Isolated Complete Distal Biceps Femoris Tendon Tears: Case Series and Literature Review

The Biceps femoris is a vital component of the posterolateral corner of the knee. We report two cases of isolated rupture of the biceps femoris, discuss the possible mechanism of injury, and review the literature.

Effectiveness of a long-term Tecar Therapy treatment on Knee Pain: building T.T.E.S.S.K., an evaluating scale A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background T.E.C.a.R (Transfer of Energy Capacitive and Resistive) Therapy (TT) is a form of endogenous thermotherapy based on radio waves 1 . It is a non-invasive procedure, that makes use of a machine able to stimulate heat inside the body to repair the inflammatory processes. Although being well known in the physiotherapy and massage therapy ambient for its benefic effects, which are still not very explored especially physiological and biochemical ones; TT is commonly used by therapists for musculoskeletal diseases. Anyhow, TT is often used as a palliative remedy for musculoskeletal disease, or linked with an ibuprofen or antidolorific medical therapy, and not as a main cure. Current literature still lacks objective ways to evaluate TT treatment. This study aims to create an evaluating Scale for the knee joint lesions treated with TT, for athletes or sports enthusiasts. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were screened to perform an extensive review. PRISMA guidelines were applied, and the risk of bias was assessed, as was the methodological quality of the included studies. 25 articles were reviewed. 178 patients (total amount of clinic cases in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library articles combined) have decreased their pain after a long-term TT treatment (> 3 or 5 sessions). Results Knee joint is often affected by non-sportive or sportive musculoskeletal lesions. ((At this point, not only the TT articles were reviewed, but also all the articles (122) that included these key aspects)). Six items were selected to evaluate the efficacy of TT on the impaired joint: Range of Motion (ROM), %MVIC of quadriceps, biceps femoris and gastrocnemius, Cincinnati Rating Scale System (CRSS), NRS Pain Scale, Muscle Fiber Orientation (MFO) and %Trigger Points. Conclusions Our study allows to build a new treatment methodology with TT. It guarantees the therapist to structure a long-lasting follow-up, which is not limited to the simple use of the machine. Applying this methodology, the patient receives a treatment that is not limited, but built on his own needs thanks to the distribution of the summing scores, strictly dependent on the type of clinical case that the therapist finds. Thanks to the six items we inserted in T.T.E.S.S.K. (“Tecar Therapy Evaluation Score System of the Knee”), every aspect of a musculotendinous pathology is recognized, and might be treated with TT by therapists.

Reproducibility of knee extensor and flexor contraction velocity in healthy men and women assessed using tensiomyography: A study protocol

Tensiomyography measures the radial displacement of a muscle during an electrically evoked twitch contraction. The rate of muscle displacement is increasingly reported to assess contractile properties. Several formulas currently exist to calculate the rate of displacement during the contraction phase of the maximal twitch response. However, information on the reproducibility of these formulas is scarce. Further, different rest intervals ranging from 10 s to 30 s are applied between consecutive stimuli during progressive electrical stimulation until the maximum twitch response. The effect of different rest intervals on the rate of displacement has not been investigated so far. The first aim of this study is to investigate the within and between-day reliability of the most frequently used formulas to calculate the rate of displacement. The second aim is to investigate the effect of changing the inter-stimulus interval on the rate of displacement. We will determine the rectus femoris and biceps femoris rate of displacement of twenty-four healthy subjects’ dominant leg on two consecutive days. The maximum displacement curve will be determined two times within three minutes on the first day and a third time 24 h later. On day two, we will also apply three blocks of ten consecutive stimuli at a constant intensity of 50 mA. Inter-stimuli intervals will be 10 s, 20 s or 30 s in each block, respectively, and three minutes between blocks. The order of inter-stimulus intervals will be randomized. This study will allow a direct comparison between the five most frequently used formulas to calculate the rate of displacement in terms of their reproducibility. Our data will also inform on the effect of different inter-stimulus intervals on the rate of displacement. These results will provide helpful information on methodical considerations to determine the rate of displacement and may thus contribute to a standardized approach.

Knee Flexor Eccentric Strength, Hamstring Muscle Volume and Sprinting in Elite Professional Soccer Players with a Prior Strained Hamstring

The aim was to determine if players with a prior hamstring strain injury (HSI) exhibit bilateral deficits in knee flexor eccentric strength and hamstring muscle volume and differences in sprinting performance compared with players without a history of HSIs. Forty-six male professional soccer players participated in this study. Eccentric knee flexor strength, hamstring muscle volume (MRI), and a 20-m running sprint test (5- and 10-m split time) were assessed at the start of the preseason. Eccentric knee strength of the previously injured limbs of injured players was greater (ES: 1.18–1.36) than the uninjured limbs in uninjured players. Previously injured limbs showed possibly larger biceps femoris short heads (BFSh) and likely semitendinosus (ST) muscle volumes than the contralateral uninjured limbs among the injured players (ES: 0.36) and the limbs of the uninjured players (ES: 0.56), respectively. Players who had experienced a previous HSI were possibly slower in the 5-m (small ES: 0.46), while unclear differences were found in both the 10-m and 20-m times. Players with a prior HSI displayed greater eccentric knee flexor strength, possibly relatively hypertrophied ST and BFSh muscles, and possibly reduced 5-m sprinting performances than previously uninjured players. This can have implication for the design of secondary hamstring muscle injury prevention strategies.

Commercial meat cuts hardness of dual-purpose cattle from Cundinamarca (Colombia) high tropics zone

Este estudio tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto del biotipo, la edad al sacrificio, la condición sexual y el sistema de alimentación sobre la dureza de cuatro cortes comerciales: Lomo (Longissimus dorsi), Bota (Biceps femoris), Muchacho (Semitendinosus) y Paletero (Infraspinatus), provenientes de 50 bovinos pertenecientes a sistemas de doble propósito del trópico alto en el departamento de Cundinamarca, Colombia. Para la obtención de los valores en este atributo se emplearon los métodos de medición instrumental de fuerza de corte con cuchilla de Warner-Bratzler y la evaluación sensorial, cuya correlación fue del 71%. Esto permitió la elaboración de una escala de dureza en la cual los cortes Lomo y Paletero se ubicaron en la categoría de “suave” (blando) y se comportaron estadísticamente igual en ambos métodos de medición, mientras que los cortes Bota y Muchacho se ubicaron en la categoría de “medio” y tuvieron diferencias estadísticas de acuerdo con la percepción dada por el panel sensorial. Así mismo, los resultados obtenidos mostraron diferencias significativas entre los cortes, destacando al Paletero por su menor valor de dureza y comportamiento similar al Lomo. Efectos significativos sobre la dureza de la carne fueron encontrados para todos los factores a excepción de la edad, lo cual muestra la influencia que tienen estos y su manejo en finca sobre la calidad de la carne.

Electromyographic Determination of Jump Landing Sequence and Pre-activation Times During One-foot Landing

Introduction: Monopodal jumping is a common gesture in daily life and sports. In the Landing Phase (LF), potential energy is absorbed from the tridimensional stability of the Lower Limb (LH). This stability depends on neuromuscular strategies that include factors such as Muscle Preactivation Times (MAT) and the Sequence of Participation (SP) of the muscle groups. The alteration of TPA has been pointed out as a factor of possible injury. The aim of this study was to determine the preactivation times and participation sequence of the gluteus medius, adductor magnus, rectus femoris, vastus medialis quadriceps, biceps femoris longus, semimembranosus and soleus muscles during the monopodal jump landing in university students. At the same time, we sought to determine the existence or not of significant differences between men and women. Materials and methods: Twenty-six young adults, 16 women and 10 men, participated. An inertial sensor and 7 surface electrodes were used to collect electromyographic data in the gluteus medius, rectus femoris and vastus medialis quadriceps, semimembranosus, biceps femoris long head, soleus and adductor magnus muscles. Results: The general activation sequence was Vastus medialis -Biceps femoris longus - Adductor magnus - Gluteus medius - Rectus femoris -Semimembranosus and soleus. The data obtained reflects the activation prior to ground contact of all the muscles studied. There were differences between genders. Women presented a previous activation in all muscles with the exception of the gluteus medius. The muscles with the greatest variability were the adductor magnus in men and the rectus femoris in women. Conclusion: The significant differences found between men and women show that there are trends that can be the beginning to better understand the risk factors for injury generation. The TPA data presented a great variability which could reflect the existence of different activation patterns and not a unique behavior of the MMII musculature.

Comparison of thigh muscle activations in single leg exercises: bench squat, step-up, airborne lunge

Background and Study Aim. Single leg exercises have some advantages in terms of time, practice and energy costs. However, the activation values that occur in different single leg exercises can be used for training planning. The aim of this research was to examine the thigh muscle activation values during three different single leg exercises. Materials and Methods. Ten healthy male volunteers who were students of the faculty of sports sciences participated in the study. In the study, the EMG ampilitude values of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), semitendinosus (SEM) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles were examined during Step-up, Bench Squat and Airborne Lunge exercises. At the same time, Quadriceps (VM+VL): Hamstring (SEM+BF) ratios were determined. Results. Significant differences were detected in all thigh muscles in the ascent and descent phases (p<0.05). While the greatest activation for the quadriceps group was seen in the airborne lunge, the greatest activation for the hamstring group was detected in the bench squat. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of exercise practices in the quadriceps: hamstring (Q:H) ratio (F(2,18)=12.282, p=.003). It was seen that the most balanced exercise was bench squat (Q:H=2.55), and the most unbalanced exercise (agonist dominant) was airborne lunge (Q:H=5.51). Conclusions. The findings show that the exercises examined can be selected depending on the purpose of the training. While bench squats can be preferred for more balanced co-activation the airborne lunge can be preferred for dominant knee extensors.

The Influence of the Type of Dry-Cured Italian PDO Ham on Cathepsin B Activity Trend during Processing

Cathepsin B activity was measured during processing in hams originating from the main Italian prosciutto PDOs: Parma, San Daniele and Toscano. Sixty-five heavy pig thighs, from sixty-five Italian large white x Italian Landrace pigs bred and slaughtered in the same conditions were considered. Five thighs represented the post-mortem control time. The other 60 were distributed one plant per PDO, following a balanced plan. The thighs were sampled at the biceps femoris in groups of four per plant in the following ripening phases: salting, resting, drying, greasing, end of curing. The activity of the Cathepsin B (U/g protein) was determined by means of fluorescence measurements. The Cathepsin B ripening trend of the various PDOs was significantly different, particularly during the initial and mid-curing stage. This activity correlates with the proteolysis index through a PDO dependent pattern, indicating that different processing conditions can influence the quality of prosciutto, since they determine its biochemical development.

Muskel-Funktionsanalyse bei Progressiver Diaphysärer Dysplasie (PDD)/Camurati-Engelmann Syndrom (CES) – eine Fallstudie

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Das Camurati-Engelmann Syndrom (CES) ist klinisch durch Muskelfunktionsstörungen, Watschelgang und eingeschränkte Mobilität gekennzeichnet, die möglicherweise durch eine diaphysäre Dysplasie getriggert sind. Fragestellung Lassen sich mit dem Oberflächen-EMG (OEMG) funktionelle und pathogenetische Hinweise für die Muskelveränderungen finden? Methode Für diese Einzelfallstudie wurde das OEMG während Gehens auf einem Laufband bei unterschiedlichen Gehgeschwindigkeiten an Muskeln der Beine, der Hüfte und des Rumpfes erfasst. Ebenso wurde die empfundene Beanspruchung erfragt. Die Daten wurden mit denen einer weiblichen Normpopulation verglichen. Ergebnisse Das OEMG weist bereits im Stehen wechselnde Abweichungen von den Werten der Normpopulation auf. Das Beanspruchungsempfinden beim Gehen war generell höher als in der Normgruppe und wies ein Optimum bei 2,5 km/h auf. Die OEMG-Kurven der Mm. multifidus, glutaeus medius, biceps femoris und gastrocnemius ergaben der jeweiligen Funktion zugeordnete aber von der Norm abweichende Aktivierungsmuster als Hinweis auf Muskelschwäche und Koordinationsstörungen. Schlussfolgerung Die beobachteten Befunde können die Gangveränderungen zumindest teilweise erklären, erlauben aber keine weiteren Hinweise zur Pathogenese des CES.