3) take-off, the frame that demonstrated the initial forward and upward movement of the arms and the body as the athlete prepared to go into the maximum vertical jump. The captured images were imported into a
touched the ground after the jump off of the box; (2) land, the frame in which the athlete was at the deepest point; and (3) take-off, the frame that demonstrated the initial forward and upward movement of the arms and the body as the athlete prepared to go into the maximum vertical jump. The captured images were imported into a hard drive of a computer and digitized on the screen using commercially available software (Cincinnati Sportsmedicine Research and Education Foundation, Cincinnati, OH). A calibration procedure was done by placing the cursor and clicking in the center of each Velcro marker on each of the four corners of the drop jump box. The anatomic reference points represented by the reflective markers were selected by clicking in a designated sequence the cursor for each image. The absolute cm of separation distance between the right and left hip and normalized separation distances for the knees and ankles, standardized according to the hip separation distance, were produced using the software. Normalized knee separation distance was calculated as knee separation distance/hip separation distance × 100 and normalized ankle separation distance was calculated as ankle separation distance/hip separation distance × 100. We empirically believe that < 60% knee separation distance represents a distinctly abnormal lower limb valgus alignment position. The reliability of the drop-jump video test was previously documented [33]. Test-retest trials produced high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the hip separation distance (pre-land, 0.96; land, 0.94; take-off, 0.94). For the within-test trial, the ICCs for the hip, knee, and ankle separation distance were all ≥0.90. We previously found no correlation between knee and ankle separation distances [33] and, therefore, report only absolute and normalized knee separation distances in this investigation.
Sports 2015, 3 61 2.4. Single-Leg Hop Tests The first 57 athletes tested completed one single-leg hop test (triple) [34]. Then, because no limb symmetry problems were detected, we added a second hop (triple crossover [34]) in order to potentially detect limb asymmetry in more athletes. A tape measure was secured to the ground for a distance of approximately 6 m. Testing was first performed on either the right or leg, which was selected at random. The athletes stood on the leg to be tested with their toe just behind the starting line. For the triple hop test, three consecutive hops were done going straight ahead on the leg. In the triple crossover hop test, three consecutive hops were done on one leg, crossing diagonally over the measuring tape on each hop. The athletes had to be in control and hold the landing of the third hop for 3 s for the test to be valid. The athletes were allowed to use their arms for balance as required. Two or three practice trials were done for each test on each leg. Then, two hops were done on each limb. For athletes who completed both hops, the triple hop was done first on each leg, followed by the triple crossover hop. The right-left leg limb symmetry index was calculated by dividing the maximum distance hopped (best result) of the right leg by the maximum distance hopped (best result) of the left leg, and then multiplying the result by 100. These tests have excellent reliability, with ICC > 0.85 [35,36]. 2.5. Vertical Jump Tests The athletes’ vertical jump was determined using the Vertec Jump Training System (Sports Imports, Columbus, OH). First, the standing reach was measured with the athlete standing with the heels touching the ground. Then, a maximum jump without arm swing or a countermovement maximum jump with arm swing was performed three times and the highest jump obtained recorded. In the first 305 athletes tested, only the maximum jump without arm swing test was performed. In the next 502 athletes, both tests were performed. The ICC using the Vertec is
heels touching the ground. Then, a maximum jump without arm swing or a countermovement maximum jump with arm swing was performed three times and the highest jump obtained recorded. In the first 305 athletes tested, only the maximum jump without arm swing test was performed. In the next 502 athletes, both tests were performed. The ICC using the Vertec is excellent (>0.90 [37,38]). 2.6. Agility t-Test The t-test is a commonly used measure of agility [39–43]. The athletes sprinted from a standing point in a straight line to a cone placed 9-m away. Then, the athletes side-shuffled to their left without crossing their feet to another cone placed 4.5-m away. After touching this cone, they side-shuffled to their right to a third cone placed 9-m away, side-shuffled back to the middle cone, and then ran backwards to the starting position. Two tests were completed, with the best time recorded. The time to complete this test was recorded with a digital stopwatch in one-hundredths of a second. This test has excellent reliability, with ICCs ≥ 0.90 [44,45]. 2.7. Sprint Tests The athletes performed a single maximum sprint, starting from a stationary position with one foot in front of the other. Encouragement was provided throughout the run. The tests were performed (of either 18-m or 37-m in length) with the time recorded to the nearest one hundredth of a second with a digital stopwatch. During the first two years of this study, the 38-m sprint was conducted, followed for the remaining years of the study with the 18-m sprint in accordance with discussions with coaches
Sports 2015, 3 62 who wanted to determine sprint speed over the shorter distance. The reliability of sprint tests using a hand-held stopwatch is excellent, with ICCs > 0.90 [46]. 2.8. Multi-Stage Fitness Test A common field test used to estimate maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max) is the 20-meter multi-stage fitness test (MSFT).[47] The equipment required are the MSFT commercially available audio compact disc (CD) and a CD player. Two cones were used to mark the course. The athletes began with their toes behind the designated starting cone. The second cone was located 20 m away. On command, the athletes ran back and forth between the two cones in time to recorded beeps on the CD. The athletes performed shuttle runs back and forth along the 20-m course, keeping in time with the series of signals (beeps) on the CD by touching the appropriate end cone in time with each audio signal. The frequency of the audible signals was progressively increased until the athletes reached volitional exhaustion and could no longer maintain pace with the audio signals, indicated when three beeps were missed in a row. The level and number of shuttles reached before the athletes were unable to keep up with the audio recording were recorded. The VO 2max of each athlete was estimated using the equation described by Ramsbottom et al. [48]: VO 2max = (5.857 × speed on the last stage)—19.458. The test-retest reliability of this test is excellent, with ICCs > 0.90 [49,50]. 2.9. Sit-up Test The athletes were placed supine, with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor (held in place by a partner) and arms folded across the chest. On command, full sit-ups were performed by raising up so that the elbows touched the knees and then lowering back down to the floor. The number of repetitions completed in 60 s was recorded. The sit-up test has been reported to have acceptable reliability in normal subjects of 0.84 (ICC) [51]. 2.10. Isokinetic Strength Test Isokinetic knee flexion and extension testing was performed at 300 deg/s (Biodex Medical Systems, Inc., Shirley, NY, USA)
Description
This study evaluates a neuromuscular retraining program's effectiveness on ACL injury rates and athletic performance in female adolescents.