Sep 14–20, 2026 · 32 new studies, 10 reviews · Sports Medicine archive · All weeks
The new Sports Medicine research The Reduction sent the week of Sep 14–20, 2026, with the week’s most recent reviews, each with a one-line summary.
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Arthroscopic Radiolunate Fusion: Surgical Technique.
This technical article describes a stepwise arthroscopic radiolunate fusion technique for isolated post-traumatic arthritis that preserves the radioscaphoid joint and dart-throwing motion.
Hip arthroscopy with capsular plication for surgically confirmed microinstability produced patient-reported outcomes and revision rates comparable to matched non-instability arthroscopy controls at a minimum 2-year follow-up.
In revision ACL reconstruction with soft-tissue grafts, adding suture augmentation improved activity scores, reduced graft failure, and increased return-to-sport rates compared to isolated reconstruction.
Among 129 post-ACLR patients, landing mechanics (LESS scores), strength, and patient-reported outcomes did not differ between contact and noncontact injury mechanisms, supporting continued focus on landing mechanics in rehab regardless of injury type.
After hip arthroscopy for FAI using periportal capsulotomy, younger age, lower Tönnis grade, lower alpha angle, and male sex predicted achieving clinically significant outcome improvement at 2 years.
ACL injury mechanism in elite and recreational handball players.
A large Danish registry study found most handball ACL injuries were non-contact, occurring during pivoting or landing while in ball possession, especially among back-line players on offense.
At ≥5-year follow-up, combined endoscopic gluteal tendon and labral repair produced patient outcomes and reoperation rates comparable to isolated labral repair despite greater abductor pathology.
Compared with earlier hip arthroscopy techniques, contemporary capsular repair and labral repair/reconstruction for FAIS produced better patient-reported outcomes and higher return-to-sport rates (97.6% vs 81%) in matched athletes.
MRI analysis found a more horizontal, distally attached ACL posterolateral bundle associated with lateral femoral condyle osteochondritis dissecans, suggesting a possible role in disease pathogenesis and healing prediction.
Despite good objective stability after ACL reconstruction, reconstructed knees still feel less 'forgotten' than the healthy knee, and greater psychological readiness (ACL-RSI) is strongly linked to better long-term joint awareness.
In this RCT, skipping sling immobilization after open Latarjet surgery led to better 2-year Rowe and instability scores than standard sling use, challenging routine postoperative immobilization.
This commentary proposes replacing 'arthrogenic muscle inhibition' with 'quadriceps activation failure,' framing it as severe, substantial, or persistent across ACL injury recovery phases.
Among imaging measures for tibial tubercle lateralization, TT-TG showed the highest diagnostic accuracy but only moderate interobserver reliability compared with TT-RA and TT-ME distances, while TT-PCL distance had no diagnostic value.
Patellar tendon-lateral trochlear ridge (PT-LTR) distance ≥4.6 mm is a reliable, highly specific MRI measurement for identifying patellofemoral instability, complementing TT-TG.
Reinforcing thin fascia lata grafts with a polyester patch significantly increased stiffness and ultimate load to levels matching thick grafts, offering a viable alternative for superior capsule reconstruction when thick graft harvest is difficult.
In 398 tibial tubercle osteotomies, two 3.5 mm screws had significantly higher fixation failure rates than two 4.5 mm screws, suggesting screw size is a modifiable risk factor.
In a large propensity-matched database study, adding lateral extra-articular tenodesis to ACL reconstruction was associated with more early complications, arthrofibrosis, meniscal reoperation, and osteoarthritis without reducing revision ACL surgery, urging careful patient selection.
A 40-expert Delphi consensus supports anterolateral ligament reconstruction or lateral extra-articular procedures for high-grade pivot shift, revision ACL surgery, and high-risk pivoting athletes, but not routine use in all ACL patients.
In professional athletes after ACLR, absolute hop performance combined with psychological readiness (ACL-RSI) predicted reinjury risk better than traditional limb symmetry index thresholds.
Epidemiology of Acromioclavicular Sprains in the National Football League, 2015-2021.
NFL data from 2015-2021 show AC sprains cause significant missed playing time, with running backs, tight ends, wide receivers, and quarterbacks having the highest injury rates, supporting targeted padding/bracing prevention strategies.
The Social Media Trend of Cycle Syncing: An Analysis of the Content and Quality of Videos on TikTok.
An analysis of TikTok's popular 'cycle syncing' fitness content found it overwhelmingly low-quality, rarely from healthcare providers, and often driven by affiliate marketing rather than evidence.
Meta-analysis of 13 studies shows generalized joint laxity is linked to greater residual knee laxity after ACL reconstruction, though graft failure rates and clinical outcomes remain inconsistently affected.
In elite athletes with high posterior tibial slope and failed ACLR, combining slope-reducing osteotomy with revision ACLR enabled all patients to return to preinjury sport level with excellent functional outcomes and no graft failures.
Patients with ACL rupture showed bilateral gait changes—reduced hip external rotation/adduction and ankle internal rotation plus lower affected-side knee flexion—supporting rehab that addresses both limbs.
In ACLR patients, those with weaker quadriceps recovery show more persistent abnormal knee gait mechanics than stronger-recovery patients, and neither group fully normalizes to controls—supporting adjunct gait-focused rehab beyond strength training alone.
Adding latissimus dorsi transfer to lateralized reverse shoulder arthroplasty did not improve external rotation or functional scores over rTSA alone but caused significantly more early proximal humeral bone erosion.
CT analysis showed manually contoured femoral head/neck allograft achieved 68-92% filling of tibial and femoral tunnel osteolytic defects before 2-stage revision ACL reconstruction, with lower cost than prefabricated dowels.
In competitive athletes with hip dysplasia, combined hip arthroscopy and periacetabular osteotomy yielded a 93% return-to-sport rate, with most returning to the same or higher competitive level.
In this RCT of chronic tennis elbow, 'therapeutic-dose' radial shockwave therapy showed no benefit over minimal-dose treatment when combined with a home exercise program, arguing against high-dose ESWT protocols.
In this 5-year MRI study, fascia lata grafts after superior capsular reconstruction progressively thinned over time, correlating with humeral head migration and worse clinical outcomes, and MRA revealed many "intact" grafts were actually retorn.
Among 255 arthroscopic Bankart repair patients, Hill-Sachs lesion size correlated with dislocation versus subluxation rather than chronicity, while chronic instability instead predicted a smaller distance to dislocation.
ACL absence on preoperative MRI independently predicted worse mid-term Knee Society function scores after cruciate-retaining TKA, despite no significant impact on KOOS or Forgotten Joint Score.
This technical review outlines mechanisms, risk factors, and prevention strategies for complications of anterior closing-wedge high tibial osteotomy performed alongside ACL reconstruction, without pooling complication rates due to heterogeneous data.
Normal or Not? Acetabular Morphology Is Not a Binary Classification.
This review argues that acetabular morphology measurements (like LCEA, Tönnis angle, and Graf classification) reflect a continuous dose-response risk rather than a simple normal/abnormal cutoff, challenging legacy diagnostic models.
Injuries to the Rectus Femoris: A Review of Evaluation, Management, and Return to Sport.
This review covers diagnosis, nonoperative and surgical management, and return-to-sport outcomes for rectus femoris muscle and tendon injuries.
Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Capitellum in the Young Athlete.
Reviews diagnosis and treatment of capitellar osteochondritis dissecans in young throwing/gymnastics athletes, noting osteochondral autograft/allograft transplantation now favors better outcomes than isolated debridement for larger unstable lesions.
This review highlights the lack of standardized, evidence-based return-to-play protocols after cervical spine surgery in elite rugby union, calling for a multidisciplinary, sport-specific guideline to improve player safety.
This review summarizes current controversies in PCL injury management, including repair versus reconstruction, graft and fixation choices, and factors like posterior tibial slope affecting outcomes.
This scoping review finds objective clinical tests for return-to-sport after shoulder instability surgery vary widely in pass rates and don't reliably predict the 5-10% re-dislocation risk.
Biologic augmentation of meniscus repair: A scoping review.
This scoping review of 125 studies found biologic augmentation of meniscus repair—most commonly platelet-rich plasma—is widely used but lacks high-quality evidence to guide specific indications.
A review of ClinicalTrials.gov found 159 knee injury trials from 2021-2024, mostly adult ACL-focused studies, highlighting gaps in pediatric enrollment and injury-type diversity.
An international Delphi consensus of 53 experts defines when to add lateral extra-articular procedures to ACL reconstruction, strongly recommending them for hamstring autografts in young/active patients, high-grade pivot shift, hyperextension, and skeletal immaturity.
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