Using Prospective Outcome Measures to Determine the Risk of Re-injury

Purpose: This study has two aims: 1) To determine if athletes return to baseline values of physical capability when return to play (RTP) is permitted, and 2) To determine if athletes not returning to preinjury level of physical capability are at greater risk for re-injury than those athletes who have returned to pre-injury level of capability when both return to sport participation. Design: This study will be a single arm non-randomized, unblinded, multi-site study that will be prospective and longitudinal in design with a focus on a large cohort of subjects Methods: Baseline measures of patient reported outcomes and actual physical function will be obtained from collegiate athletes during pre-season training. If a shoulder, elbow, knee, or ankle injury occurs and the athlete is restricted for 1 day from participation, the same baseline testing will reoccur at the following time sequences; at discharge, 1, 3, 6, 12 months post-discharge. Individual measures of physical capability will include subjective assessment via self-reported questionnaires and quantitative assessment of the upper and lower extremity through physical performance tests. Subjects will be monitored until the completion of the season to determine if re-injury occurred following discharge from rehabilitation. Data Analysis: The distribution of data for each functional variable will be assessed for normality using Shapiro-Wilk test for normality. Based on this result, the appropriate parametric or non-parametric comparison of baseline scores to discharge scores will be compared to determine if discharge scores returned to baseline values (aim 1). A chi-square test will be utilized to compare re-injury rates for athletes (who have been granted RTP) who have and who have not returned to pre-season levels of physical capability (aim 2). Under the assumption of a binomial distribution, an exact test will be utilized and will be reported with 95% confidence intervals due to the normal distribution not being present. Alpha will be set at p