Injury Risk Estimation Expertise: Interdisciplinary Differences in Performance on the ACL Injury Risk Estimation Quiz

Background: Simple observational assessment of movement is a potentially low-cost method for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury screening and prevention. Although many individuals utilize some form of observational assessment of movement, there are currently no substantial data on group skill differences in observational screening of ACL injury risk. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to compare various groups’ abilities to visually assess ACL injury risk as well as the associated strategies and ACL knowledge levels. The hypothesis was that sports medicine professionals would perform better than coaches and exercise science academics/students and that these subgroups would all perform better than parents and other general population members. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: A total of 428 individuals, including physicians, physical therapists, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, exercise science researchers/students, athletes, parents, and members of the general public participated in the study. Participants completed the ACL Injury Risk Estimation Quiz (ACL-IQ) and answered questions related to assessment strategy and ACL knowledge. Results: Strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists, and exercise science students exhibited consistently superior ACL injury risk estimation ability (þ2 SD) as compared with sport coaches, parents of athletes, and members of the general public. The performance of a substantial number of individuals in the exercise sciences/sports medicines (approximately 40%) was similar to or exceeded clinical instrument-based biomechanical assessment methods (eg, ACL nomogram). Parents, sport coaches, and the general public had lower ACL-IQ, likely due to their lower ACL knowledge and to rating the importance of knee/thigh motion lower and weight and jump height higher. Conclusion: Substantial cross-professional/group differences in visual ACL injury risk estimation exist. The relatively profound differences in injury risk estimation accuracy and their potential implications for risk screening suggest the need for additional training and outreach

Cross-professional differences in real-time assessment of ACL injury risk

Simple visual inspection of movement is a potentially low cost method for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury screening and prevention. Although many professionals, athletes, and coaches utilize some form of visual inspection of movement/injury risk, there is currently no substantial data on group skill differences. Sports medicine professionals, exercise science students/academics, and strength and conditioning coaches exhibited consistently superior ACL injury risk estimation skill compared to sport coaches, parents of athletes and the general public (about 2 standard deviations). In addition, many individuals’ visual risk assessment accuracy was similar to or exceeded clinical instrument-based biomechanical assessment methods (i.e., ACL nomogram). Perceptual-cognitive mechanisms are discussed

EFFECT OF SAUNA WARM-UP ON OVERHEAD SQUAT DEPTH IN ELITE WEIGHTLIFTERS

Ample total body flexibility or range of motion is important in Olympic style weightlifting. Although research has been conducted to study flexibility, little information exists regarding the use of saunas as an alternative modality for increasing flexibility. The objective of this study was to explore the effects of a fifteenminute sauna session on overhead squat depth in 15 elite Olympic style weightlifters. Range of motion was assessed via video camera during a control and treatment session (3 trials at 4 time points). Overhead squat depth displayed excellent within- and between-session reliability. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant changes in overhead squat depth following the sauna treatment (p > 0.05)

EFFECT OF LOAD AND VARIOUS EQUIPMENT MODALITIES ON BACK SQUAT BIOMECHANICS IN ELITE POWERLIFTERS

This study compared back squat biomechanics in elite powerlifters under various equipment and intensity manipulations. Eleven elite powerlifters performed back squats in the following conditions: belt only (Raw), belt and elastic band attached to the bar (Band), and competition attire consisting of a belt, knee wraps, and squat suit (Equipped). In Raw lifts, back angle and hip moment at minimum upward velocity increased as intensity increased. Maximum hip moment at minimum upward velocity was greater in the Raw compared to the Band lift. Back angle, total hip moment at the bottom position, and total knee moment at the minimum upward velocity was greater in the Equipped compared to the Raw lifts. Overall, the Band condition was biomechanically similar to the Raw lifts. However, the Equipped condition displayed substantial biomechanical differences compared to the Raw condition

Visual estimation of ACL injury risk: Efficient assessment method, group differences, and expertise mechanisms

Simple observational assessment of movement quality (e.g., drop vertical jump biomechanics) is an efficient and low cost method for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury screening and prevention. A recently developed test (see www.ACL-IQ.org) has revealed substantial cross-professional/group differences in visual ACL injury risk estimation skill. Specifically, parents, sport coaches, and to some degree sports medicine physicians, would likely benefit from training or the use of decision support tools. In addition, expertise mechanisms (perceptual-cognitive characteristics of skilled performers) were investigated in order to design training systems to improve risk estimation performance

CROSS-PROFESSIONAL DIFFERENCES IN REAL-TIME ASSESSMENT OF ACL INJURY RISK

Simple visual inspection of movement is a potentially low cost method for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury screening and prevention. Although many professionals, athletes, and coaches utilize some form of visual inspection of movement/injury risk, there is currently no substantial data on group skill differences. Sports medicine professionals, exercise science students/academics, and strength and conditioning coaches exhibited consistently superior ACL injury risk estimation skill compared to sport coaches, parents of athletes and the general public (about 2 standard deviations). In addition, many individuals’ visual risk assessment accuracy was similar to or exceeded clinical instrument-based biomechanical assessment methods (i.e., ACL nomogram). Perceptual-cognitive mechanisms are discussed

COMPARISON OF TIBIAL IMPACT ACCELERATIONS: VIDEO VS ACCELEROMETER

This study compared tibial axial accelerations measured by video analysis and accelerometry. Twenty-two recreationally active adults performed three countermovement jumps. The landing tibial axial accelerations were assessed with video and an accelerometer. High reliability was demonstrated for the root mean square error between the assessment methods (ICCave = 0.872). Repeated measures ANOVA results revealed no instrumentation differences in the magnitude of the two acceleration peaks (toe and heel contact) and no difference between trials. However, first and second peaks occurred 9.6 and 4.0 ms earlier, respectively, when assessed by video. Accelerometry is a valid and reliable alternative to video analysis for the assessment of tibial impact accelerations if temporal characteristics are not of interest

CONTINUOUS WAVEFORM ANALYSIS OF FORCE, VELOCITY, AND POWER ADAPTATIONS TO A PERIODIZED PLYOMETRIC TRAINING PROGRAM

This study assessed kinetic and temporal profile adaptations to the countermovement jump in response to a six week periodized plyometric training program. Twenty recreationally active women participated in the study (10 training, 10 control). Testing consisted of 3 maximal countermovement jumps on a force platform prior to and after six weeks of training. Key phases of the jumps were examined to assess differences in the profiles pre- and post-training using Analysis of Characterizing Phases. Periodized plyometric training significantly altered the profiles for force, velocity, and power (p < 0.05). A combination of greater eccentric velocity and power followed by increased concentric power enhanced the stretch shortening cycle and all three variables just before takeoff likely enhancing jump height

Editorial: Macrocognition: The Science and Engineering of Sociotechnical Work Systems

The increasing complexity of work systems and changes in the nature of workplace technology over the past century have resulted in an exponential shift in the nature of work activities, from physical labor to cognitive work. Modern work systems have many characteristics that make them cognitively complex: They can be highly interactive; comprised of multiple agents and artifacts; information may be limited and distributed across space and time; task goals are frequently ill-defined, conflicting, dynamic and emergent; planning may only be possible at general levels of abstraction or require adaptive solutions; some degree of proficiency or expertise is required; the stakes are often high; and uncertainty, time-constraints and stress are seldom absent. To complicate matters further, cognition in complex work settings is typically constrained by broader professional, organizational, and institutional practice and policy. These features of cognitive work present significant challenges to scientific methodology and theory, and subsequent design of reliable interventions. Historically, philosophers and scientists have attempted to understand the mental activities experienced during cognitive work at multiple levels of analysis using divergent methods. Some have examined cognition at an associative, contextual, functional or holistic level, relying on naturalistic methods to understand the higher mental processes as they work in harmony during goal-directed behavior. Others have embraced experimental methods and favored internal over external validity, often reducing cognition to a psychology of fundamental acts, such as short-term memory access with millisecond shifts in attention. More recently, Macrocognition has evolved as a complementary paradigm. Macrocognitive researchers have studied the cognitive functions and processes associated with skilled, adaptive, collaborative, and resilient cognitive work in the context of the aforementioned complexities of psychotechnical and sociotechnical work systems. Typically, this research has been carried out using cognitive task analytic techniques that draw on both naturalistic and (quasi-)experimental methods. The primary goals of research in Macrocognition are to better understand cognitive adaptations to complexity, to increase our theoretical understanding of the organism-environment relations by studying the mapping between cognitive work and real-world demands, and to promote use-inspired research capable of improving system performance