Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35346343›Full record

ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2022

Asymptomatic foot and ankle structural injuries: a 3D imaging and finite element analysis of elite fencers.

Congfei Lu, Yuxuan Fan, Genyu Yu, Hua Chen, Jonathan Sinclair, Yifang Fan

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 51% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Congfei LuFoot Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Sport and Health Science of Fujian Province, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China.
Yuxuan FanFoot Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Sport and Health Science of Fujian Province, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China.
Genyu YuFoot Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Sport and Health Science of Fujian Province, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China.
Hua ChenFoot Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Sport and Health Science of Fujian Province, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China.
Jonathan SinclairResearch Centre for Applied Sport, Physical Activity and Performance, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, Preston, PR1 2HE, UK.
Yifang FanFoot Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of Sport and Health Science of Fujian Province, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350117, China. tfyf@fjnu.edu.cn.
Fujian Normal University · CNUniversity of Central Lancashire · GB

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 11672075; 11972119Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province 2019J01429
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFencing is a highly asymmetrical combat sport, that imposes high mechanical demands over repeated exposures on the musculoskeletal structures, a primary cause of injuries in fencers. However, there are limited epidemiological studies on the structural injuries of the foot and ankle in fencers. This study aimed to investigate foot and ankle structural injuries, and explore how metatarsophalangeal joint structural changes may affect the mechanisms of foot and ankle injuries in asymptomatic fencers.

methods3D images of foot and ankle morphology using computed tomography were obtained from ten elite fencers. We then constructed finite element models of the first metatarsophalangeal joint in the foot of their trail legs. The validated models were used to simulate stress distribution changes from different ankle joint angles during lunging.

resultsThe findings showed that stress distribution changes at the medial and lateral sesamoid may have caused sesamoid fractures, and that habitual and concentrated stress on the metatarsal bones might have flattened the sesamoid groove. This process may damage the integrity of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, and consequently affect the efficiency of the windlass mechanism in fencers. During lunging, different ankle joint angles of the trail foot increased the total stress difference of the medial and lateral foot, and thus influenced the lunging quality and its stability.

conclusionsOur findings revealed that the asymmetric nature of fencing might have caused asymptomatic foot and ankle structural injuries, and finite element analysis results indicated that this might increase the incidence of the serious injuries if unattended. Regular computed tomography examination should be introduced to monitor elite fencers' lower limb alterations, permitting unique angle adjustments in the trail foot without sacrificing technical or physiologic properties based on the exam results and reduce the lower limb injury risk.

Indexed as

Biomechanical monitoringElite fencersFirst metatarsophalangeal jointLungeSesamoidTrail foot

Identifiers

PMID35346343
PMCPMC8962477
OpenAlexW4221084283

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.