title: Consistency of clinical biomechanical measures between three different institutions: implications for multi-center biomechanical and epidemiological research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Multi-center collaborations provide a powerful alternative to overcome the inherent limitations to single-center investigations. Specifically, multi-center projects can support large-scale prospective, longitudinal studies that investigate relatively uncommon outcomes, such as anterior cruciate ligament injury. This project was conceived to assess within- and between-center reliability of an affordable, clinical nomogram utilizing two-dimensional video methods to screen for risk of knee injury. The authors hypothesized that the two-dimensional screening methods would provide good-to-excellent reliability within and between institutions for assessment of frontal and sagittal plane biomechanics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen female, high school athletes participated. Two-dimensional video kinematics of the lower extremity during a drop vertical jump task were collected on all 19 study participants at each of the three facilities. Within-center and between-center reliability were assessed with intra- and inter-class correlation coefficients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Within-center reliability of the clinical nomogram variables was consistently excellent, but between-center reliability was fair-to-good. Within-center intra-class correlation coefficient for all nomogram variables combined was 0.98, while combined between-center inter-class correlation coefficient was 0.63.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Injury risk screening protocols were reliable within and repeatable between centers. These results demonstrate the feasibility of multi-site biomechanical studies and establish a framework for further dissemination of injury risk screening algorithms. Specifically, multi-center studies may allow for further validation and optimization of two-dimensional video screening tools.
  
  
  METHODS
  2b.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Myer
authors.affiliation: Departments of Physiology & Cell Biology, Family Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wordeman
authors.forename: Dai
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Nathaniel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Bates
authors.affiliation: Departments of Physiology & Cell Biology, Family Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Roewer
authors.forename: Jennifer M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Medina McKeon
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center and Human Performance Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: DiCesare
authors.affiliation: The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Di Stasi
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center and Human Performance Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Kim D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Barber Foss
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Sports Medicine Biodynamics Center and Human Performance Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Staci M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Timothy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Hewett
keywords: ACL; Injury Prevention; Knee injury; Large scale research projects Multi‐site research; patellofemoral pain