James E Gaida

Objective: This research aimed to explore the quality-of-life and experiences of people with Achilles tendinopathy. Design: This mixed-methods research used the 8-dimension Assessment of Quality-of-Life (AQoL-8D), focus groups and grounded theory analysis. AQoL-8D scores were compared with population normative scores. In focus groups, participan...

Background: While metabolic health is acknowledged to affect connective tissue structure and function, the mechanisms are unclear. Glucocorticoids are present in almost every cell type throughout the body and control key physiological processes such as energy homeostasis, stress response, inflammatory and immune processes, and cardiovascular funct...

BACKGROUND Chronic edema of the leg is a risk factor for cellulitis. Daily use of compression garments on the leg has been recommended to prevent the recurrence of cellulitis, but there is limited evidence from trials regarding its effectiveness. METHODS In this single-center, randomized, nonblinded trial, we assigned participants with chronic edem...

Tendon injury is a considerable problem affecting both physically active and sedentary people. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between markers for metabolic disorders (hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and metabolic syndrome) and the risk of developing tendon injuries requiring referral to a hospital. The Copenhagen City Hea...

Western democracies are losing the global technological competition, including the race for scientific and research breakthroughs, and the ability to retain global talent—crucial ingredients that underpin the development and control of the world’s most important technologies, including those that don’t yet exist. Our research reveals that China ha...

Objective To develop and evaluate a modified version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire, for use in sedentary patients with Achilles tendinopathy, using the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments recommendations. Methods Twenty-two sedentary patients with Achilles t...

Objective: The aim of this review was to investigate if exercise induced hypoalgesia (EIH) occurs following isometric muscle contraction in people with local musculoskeletal symptoms. Design: Systematic review. Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL & SportDiscus electronic databases were searched (inception to April 2020). Eligibility criteri...

Background: Sympathetic activity and insulin resistance have recently been linked with chronic tendon and musculoskeletal pain. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is linked with insulin resistance and increased sympathetic drive and was therefore an appropriate condition to study the effects of modulating sympathetic activity on Achilles tendon and muscu...

Objectives Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain (RCRSP) is a common upper limb complaint. It has been suggested that this condition is more common among people with cardiometabolic risk factors. This systematic review has synthesised evidence from case–control, cross-sectional and cohort studies on the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) an...

Introduction Cellulitis represents a significant burden to patients’ quality of life (QOL) and cost to the healthcare system, especially due to its recurrent nature. Chronic oedema is a strong risk factor for both an initial episode of cellulitis and cellulitis recurrence. Expert consensus advises compression therapy to prevent cellulitis recurrenc...

Objectives: There is considerable debate among clinicians as to whether sports tape can provide mechanical support and pain relief. People with greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) have increased adduction moment, adduction angle and pelvic obliquity, likely contributing to the continuation of the pathology. We aimed to see if Dynamic Tape ® c...

Background Vertebral artery dissection (VAD) is a potentially catastrophic injury that may occur during sports participation. A comprehensive review is needed to collate documented cases to improve understanding and inform future preventative approaches. Objective This review aimed to understand the extent of VAD in sport and characterise trends s...

The current pilot study investigates whether oral supplementation of specific collagen peptides improves symptoms and tendon vascularisation in patients with chronic mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy in combination with structured exercise. Participants were given a placebo or specific collagen peptides (TENDOFORTE®) in combination with a bi-daily...

Objectives: The role of neovascularisation in tendinopathy is still poorly understood, potentially due to technical limitations of conventional power Doppler ultrasound. This study aimed to investigate the association between contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) microvascular volume (MV), Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) s...

Objective: Pain pressure thresholds (PPT) are used to study peripheral and central pain processing. In the tendon, pathological changes may exist without pain. This pilot study aimed to compare PPT between individuals with normal tendons and asymptomatic tendon pathology, and between individuals with and without a history of tendon pain. Methods:...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a 4-week in-season exercise program of isometric or isotonic exercises on tendon structure and dimensions as quantified by Ultrasound Tissue Characterization (UTC). Design: Randomized clinical trial. Volleyball and basketball players (16-31 years, n=29) with clinically diagnosed...

Objective: Physical activity (PA) interventions to address noncommunicable disease (NCD) risk are commonly delivered in private practice and outpatient physiotherapy settings. This study reviewed the efficacy of physiotherapist-led physical activity (PLPA) interventions at improving PA levels. Data sources: Twelve databases were searched using t...

Metabolic factors such as cholesterol appear to play an important role in the development of Achilles tendinopathy. There is, however, no morphologic proof explaining the link between high cholesterol and tendinopathy. As apolipoprotein A1 (Apo-A1) is essential for reverse cholesterol transport, it may be related to cholesterol overload in tendon....

Tendinopathy is a common condition, which has been linked to surrogate measures of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and insulin resistance. This study aimed to compare in vivo measures of the SNS and insulin resistance between individuals with and without Achilles tendinopathy. This case-control study compared Achilles tendinopathy suffere...

Purpose: To verify the immediate effects of altering sagittal plane trunk position during jump-landings on lower limb biomechanics, patellar tendon force and pain of athletes with and without patellar tendinopathy. Methods: Twenty-one elite male athletes were categorized into 3 groups, athletes with patellar tendinopathy (TG, n=7), asymptomatic...

Background Previous injury is a strong risk factor for recurrent lower limb injury in athletic populations, yet the association between previous injury and a subsequent injury different in nature or location is rarely considered. Objective To systematically review data on the risk of sustaining a subsequent lower limb injury different in nature or...

Objectives: Physiotherapists promote physical activity as part of their practice. This study reviewed the behaviour change techniques physiotherapists use when promoting physical activity in experimental and observational studies. Design: Systematic review of experimental and observational studies. Methods: Twelve databases were searched using...

Objective: This study aimed to compare the immediate analgesic effects of 2 resistance programs in in-season athletes with patellar tendinopathy (PT). Resistance training is noninvasive, a principle stimulus for corticospinal and neuromuscular adaptation, and may be analgesic. Design: Within-season randomized clinical trial. Data analysis was co...

Background: Professional development is essential in the health disciplines. Knowing the cost and value of educational approaches informs decisions and choices about learning and teaching practices. Objective: The primary aim of this study was to conduct a cost analysis of participation in continuing professional development via social media compar...

Objective: Our objective was to compare the change in research informed knowledge of health professionals and their intended practice following exposure to research information delivered by either Twitter or Facebook. Methods: This open label comparative design study randomized health professional clinicians to receive “practice points” on tendino...

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) are highly effective broad spectrum antibiotics. Clinical data reveal an increased incidence of tendon pain and rupture in those taking FQs, yet little is known about tendon structural changes. This review synthesises published data on tendon structural changes in people who have taken FQs. Eight databases were searched for p...

Objectives: Hip control affects movement and muscle firing patterns in the leg, ankle and foot, and may contribute to overuse injuries. Muscle performance can be measured as strength, endurance or muscle activation patterns. Our objective was to systematically review whether hip muscle performance is associated with leg, ankle and foot injuries. Da...

This measure was developed in conjunction with Mr Richard Norris, Ms Jaya Raju, Associate Prof Jamie Gaida and Professor Jill Cook. The measure needs to be completed with the patient. Scoring uses the grey shaded numbers below the 10 point scoring boxes. Our reseearch presented at the International scientific tendon symposium in Cape Town October...

Drowning is a leading cause of death among infants and toddlers. Unique physiological and behavioural factors contribute to high mortality rates. Drowning incidents predominantly occur during warmer months and holidays. Recent studies link high socio-economic status and drowning, in contrast to earlier studies. Cardiac arrhythmias, epilepsy and aut...

Objectives Many athletes with patellar tendinopathy participate in sports with symptoms during or after activities. Current treatments do not decrease pain in-season; eccentric exercises in-season result in an increase in pain. This study examined if isometric and isotonic exercises relieved pain in competing athletes with patellar tendinopathy. D...

Exercise is crucial in the management of diabetes mellitus and its associated complications. However, individuals with diabetes have a heightened risk of musculoskeletal problems, including tendon pathologies. Diabetes has a significant impact on the function of tendons due to the accumulation of advanced glycation end-products in the load-bearing...

Background Musculoskeletal symptoms limit adherence to exercise interventions for individuals with type 2 diabetes. People with diabetes may be susceptible to tendinopathy due to chronically elevated blood glucose levels. Therefore, we aimed to investigate this potential association by systematically reviewing and meta-analysing case–control, cross...

My favourite writing rules – loosely based on those of Frank L. Visco published in June 1986 Writers' digest.

Background: Achilles tendinopathy is a painful musculoskeletal condition that is common among athletes, and which limits training capacity and competitive performance. The lack of biomarkers for tendinopathy limits research into risk factors and also the evaluation of new treatments. Cytokines and growth factors involved in regulating the response...

Tendinopathy can be resistant to treatment and often recurs, implying that current treatment approaches are suboptimal. Rehabilitation programmes that have been successful in terms of pain reduction and return to sport outcomes usually include strength training. Muscle activation can induce analgesia, improving self-efficacy associated with reducin...

Background: The most effective method for teaching practical skills to healthcare professional students is unclear. Traditional teaching models perpetuate a passive learning pedagogy, whilst variation between tutors reduces target clarity. The flipped classroom model provides opportunities for enhancing student engagement. In a flipped classroom, s...

Critical reading and synopsis

Background: Tendon pain occurs in individuals with extreme cholesterol levels (familial hypercholesterolaemia). It is unclear whether the association with tendon pain is strong with less extreme elevations of cholesterol. Objective: To determine whether lipid levels are associated with abnormal tendon structure or the presence of tendon pain. M...

Background: Achilles tendon structure deteriorates 2-days after maximal loading in elite athletes. The load-response behaviour of tendons may be altered in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) as hyperglycaemia accelerates collagen cross-linking. This study compared Achilles tendon load-response in participants with T1DM and controls. Methods: Achill...

Background: Approximately 80% of research evidence relevant to clinical practice never reaches the clinicians delivering patient care. A key barrier for the translation of evidence into practice is the limited time and skills clinicians have to find and appraise emerging evidence. Social media may provide a bridge between health researchers and hea...

Background Few interventions reduce patellar tendinopathy (PT) pain in the short term. Eccentric exercises are painful and have limited effectiveness during the competitive season. Isometric and isotonic muscle contractions may have an immediate effect on PT pain. Methods This single-blinded, randomised cross-over study compared immediate and 45 mi...

Physical activity has almost completely been eliminated from daily life. In combination with easy access to energy-dense foods, this leads to an obesogenic environment [1]. The obesogenic environment leads to high rates of cardiovascular disease via metabolic risk factors, such as elevated cholesterol and glucose (type 2 diabetes). Metabolic risk...

Introduction Achilles tendinopathy is commonly encountered in clinical practice yet can be quite difficult to successfully treat. Relative overload is the precursor to most presentations, while systemic conditions can decrease the amount of load that triggers overload. While there is evidence for the use of eccentric exercise, it is not recommended...

Background Students are sometimes involved in incidents during clinical training. There are no quantitative studies of incidents specifically involving physiotherapy students. Methods A retrospective audit (2008 to 2011) of incident reports involving physiotherapy students was conducted to identify the nature and features of incidents. The study a...

BACKGROUND: Establishing and promoting connections between health researchers and health professional clinicians may help translate research evidence to clinical practice. Social media may have the capacity to enhance these connections. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore health researchers' and clinicians' current use of social media a...

Tendinopathy is a clinical diagnosis of localised tendon pain often confirmed by imaging findings. The pathophysiological cause of the pain is unknown and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) may be implicated. To review what is known regarding the role of the SNS in human tendinopathy. Published data describing sympathetic innervation or an index...