Knowledge Bank

Youth sports have seen considerable increase in participation over the past decade. While there are significant health and wellness benefits to involvement in sport activities, there is inherent risk of lower extremity (LE) injury included in participation of these activities. Many athletes sustain injuries and may be held back from their full potential, simply because of underdeveloped or imbalanced muscle groups that are ill-equipped to meet these demands. Some risk factors for a LE injury cannot be changed. However, even the greatest athletes may have modifiable risk factors, such as poor neuromuscular (NM) control, that can be addressed with proper identification and training protocols. Ohio State Sports Medicine has developed a unique program, rooted in extensive research of athletes’ movement patterns, to improve core movement patterns and maintain health. Our vision is to improve community awareness and accessibility of this program to foster improved movement patterns and decrease the modifiable risk factors associated with LE injury risk. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is one of the most common LE injuries, with an estimated 200,000 ACL injuries diagnosed annually in the United States. Young females participating in cutting and pivoting sports have the highest risk of ACL injury. In fact, females suffer knee injuries at a rate of 4-6 times greater than males participating in the same sport. As females develop, the NM system does not adapt with growth, making them more susceptible to LE injury. As discussed above, there are modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors for ACL injury. Non-modifiable risk factors may include anatomical variance or hormonal changes (3,4). Modifiable risk factors are NM impairments observed during functional movement tasks, such as a squat or landing from a jump (3,4). Modifiable risk factors can be corrected via targeted NM training that specifically addressed muscle strength, power, coordination and muscle activation patterns. Research has demonstrated that implementation of NM training programs may be optimal in early adolescence, before the onset of abnormal movement patterns. Implementing this type of training in 14 to 18 year old athletes participate in cutting and pivoting sports may reduce lower extremity injury risk by 72 percent. The Ohio State Lower Extremity Injury Prevention Program is a sophisticated NM training program designed by experienced researchers and clinician scientists. The goal of the program is to have a community presence in the greater Columbus area by working with individual athletes, as well as various club, middle and high school programs. The mission of this outreach program is to prevent LE injuries for the athletes in our own backyard. This presentation will provide an overview to the Ohio State Lower Extremity Injury Prevention program, as well as highlight the faulty movement patterns being addressed.

AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Joann Walker, physical therapist, Ohio State Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation, joann.walker2@osumc.edu (Corresponding Author); Caroline Lewis, physical therapist, Ohio State Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation; Vince O'Brien, athletic trainer, community outreach coordinator, Ohio State Sports Medicine