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Movement Science – Breaking Down Movements in Young Baseball Players

Movement Science – Breaking Down Movements in Young Baseball Players

by | Oct 27, 2023 | Sports Medicine

As part of SAFE (Sports-specific Assessment and Functional Evaluation), our team is developing sport-specific protocols for the use of motion capture technology in sports medicine that are being used across the country. There are only a handful of sports that have received attention in the motion capture world, and those are typically performance-based models. The models that our team are creating evaluate foundational movements to help us predict injuries and improve return to play protocols. To do this, we will need to record a great deal of data from a large number of athletes.

For the past two summers, our Movement Science Lab team in Frisco has collected data sets on our baseball program participants and some other volunteers. Though we are just getting started on the total number of athletes to test, we are making great progress on tweaking the protocol and looking at preliminary results to understand where to go next. Here are a few things that we are looking at in the study:

Trunk mobility – specifically in the thoracic spine. We’ve identified the best way to capture the mobility of the upper spine. We believe that tightness there may affect the stress on the shoulder during throwing.

 
Motion throughout the body while throwing. Because our movement science lab is spacious, with 14-camera motion capture system, we can monitor joint angles, speed and forces throughout the body during high velocity pitching. We believe some movements are directly related to the development of elbow and shoulder injuries, particularly when there is a high volume of throws without rest.

 
Single leg stability with motion. Most sports require movement of the legs, and most of the time, only one leg is in contact with the ground. We are measuring the differences from side to side and between athletes to identify asymmetry in static and dynamic single leg movements. We believe asymmetry is a factor for increased injury risk in all athletes.

 
Leader of the project and assistant director of the Movement Science Lab in Frisco, Sophia Ulman, Ph.D., says, “Early results from this study are helping us to establish an evidence-based return to play decision-making model.” Many have heard of functional testing or return to play testing for athletes returning to sport after a significant knee surgery, such as an ACL reconstruction. This new upper extremity program is much needed in the pediatric sports medicine community. As we continue to collect information about healthy athletes, we will use the results to continue to modify the upper extremity return to play program. This is an example of where our clinical teams of physicians, physician assistants and physical therapists collaborate with our research team to make changes that impact athletes today.

We are continuing to work on this baseball project and invite healthy young athletes to help us. We schedule testing dates periodically and would be happy to send you the calendar to sign up or work with your team to find a date to do testing together.

To learn more about Movement Science, please call 469-515-7160 or email MSL.Frisco@tsrh.org. 

Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia

Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia

by | Oct 3, 2023 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders

What is Take Flight? Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia is a curriculum written by the staff of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children. Take Flight builds on the success of the three previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the institution: Alphabetic Phonics, the Dyslexia Training Program and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Literacy Program. The curriculum was designed for use by dyslexia therapists with children ages 7 years and older who have developmental dyslexia. The purpose was to enable students with dyslexia to achieve and maintain better word recognition, reading fluency, reading comprehension and aid in the transition from a therapy setting to ‘real world’ learning. How is Take Flight Implemented? Take Flight is designed for small group instruction (two to six students) for a minimum of 45 minutes per day, five days each week. Alternatively, the lessons can be taught for 60 minutes each day for four days a week. Take Flight includes 132 new learning days and 98 application days for a total of 230 days of direct instruction. What is included in the Take Flight Program for Students? Take Flight contains the five components of effective reading instruction supported by the National Reading Panel research meta-analysis and mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and reading comprehension. With Take Flight, students will learn all 44 sounds of the English language, 96 letter – sound correspondence rules and 87 affixes. The student will also learn spelling rules for base words and derivatives. Practice opportunities are also provided that are designed to improve oral reading fluency. Finally, Take Flight introduces comprehension and vocabulary building strategies for both narrative and expository text in the context of oral reading exercises to prepare students for successful, independent reading. Key research findings on Take Flight include:
  • Students who complete Take Flight instruction show significant growth in all areas of reading skill.
  • Follow-up research with children who completed treatment indicates that students maintain the benefits of instruction on word reading skills and continue to improve in reading comprehension.
  • Take Flight is effective when used in schools by therapists with advanced training in remediation of students with dyslexia.
  • Students with the lowest reading skills acquire the strongest gains from Take Flight instruction.
There are 109 instructors that teach Take Flight to other dyslexia therapists representing 24 training courses. Because of this work with instructors and therapists, Take Flight is servicing children in 46 states and nine countries. Our team is now reaching more than 20,000 new students with dyslexia each year. Scottish Rite for Children also offers other supplemental programs:
  • Rite Flight: A Classroom Reading Rate Program was designed for use by classroom teachers, reading specialists and special education teachers with first through eighth grade students to help students increase their reading rate and fluency. It can be used as supplemental or intervention instruction for individuals, small groups or the whole classroom.
  • Rite Flight: A Classroom Comprehension Program may be integrated into a core reading program as a supplement to address reading comprehension more completely. It is designed for use by classroom teachers, reading specialists or special education teachers with first through eighth grade students as a tool for intensified comprehension intervention for struggling readers.
  • Build: A K-1 Early Reading Intervention is a 100-lesson reading intervention.  Build is a small group intervention that addresses the five specific components of reading intervention. Each component is taught developmentally using a direct, systematic, cumulative, multisensory method of introduction and practice to meet the specific needs of kindergarten and first grade students struggling in reading.
  • Bridges: A Dyslexia Intervention Connecting Teacher, Avatar & Student is a two-year curriculum that can be taught by a certified teacher. The avatar, Ms. Hallie, co-teaches by delivering the more complex aspects of the structured dyslexia intervention. Those familiar with Take Flight know that it was designed for use by academic language therapists. Developing that expertise is a two-year process, and at times, that can become a discrepancy between the number of students identified with dyslexia and the number of trained therapists available to provide services. Bridges is the carefully considered response to the complication.
  • Jet: A Fast-Paced Reading Intervention is a one-year curriculum that builds on the success of the four previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the staff of Scottish Rite for Children. It was developed for individuals with dyslexia fourteen years and older.
Learn more about the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders.
Get to Know our Staff: Nandina Paria, Research

Get to Know our Staff: Nandina Paria, Research

by | Jul 12, 2023 | Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite for Children? 
I work as a senior scientist in the Molecular Genetics division of the Research department. I am responsible for conducting various research projects to identify the genetic cause of the musculoskeletal disorders treated at Scottish Rite and study the molecular mechanism of disease development. Additionally, I oversee the daily lab operation/maintenance as a lab manager.

What do you do on a daily basis or what sort of duties do you have at work?
My daily work involves designing and performing experiments in the lab, analyzing and interpreting data pertaining to various projects. I spend a lot of time in the lab doing experiments on bench.

What was your first job? What path did you take to get here or what led you to Scottish Rite? How long have you worked here?
When I was in college, I used to tutor a high school student. That was my first job.

I did my masters in Molecular Biology in India and came to the United States to pursue my Ph.D. I always wanted to work on human diseases so that my research/findings can benefit people. After I finished my Ph.D., I got an opportunity to join Dr. Carol Wise’s group as a postdoctoral fellow at Scottish Rite, and my dream came true! I have been working in Scottish Rite for past 11 years.

What do you enjoy most about Scottish Rite?
I love the work environment at Scottish Rite. I am very thankful to be a part of a group where people are extremely nice, supportive, helpful and fun-loving. I thoroughly enjoy working here.

Tell us something about your job that others might not already know?
Research is hard, and we do not get to see success every day. But when we discover something that can help patient care in the long run, even to a little extent, I find that very rewarding!

Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
That would be my visit to the Sam Sand Dunes in Rajasthan, India, when I was a child. Exploring the desert riding on a camel’s back was the most fascinating and interesting experience ever.

What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
I love to watch soccer and cricket when I get a chance.

If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
I would like to go back to my childhood years … those days were precious!

What’s one fun fact about yourself?
I love to listen to audio stories during my commute to and from work. I am a huge fan of thrillers!

Hand Camp Around the World

Hand Camp Around the World

by | Jun 28, 2023 | Hand Conditions

Scottish Rite for Children is world-renowned for its patient-centered care for children with orthopedic conditions, and our Center for Excellence in Hand is committed to caring for children with hand and upper limb conditions.

Focused on providing innovative treatment to help patients live active and independent lives, Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist Amy Lake, OTR, CHT, recently shared her knowledge at the 2023 World Symposium on Congenital Malformations of the Hand and Upper Limb. Working with a team from around the world, Lake served as co-chair. She shared her research and insight surrounding patient involvement in Hand Camp as well as the impact therapeutic camps have on children with hand differences. 

For more than 20 years, Scottish Rite has created a therapeutic and safe environment for patients with congenital hand differences through Hand Camp. Hand camp provides an opportunity for children with upper limb differences and their families to meet others facing the same challenges while enhancing confidence and self-esteem.

Lake’s research evaluates the positive benefits these camps provide to this patient population. Results showed that the participation in camp enhances their self-esteem and overall hand function, which promotes participation in extracurricular activities.

Her published study and passion for treating the whole child is inspiring hospitals all over the world to start their own hand camps. We are so proud to have Amy as part of our team sharing the incredible things happening at Scottish Rite.

Nighttime Bracing Coupled with Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-specific Exercises Can Reduce Adolescent Spinal Curves

Nighttime Bracing Coupled with Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-specific Exercises Can Reduce Adolescent Spinal Curves

by | May 17, 2023 | Research & Innovation

Scoliosis is one of the most common pediatric orthopedic conditions and presents very differently depending on the patient. Research into nonoperative treatment methods has shown promising results for using a Providence or nighttime brace in addition to physiotherapeutic scoliosis-specific exercises (PSSE).

Scottish Rite for Children pediatric orthopedic surgeon Amy L. McIntosh, M.D., and a  team of physical therapists, orthotists, and others conducted this prospective comparative study to evaluate the effectiveness of PSSE in skeletally immature patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis treated with nighttime bracing (PSSE group) compared with the standard of care of nighttime bracing alone (control group). Their findings were published in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics in the article “The Addition of Daytime Physiotherapeutic Scoliosis-Specific Exercises to Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Nighttime Bracing Reduces Curve Progression.”

Skeletally immature patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who have moderate curves are treated with thoracolumbosacral orthoses, which are designed for nighttime wear. The effectiveness of PSSE in addition to nighttime bracing compared with nighttime bracing alone was unknown. Patients in this study met the following inclusion criteria: diagnosis of AIS, Providence brace treatment, ages 10 to 16 years, thoracolumbar or lumbar primary curve <35 degrees, Risser stage 0, and females <1-year postmenarchal.

Patients in this group completed at least eight hours of one-on-one outpatient physical therapy sessions from a Schroth-based (Barcelona Scoliosis Physical Therapy School) certified physical therapist. All patients participated in Schroth therapy at Scottish Rite for Children and were given a standardized exercise prescription algorithm. They also committed to performing a home exercise program for a minimum of 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for at least one year. They were encouraged to maintain a corrective posture throughout the day during activities of daily living.

The primary outcome measures were curve magnitude of the primary curve and the rate of curve progression. Curve magnitude was digitally measured using the Cobb method, and baseline curves averaged 25 degrees, which is at the lowest bracing threshold recommended by the Scoliosis Research Society. These patients either presented with a Cobb  angle ≥ 25 degrees or had demonstrated curve progression to a Cobb angle ≥ 25 degrees.

Both groups demonstrated positive results, 22% of curves improved at skeletal maturity, and only 9% required surgery. However, the PSSE group had no change in curve magnitude at the final visit compared with curve progression in the control group (1 vs. 7 degrees, P<0.01). Furthermore, the PSSE group had a lower rate of curve progression >5 degrees at the final visit (14% vs. 43%, P<0.01). The PSSE group also had less conversion to full-time bracing after 1 year (5% vs. 24%, P=0.046), but the differences were no longer significant at the final visit (14% vs. 27%).

Their research confirms that Schroth-based physical therapy, in conjunction with wearing a brace at night, reduces curve progression after one year and at skeletal maturity. This information is helpful to patients and their families experiencing scoliosis and could be used as an encouragement for compliance with the treatment.

Learn more about scoliosis and orthopedic research.