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Background:Knee injury among young, active female patients remains a public health issue. Clinicians are called upon to pay greater attention to patient-oriented outcomes to evaluate the impact of these injuries. Little agreement exists on which outcome measures are best, and clinicians cite several barriers to their use. Single Assessment Numerical Evaluation (SANE) may provide meaningful outcome information while lessening the time burden associated with other patient-oriented measures.Hypothesis:The SANE and International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores would be strongly correlated in a cohort of young active female patients with knee injuries from preinjury through 1-year follow-up and that a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) could be calculated for the SANE score.Study Design:Observational prospective cohort.Methods:Two hundred sixty-three subjects completed SANE and IKDC at preinjury by recall, time of injury, and 3, 6, and 12 months postinjury. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the association between SANE and IKDC. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to determine differences in SANE and IKDC over time. MCID was calculated for SANE using IKDC MCID as an anchor.Results:Moderate to strong correlations were seen between SANE and IKDC (0.65-0.83). SANE, on average, was 2.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.5-3.9; P < 0.00) units greater than IKDC over all time points. MCID for the SANE was calculated as 7 for a 6-month follow-up and 19 for a 12-month follow-up.Conclusion:SANE scores were moderately to strongly correlated to IKDC scores across all time points. Reported MCID values for the SANE should be utilized to measure meaningful changes over time for young, active female patients with knee injuries.Clinical Relevance:Providing clinicians with patient-oriented outcome measures that can be obtained with little clinician and patient burden may allow for greater acceptance and use of outcome measures in clinical settings.

Background:With a recent increase in running popularity, more women choose to run during and after pregnancy. Little research has examined exercise behaviors and postpartum health conditions of runners.Hypothesis:Antenatal and postpartum exercise is beneficial in reducing certain postpartum health conditions.Study Design:Cross-sectional study.Level of Evidence:Level 5.Methods:A self-administered, online survey was developed that consisted of questions regarding antenatal and postpartum exercise behaviors, maternal history, and postpartum health conditions. The survey was completed by 507 postpartum women who were running a minimum of once per week.Results:Seventy-two percent of participants ran regularly during pregnancy, with 38% reporting running in the third trimester. Women with musculoskeletal pain during pregnancy were more likely to experience pain on return to running postpartum (odds ratio [OR], 3.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64-5.88). A birth spacing of <2 years or a vaginal-assisted delivery increased the odds of postpartum stress urinary incontinence (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.00-2.91 and OR, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.24-3.47, respectively), while Caesarean section delivery decreased the odds (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35-0.96). Multiparous women and those who reported a Caesarean section delivery were more likely to report abdominal separation (OR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.08-4.26 and OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.05-4.70, respectively). Antenatal weight training decreased the odds of postpartum pain (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.28-0.94), stress urinary incontinence (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.21-0.98), and abdominal separation (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.26-0.96).Conclusion:Musculoskeletal pain, stress urinary incontinence, and abdominal separation are prevalent conditions among postpartum runners and are more likely to occur with specific maternal history characteristics. Antenatal weight training may reduce the odds of each of these conditions.Clinical Relevance:Strengthening exercises during pregnancy may prevent weakening and dysfunction of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, decreasing the odds of pain, stress urinary incontinence, and abdominal separation after pregnancy.

Context:The female athlete triad describes the interrelatedness of energy availability, menstrual function, and bone density. Although associations between triad components and musculoskeletal injury (INJ) have been reported in collegiate athletes, limited information exists about menstrual irregularity (MI) and INJ in the high school population.Objective: To determine the prevalence of and relationship between MI and INJ in high school athletes.Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: High schools. Patients or Other Participants:The sample consisted of 249 female athletes from 3 high schools who competed in 33 interscholastic, school-sponsored sport teams, dance teams, and cheerleading or pom-pon squad during the 2006-2007 school year. Each athlete remained on the roster throughout the season.Main Outcome Measure(s): Participants completed a survey regarding injury type, number of days of sport participation missed, and menstrual history in the past year.Results: The prevalences of M I and INJ were 19.7% and 63.1 %, respectively. Athletes who reported MI sustained a higher percentage of severe injuries (missing ;:>:22 days of practice or competition) than did athletes who reported normal menses. Although the trend was not significant, athletes with MI were almost 3 times more likely to sustain an injury resulting in 7 or more days of time lost from sport (odds ratio=2.7, 95% confidence interval = 0.8, 8.8) than those who sustained an injury resulting in 7 or fewer days of time lost.Conclusions: The incidences of MI and INJ in this high school population during the study period were high. Athletes who reported MI sustained a higher percentage of severe injuries than did athletes who reported normal menses. Education programs to increase knowledge and improve management of MI and its potential effects on injury in female high school athletes are warranted.

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