<![CDATA[Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy - Candice L. Schachter, DPT, PhD, MHK, BA]]> http://www.jospt.org/candicelschachter Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:05:25 EST 0 Biomechanical Factors Affecting Dave Dravecky’s Return to Competitive Pitching: A Case Study http://www.jospt.org/issues/articleID.1589/article_detail.asp Candice L. Schachter, P B Canham, M F Mottola
Dave Dravecky, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, returned to competition 10 months after surgical removal of a desmoid tumor in the deltoid muscle and cryosurgery of the humerus of his pitching arm. While delivering a pitch, Dravecky sustained a spiral fracture of his humerus. Abnormal loading and muscle balance, changes in bone geometry, stress concentration, and fatigue failure may have contributed to the fracture that halted Dave Dravecky's comeback. Exploration of these biomechanical factors may help the reader contemplate a baseball pitcher's return to high performance after musculoskeletal injury, trauma, and surgery.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1992;16(1):2-5.

Key Words: biomechanical factors, humeral fracture, throwing

]]> http://www.jospt.org/issues/articleID.1589/article_detail.asp The Relationship of Intrinsic Fall Risk Factors to a Recent History of Falling in Older Women With Osteoporosis http://www.jospt.org/issues/articleID.700/article_detail.asp Cathy M. Arnold, Angela J. Busch, Liz Harrison, Wojciech Olszynski, Candice L. Schachter

Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive analysis investigating intrinsic fall risk factors in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Objective: To examine the relationships between history of recent falls and balance, pain, quality of life, function, posture, strength, and mobility. Background: Women with osteoporosis who fall are at a high risk of fracture due to decreased bone strength. Identifying fall risk factors for older women with osteoporosis is a crucial step in decreasing the incidence of falls and fracture. Method and Measures: Seventy-three women over 60 years of age with established osteoporosis participated in comprehensive testing of fall history, physical function, and quality of life. Results: Significant correlations were found between a recent history of falls and degree of kyphosis (r = 0.29), fear of falls/emotional status (r = -0.27), and balance (r = -0.27). Degree of kyphosis and fear of falls/emotional status explained 20% of the variance of recent fall history using binary logistic regression. Women with an increased kyphosis were more likely to have had a recent fall (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.03-1.34) and those with better emotional status and less fear of falling were less likely to have had a recent fall (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.38-0.97). Conclusion: Increased thoracic kyphosis and fear of falling are 2 intrinsic factors associated with recent falls in women with osteoporosis. To design more effective interventions to decrease fall risk in this population, future prospective, longitudinal studies should monitor kyphosis, fear of falling, balance reactions, and other potential risk factors not identified in this study.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2005;35(7):452-460. doi:10.2519/jospt.2005.2029

Key Words: fracture, frail elderly, quality of life

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