The purpose of this research study is to examine the impact of one type of commonly used birth control pill on blood levels of relaxin and measure changes in knee movement to determine whether there are changes in joint instability (indicating the knee is less stable) that may predispose female athletes to injury. Women not on hormonal birth control will also be enrolled to analyze differences between athletes on and not on birth control and to evaluate typical relaxin levels and knee laxity when birth control pills are not used.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
73
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California, United States
Injury
Any injury resulting in time away from practice or competition
Time frame: over the course of 1 year
Serum Relaxin Level
level of relaxin measured in each subject
Time frame: baseline
Anterior Knee Laxity
Anterior Knee laxity will be evaluated using the KT-2000 and measured in millimeters of anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur
Time frame: baseline
Hip Flexion at Initial Contact During a Single-legged Drop
Hip flexion measured during a singled-legged drop using motion tracking equipment.
Time frame: baseline
Knee Adduction Rotation During a Single-legged Drop
inward rotation of the knee during max knee flexion measured during a singled-legged drop using motion tracking equipment.
Time frame: baseline
Joint Hypermobility
Beighton score will be used to assess overall joint laxity. The Beighton score is on a nine-point scale that is based on 5 joint maneuvers. The maximum score is 9, which indicates increased laxity in the joints. A score of zero indicates inflexible joints.
Time frame: baseline
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