Paper 154: Prevalence and Variance of Knee Injuries in Elite College American Football Players

ABSTRACTS creased during the first two months, and it maintained its size during the following months. 2. The regenerated ST tendons which were confirmed on MRI were divided into the following three groups; Group I: clearly identified ST tendon and no change in the ST muscle length (n⫽4), Group II: clearly identified ST tendon and a shortened ST muscle (n⫽17), and Group III: unidentified ST tendon and a shortened ST muscle (n⫽3). In Group I, the knee flexion torque of the affected limb showed no difference compared with the normal limb. In Group II, the knee flexion torque was lower than that in the normal limb, especially at 90 degrees. In Group III, the flexion torque drastically decreased at both 45 and 90 degrees. 3. Macroscopically, the regenerated ST tendon very closely resembled the normal ST tendon. Histologically, the regenerated ST tendon connected directly to the original ST muscle without any scar formation. The alignment of the collagen fibers was almost normal in appearance. Discussion and Conclusion: MRI showed that the water density of the regenerated ST tendon became close to the normal tendon at 6 months. Macroscopical and histological findings showed the regenerated ST tendon resembled close to the normal ST tendon at 2⬃3 years after ACL reconstruction, though in groups with a shortened ST muscle showed a decreased knee flexion torque when compared to the normal side. Paper 154: Prevalence and Variance of Knee Injuries in Elite College American Football Players LEE D. KAPLAN, MD, USA, PRESENTING AUTHOR NICHOLAS HONKAMP, USA PATRICK WALTER JOST, MS, USA JOHN NORWIG, ATC, USA ROBIN V. WEST, MD, USA JAMES P. BRADLEY, MD, USA ABSTRACT Objective: Knee injuries are the second most common musculoskeletal injury encountered in American football players. Each position in football necessitates a different set of skills and requirements. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and variance of knee injuries in elite, intercollegiate American football players by position. Methods: A total of 332 elite, intercollegiate American football players were invited to the National Football League (NFL) Combine for physical testing and medical evaluation. All knee pathological conditions and surgical procedures were recorded. Players were categorized by position for analysis and position specific injury trends. Current and historical data was evaluated for the purpose of this study, and all palyers had radiographic examina-

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tions including plain radiographs and/or MRI when necessary. The association between knee injury and player position was statistically assessed with chi-squared tests. Results: Firty -four percent of the players had a history of knee injury weith a total of 201 knee injuries (1.1 per player injured). The most common injuries were: MCL injury (22%), meniscal injury (10.5%), ACL injury (10.2%) and tendinitis (5.7%). Eighty-six players (25.9%) had a total of 101 surgeries. Knee injuries were most common in defensive linemen (68%), tight ends (64%) and offensive linement (58%). The most common surgeries were: menisectomies (9.3%), ACL reconstruction (8.4%), knee debridement (4.2%) and meniscal repair (3.6%). MCL injuries were the most common injury, occuring more often in offensive linemen, but underwent surgery only 8.2% of the time. Meniscal injuries were found in 10.5% of players with 3.6% medial and 6.9% lateral meniscal injuries. Meniscal injuries were most common in linebackers, and underwent surgery 97.1% of the time. ACL injuries were most common in tight ends, and underwent surgery 79.4% of the time. The positional injury patterns displayed trends, however, none of these positional differences in injury prevalence were found to be significant. Conclusions: This study illustrates the frequency of self-reported knee injuries in elite college Americal football players. Although most of the injuries did not lead to surgery, the majority of non-MCL injuries did lead to surgery. Player position has an influence on the type of injuries sustained, and could be used to target injury prevention strategies for elite, intercollegiate athletes. Paper 155: Psychometric Properties of a Patient Satisfaction Score following Arthroscopic Knee Surgery KAREN K. BRIGGS, MPH, MBA, USA, PRESENTING AUTHOR MARILEE HORAN, BS, USA LAUREN M. MATHENY, BA, USA J. RICHARD STEADMAN, MD, USA ABSTRACT Background: Patient satisfaction has become an outcome measure with great clinical and economic implications. However, most outcome measures used in sports medicine are condition-specific outcome instruments and do not address patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of a single-item patient satisfaction with outcomes after knee surgery score. Methods: Internal consistency, content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, test-retest reliability and responsiveness to change were determined for a singleitem, 10 point patient satisfaction with outcomes scale