Achilles tendon rupture is a common sports injury encountered in younger populations. Various treatment methods are used for acute and chronic rupture. Several treatments for each condition are available, each having their advantages and disadvantages. In an acute rupture, surgical treatment may be a priority for younger patients or those wishing a quick return to play, but the long-term functional outcome is similar to non-surgical treatment. In addition, the re-rupture rate shows a slight difference between the two treatments. The clinical outcomes are similar regardless of the surgical treatment, but an accelerated rehabilitation program should be accompanied by good results. In chronic and neglected rupture, surgical treatment is preferred over non-surgical treatment. Treatments are chosen based on the size of the tendon defect. This article reviews the current updates in the treatment of Achilles tendon rupture that will help clinicians choose the appropriate treatment.
Achilles Tendon ; Athletic Injuries ; Humans ; Rehabilitation ; Return to Sport ; Rupture ; Tendons

Spondylolysis from pars fracture is a common injury among young athletes, which can limit activity and cause chronic back pain. While current literature has examined the relative benefits of surgical and conservative management of these injuries, no study has yet compared outcomes between conventional direct repair of pars defects and modern minimally invasive procedures. The goals of surgery are pain resolution, return to play at previous levels of activity, and a shorter course of recovery. In this review, the authors have attempted to quantify any differences in outcome between patients treated with conventional or minimally invasive techniques. A literature search was performed of the PubMed database for relevant articles, excluding articles describing conservative management, traumatic injury, or high-grade spondylolisthesis. Articles included for review involved young athletes treated for symptomatic spondylolysis with either conventional or minimally invasive surgery. Two independent reviewers conducted the literature search and judged articles for inclusion. All studies were classified according to the North American Spine Society standards. Of the 116 results of our initial search, 16 articles were included with a total of 150 patients. Due to a paucity of operative details in older studies and inconsistencies in both clinical methods and reporting among most articles, little quantitative analysis was possible. However, patients in the minimally invasive group did have significantly higher rates of pain resolution (p<0.001). Short recovery times were also noted in this group. Both groups experienced low complication rates, and the majority of patients returned to previous levels of activity. Surgical repair of spondylolysis in young athletes is a safe and practical therapy. Current literature suggests that while conventional repair remains effective, minimally invasive procedures better clinical outcomes. We await further data to conduct a more thorough quantitative analysis of these techniques.
Athletes* ; Back Pain ; Humans ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Return to Sport* ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis ; Spondylolysis*

PURPOSE: Given the increasing common use of rotator cuff repair (RCR), return to sport (RTS) remains an important challenge and measure of success for athletes undergoing RCR. To determine the rate of return to the same level of sports after repair of rotator cuff tears.METHODS: The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed to perform this systematic review and meta-analysis of the results in the literature. The electronic databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus were used for the literature search. Study quality was evaluated according to the MINORS (Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies) checklist. Studies evaluating the rate of return to the same level of sports after repair of partial- or full-thickness rotator cuff tears were included.RESULTS: Ten studies were reviewed, including 357 patients who were treated with RCR and who had a mean follow-up of 48.1 months (range, 16–74 months). The overall rate of RTS was 88.6%. Among them, 77.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67.1%–86.0%) of patients were able to return to the same level of sports according to the meta-analysis. Subgroup meta-analysis revealed that partial-thickness rotator cuff tear was 77.9% (95% CI, 70.0%–84.1%), and full-thickness was 69.6% (95% CI, 46.3%–85.9%), but there was no statistical significance (p>0.05).CONCLUSION: Most patients (88.6%) were able to return to sports after RCR and 78% of patients return to sports at the same level of play as before their injury.
Arthroscopy ; Athletes ; Checklist ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Return to Sport ; Rotator Cuff ; Sports ; Tears

PURPOSE: The study aimed to assess the average time to return to play following surgery for chronic lateral ankle instability in athletes.METHODS: A literature search was conducted (1976 to 2019) by two independent reviewers using the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane library databases. Articles were retrieved by an electronic search using individual keywords (“lateral ankle instability,” “surgery,” “operation,” “return to sport,” “return to play”) and their combinations. Studies that met the inclusion criteria were assessed for pertinent data.RESULTS: Six randomized controlled trials were included in this analysis. The mean follow-up period was 44.8 months (range, 31.8–58.1 months) in 219 patients (male, 126; female, 113). The mean age was 23.2 years (range, 18.2–28.2 years). Different criteria for returning to sports were used in each paper. In the papers included in this study, different methods and definitions were used for the postoperative recovery method for lateral ankle instability injury. The average time until return to play was 16.53 weeks.CONCLUSION: There are limitations to the application of different surgical techniques and data from different athletes for chronic lateral ankle instability. However, these results suggest that sports physicians evaluate the surgical outcome and may be utilized as reference data for informing the athletes about their time until return.
Ankle Injuries ; Ankle ; Athletes ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methods ; Return to Sport ; Sports

The definition of osteochondral lesion of the talus (OLT) is any defect involving both the articular surface and the subchondral bone of the talus. Many of these lesions are associated with acute ankle injury. Although many classification schemes for OLT have been proposed, Berndt and Harty's 4-staging classification is most commonly used. Stage 4 lesions and symptomatic lesions under grade 3 are usually recommended to surgical treatment. The treatment approach for athletes should be more elaborate due to the need for an early return to play. Several different types of treatment are described for OLTs in athletes, including bone marrow stimulation, osteochondral autograft transfer system, and autogenous chondrocyte implantation. Osteochondral autograft transfer system shows good clinical outcome and has the advantages that could be applied to large defect and recurred lesions, however, it has some disadvantages in terms of the complications related with the donor site and the difficult approach to the medial lesions. Although autogenous chondrocyte implantation has been extensively applied for treating OLTs with successful clinical outcomes, it has some limitations that apply to athletes in terms of the 2-stage and complicated procedure and the insurance issues. Bone marrow stimulation being a simple and cost-effective procedure associated with a low complication rate and low postoperative pain has faster return to play and is recommended the first-line treatment for the OLTs of athletes.
Ankle Injuries ; Athletes* ; Autografts ; Bone Marrow ; Chondrocytes ; Classification ; Humans ; Insurance ; Pain, Postoperative ; Return to Sport ; Talus* ; Tissue Donors

For a basketball player who had scapholunate interosseous ligament injury related to sport, it is crucial to secure the active range of motion (ROM) and regain proprioception of the wrist. The player was involved in a 21-week rehabilitation procedure based on controlling pain with inactive treatments, restoring the wrist ROM with active treatments. We measured the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, upper extremity functional outcome measurement (Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand [DASH]) for the functionality, and active ROMs of the wrist. The VAS was decreased (after surgical treatment, 8.7; 1 week, 2.5; 12 week, 3–5; 21 week, 0). The DASH score was decreased when he returned to play (after surgical treatment, 78; end of the rehabilitation, 23). Wrist flexion and extension ROM were increased to 55° and 67°, respectively. To restore the function of the wrist for basketball performance, improvement of active ROM and proprioception is the primary goal to return to play.
Arm ; Basketball ; Hand ; Ligaments ; Proprioception ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Rehabilitation ; Return to Sport ; Shoulder ; Sports ; Upper Extremity ; Visual Analog Scale ; Wrist

BACKGROUND: This study assessed the average time to return to training and official game participation after modified Broström operation (MBO) in elite athletes. METHODS: Sixty athletes diagnosed with lateral ankle instability underwent MBO from October 2011 to December 2013. Their average age was 19.3 years, and the average follow-up time was 28.8 months. We measured the time sequence of three phases of rehabilitation: start of personal training, start of team training, and start of the first official game after recovery. Patients were divided into an early return to play (RTP) group and late RTP group. The groups were compared to identify possible risk factors affecting the RTP time. RESULTS: The mean length of time to return to personal training was 1.9 months, return to team training was 2.9 months, and return to competitive play was 3.9 months. There were no significant differences of any variables including age, sex, body mass index, level of sports, grade of instability, presence of os subfibulare, and preoperative functional score between the early RTP and late RTP groups. CONCLUSIONS: The RTP was 83.3% at 4 months after lateral ankle ligament repair and 100% at 8 months postoperatively. The results provide reference data for orthopedic surgeons in evaluating surgical results and informing patients about expectations after surgery in terms of performance level and timing of return to sports.
Ankle ; Athletes ; Body Mass Index ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Orthopedics ; Rehabilitation ; Return to Sport ; Risk Factors ; Sports ; Surgeons

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the evaluation methods of return to sports (RTS) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in recent years, in order to provide reference for clinical practice. METHODS: The literature related to the RTS after ACLR was searched from CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, and Foreign Medical Information Resources Retrieval Platform (FMRS) databases. The retrieval range was from 2010 to 2023, and 66 papers were finally included for review. The relevant literature was summarized and analyzed from the aspects of RTS time, objective evaluation indicators, and psychological evaluation. RESULTS: RTS is the common desire of patients with ACL injury and doctors, as well as the initial intention of selecting surgery. A reasonable and perfect evaluation method of RTS can not only help patients recover to preoperative exercise level, but also protect patients from re-injury. At present, the main criterion for clinical judgement of RTS is time. It is basically agreed that RTS after 9 months can reduce the re-injury. In addition to time, it is also necessary to test the lower limb muscle strength, jumping, balance, and other aspects of the patient, comprehensively assess the degree of functional recovery and determine the different time of RTS according to the type of exercise. Psychological assessment plays an important role in RTS and has a good clinical predictive effect. CONCLUSION RTS is one of the research hotspots after ACLR. At present, there are many related evaluation methods, which need to be further optimized by more research to build a comprehensive and standardized evaluation system.
Humans ; Return to Sport/psychology* ; Reinjuries/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Lower Extremity/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the intervention guidance of return to sports WeChat applet and evaluate the rehabilitation effectiveness after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. METHODS: Between September 2020 and September 2022, 80 patients who met the selection criteria and underwent ACL anatomical single bundle reconstruction were selected as the research objects. According to the double-blind random method, they were divided into the applet group and the regular group, with 40 cases in each group. Patients in the applet group were rehabilitated under the guidance of the return to sports WeChat applet, and the patients were asked to perform the test once a month after operation, including patients' subjective scores [Tegner score, knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score, American Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score], psychological assessment [ACL recovery sports injury scale (ACL-RSI) score], jumping test, balance test, bending angle test. Patients in the regular group were followed up by doctors and nurses regularly by telephone every month. All the patients were reexamined at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after operation, and the range of motion of the knee joint with 6 degrees of freedom (flexion and extension angle, varus and valgus angle, internal and external rotation angle, anteroposterior displacement, superior and inferior displacement, and internal and external displacement) recorded by Opti_Knee three-dimensional knee joint motion measurement gait analysis system was observed. The anterior tibial translation difference (ATTD) was measured by Ligs knee measuring instrument when a forward thrust of 120 N was applied to the posterior part of the proximal tibia. Tegner score, IKDC score, KOOS score (including KOOS-Pain score, KOOS-Symptoms score, KOOS-Activities of daily living score, KOOS-Sport score, and KOOS-Quality of life score), HSS score, ACL-RSI score, jumping ability, balance ability, patients' satisfaction with the rehabilitation process, and ACL healing grading according to ACL continuity and signal intensity shown by MRI. RESULTS: There were significant differences in various indicators between different time points after operation in the two groups ( P<0.05). At 3 months after operation, except that the ACL-RSI score of the applet group was significantly higher than that of the regular group ( P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the other indicators between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 6 months after operation, the ACL-RSI score, IKDC score, Tegner score, KOOS scores of different items, HSS score, balance and jumping ability of the applet group were significantly higher than those of the regular group ( P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the other indicators between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 9 months after operation, there was no significant difference in all indicators between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 12 months after operation, 27 cases (67.5%) in the applet group and 21 cases (52.5%) in the regular group returned to sport, with a significant difference of the return to sports incidence between the two groups [ RR(95% CI)=1.50 (1.00, 2.25), P=0.049]. In the applet group, 27 cases were very satisfied with the rehabilitation process, 10 cases were satisfied, 2 cases were basically satisfied, and 1 case was not satisfied, while 19, 13, 5, and 3 cases in the regular group, respectively. The satisfaction degree of the applet group was significantly better than that of the regular group ( P=0.049). MRI examination of the two groups showed that the ACL was continuous without secondary rupture or necrosis. The ACL healing grade of the applet group was 31 cases of grade 1 and 9 cases of grade 2, and that of the regular group was 28 cases of grade 1 and 12 cases of grade 2, there was no significant difference in ACL healing grade between the two groups ( P=0.449). CONCLUSION The application of return to sports WeChat applet in the rehabilitation of patients after ACL reconstruction can significantly reduce the fear of return to sports and improve the rate of return to sports. The return to sports WeChat applet is convenient to operate, with high utilization rate and high patient compliance, which significantly improves the satisfaction.
Humans ; Activities of Daily Living ; Quality of Life ; Return to Sport ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries/surgery* ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

There are few reports on the surgical treatment of secondary malignancy arising from an osteochondroma on the lateral side of the proximal tibia. From March 2008 to December 2011, 3 patients were treated for a secondary chondrosarcoma from an osteochondroma of the proximal tibia involving the fibula. The operative procedure can be summed up as follows: (1) resection of the tumor including the fibula; (2) preservation of the peroneal nerve and the fibular head; and (3) arthrodesis of the proximal tibiofibular joint. Serial radiological studies showed successful fusion in the proximal tibiofibular joint in all patients. The Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional scores were excellent in all 3 patients. No patients showed instability of the ipsilateral knee joint in any direction. All 3 patients could return to sports activities. Until the last follow-up, there was no evidence of disease recurrence. We suggest that the operative procedure described in this article would provide satisfactory oncological and functional outcomes.
Arthrodesis ; Chondrosarcoma* ; Fibula* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Osteochondroma* ; Peroneal Nerve ; Recurrence ; Return to Sport ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Tibia*