Evidence-Based Assessment and Prevention of ACL Injuries Print CE Course

Course components are delivered online or in print:

• 20 evidence-based practice articles from Sports Medicine Research

• Continuing education exam

More than 250,000 ACL injuries occur every year, and athletic trainers, physical therapists, and others who work with athletes need to be well versed in the assessment and prevention of ACL injuries. Evidence-Based Assessment and Prevention of ACL Injuries CE Course provides practitioners with a comprehensive review of the literature surrounding the assessment and prevention techniques for ACL injuries. This continuing education course presents 20 research articles regarding evaluation and avoidance of ACL injury with the goal of demonstrating how athletic trainers and therapists can use existing studies and apply the information to their own practice. The articles are followed by an exam containing 100 questions. Upon passing the exam, you may print out and submit a certificate for continuing education credits.

The first portion of the course evaluates various tests that can be used in determining the severity of an ACL injury as well as how susceptible the injured athlete may be to attaining one in the first place. Factors used to determine return to sports are also examined, including measuring anterior tibial translation, examining lower-extremity functional deficits, using clinical rotational tests, and analyzing age and quadriceps strength. Because research has indicated that ACL injuries are preventable with dynamic neuromuscular training programs, the second part of the course focuses on prevention and includes articles on the effectiveness of warm-up programs. Special focus is applied to the FIFA11+ program and a coach’s role in players’ adherence to injury prevention. Each article in the course summarizes the research, offers a clinical appraisal, and cites the clinical relevance of the study.

Evidence-Based Assessment and Prevention of ACL Injuries CE Course supports the initiative in the athletic training profession to integrate the best new research and evidence into clinical decision making with the goal of improving patient outcomes. Certified athletic trainers completing this course may earn continuing education units to apply toward the required evidence-based practice category to maintain their certification.

Jeffrey B. Driban, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor in the division of rheumatology at Tufts University School of Medicine and a member of the special and scientific staff at Tufts Medical Center. The goal of his research is to explore novel biochemical and imaging markers to gain a better understanding of osteoarthritis pathophysiology and potential disease phenotypes.

Driban received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Delaware. During his doctoral training at Temple University, he focused on various aspects of osteoarthritis, such as early pathophysiology in animal models, biochemical markers in joint fluid, systematic reviews of risk factors for osteoarthritis, and survey of medication use among patients with osteoarthritis. In January 2010 he began a postdoctoral research fellowship in the division of rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center, where he continued his focus on osteoarthritis and learned new assessment strategies in magnetic resonance imaging.

Stephen Thomas, PhD, ATC, is an assistant professor at Temple University. Thomas received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in athletic training from Temple University. He then received his PhD in biomechanics and movement science from the University of Delaware. Before working at Neumann University, Thomas completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania in the department of orthopedic surgery and biomedical engineering, where he received a Ruth L. Kirschstein Research Grant from the National Institutes of Health. He has served on several national committees and is the chair of the research committee for the American Society of Shoulder and Elbow Therapists.

Thomas continues to be active in the area of research, participating as a manuscript reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He is on the executive board for Athletic Training and Sports Health Care. He also was an ad hoc grant reviewer for the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association and is the cofounder of a website dedicated to the summary of sports medicine research called Sports Medicine Research (www.sportsmedres.org). Thomas has numerous peer-reviewed publications and abstracts on shoulder adaptations resulting from overhead throwing and the basic science of rotator cuff injury and healing. He also has given several invited lectures throughout the United States on overhead throwing.