The electric stair-climbing wheelchair is a beneficial mobile assistance device for older adults and disabled persons with poor walking ability, as it reduces the daily walking and climbing burden. ...In this paper, 11 older adults were tested when using a stair-climbing wheelchair in three environments: flat ground, slopes, and stairs. The kinematic and dynamic parameters of the lower limb joints were simulated by AnyBody 7.2 human model simulation software using Vicon 3D infrared motion capture, a 3D force table, and analyzed by ANSYS 19.2 Workbench. The joint force, joint moment, and muscle strength did not change significantly under the three environments when using the wheelchair. Through finite element analysis of the mechanical properties of the human body, when using the wheelchair, no significant differences in the overall stress distributions of the fifth lumbar spine, hip bone, or femur were found among the three environments, no significant differences in deformation and displacement were found, and the stress distribution was relatively stable. Therefore, the human body is stable enough to use the electric stair-climbing wheelchair in the three test environments, all of which will be commonly encountered in daily life.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study contrasted the impact of Tai Chi Chuan and general aerobic exercise on brain plasticity in terms of an increased grey matter volume and functional connectivity during structural magnetic ...resonance imaging (sMRI) and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), explored the advantages of Tai Chi Chuan in improving brain structure and function. Thirty-six college students were grouped into Tai Chi Chuan (Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi), general aerobic exercise (brisk walking) and control groups. Individuals were assessed with a sMRI and rs-fMRI scan before and after an 8-week training period. The VBM toolbox was used to conduct grey matter volume analyses. The CONN toolbox was used to conduct several seed-to-voxel functional connectivity analyses. We can conclude that compared with general aerobic exercise, eight weeks of Tai Chi Chuan exercise has a stronger effect on brain plasticity, which is embodied in the increase of grey matter volume in left middle occipital gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus and the enhancement of functional connectivity between the left middle frontal gyrus and left superior parietal lobule. These findings demonstrate the potential and advantages of Tai Chi Chuan exercises in eliciting brain plasticity.
Tai Chi (Bafa Wubu) is a new type of simplified Tai Chi widely practiced by Tai Chi enthusiasts that has developed and perfected simplified Tai Chi movement and enriched Tai Chi practice methods. ...When practicing, Tai Chi athletes and enthusiasts can choose the Bafa Wubu movements to practice according to their physical conditions. The purpose of this article is to discuss the mechanism by which Bafa Wubu promotes lower extremity exercise from the perspective of exercise biomechanics.
This article aims to explore the scientific training methods and technical characteristics of Bafa Wubu, and its contribution to comprehensive exercise of the lower extremities, by analyzing the biomechanical characteristics of the lower extremities of participants who practice Bafa Wubu at different levels and by comparing their ground reaction force, lower limb joints, and muscles during Bafa Wubu.
A total of 16 male participants were recruited and divided into an amateur group (
= 8) and a professional group (
= 8). The data were collected by a BTS 3D infrared-based motion capture system, and Kistler 3D force plate. The lower extremity joint forces and muscle strength were calculated by anybody simulation software with inverse dynamics.
During elbowing and leaning sideways with steps sideways (ELS), the ground reaction force of the professional group was significantly higher than that of the amateur group in the sagittal, vertical, and frontal axes (
< 0.01). While stepping forward, backward, and sideways, the professional group's joints loading at the hip, knee, and ankle was always higher in the vertical direction (
< 0.01). Furthermore, during warding off with steps forward (WOF), laying with steps forward (LF), and rolling back with steps backward (RBB), hip joint loading increased in the med-lat direction. During actions with steps backward and sideways, the professional group's ankle flexion/extension torque and hip abduction/rotation torque were significantly larger than those of the amateur group (
< 0.01). Different actions in Bafa Wubu activate muscles to different degrees, whereas the iliacus is mainly responsible for stabilizing postures when practitioners perform standing knee lifting motions.
Professional groups who have been practicing Tai Chi (Bafa Wubu) for a long time have higher ground reaction force, and the force on the three joints of the lower extremities is different for various movements, which has positive significance for exercising the joints of the lower extremities. In addition, various motions activate muscles of different types at different levels. For amateurs to practice different movements to stimulate the muscles, targeted areas of practice promote the lower extremity muscles' synergistic force. In summary, the muscles and joints of the lower extremity can obtain comprehensive and balanced exercise through Bafa Wubu.
This pilot study aimed to explore the mechanism of the effects of Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi (BWTC) on anxiety and depression in college students using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging ...(RS-fMRI).
Eighteen college students (5 males and 13 females) with anxiety and depression met the study criteria and were randomly divided into an experimental group (aged 24.20 ± 4.07 years) and a control group (aged 22.50 ± 5.95). The experimental group received an eight-week BWTC intervention five times/week for 60 min/session. The control group maintained normal daily life without any exercise intervention. These students were assessed using RS-fMRI scans, the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and the self-rating depression scale (SDS). Spearman correlation analysis was used, and statistical significance was defined as a two-sided
-value of <0.05.
After the intervention, the SAS and SDS scores of the BWTC group significantly reduced (
= 0.002;
= 0.001). Compared with the control group, the fALFF values of the right middle frontal gyrus, orbital part (Frontal_Mid_Orb_R) (
= 0.043), right inferior occipital gyrus (Occipital_Inf_R) (
= 0.003), and right middle temporal gyrus of the temporal pole (Temporal_Pole_Mid_R) (
= 0.003) in the BWTC group increased significantly; the fALFF values of the left middle frontal gyrus (Frontal_Mid_L) (
= 0.001) and right supplementary motor area (Supp_Motor_Area_R) (
= 0.010) in BWTC group decreased significantly. The fALFF values of Frontal_Mid_Orb_R were significantly positively correlated with the SDS score (r = 0.852,
= 0.015) and the fALFF values of Frontal_Mid_L were significantly negatively correlated with the SAS score (r = -0.797,
= 0.032).
In this pilot study with college students, BWTC alleviated anxiety and depression, potentially through modulating activity in the Frontal_Mid_L and Frontal_Mid_Orb_R, respectively.
According to statistics, about one-fifth of the world's elderly people suffer from sleep disorders, and the problem of sleep disorders in the elderly is extremely serious, and this problem is one of ...the important causes of chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease in the elderly. The positive effect of Tai Chi exercise therapy on sleep problems has been confirmed, but at present, the effect of the specific duration of Tai Chi exercise on the improvement of elderly people with moderate to severe sleep disorders varies.
META analysis was used to investigate and find that long-term Tai Chi exercise therapy has the best effect on improving sleep in elderly patients with moderate to severe sleep disorders. Methods: META analysis was performed using Revman 5.3 after searching Web of science, Pubmed, Scopus, The Cochroae Library, OVID, CBM, CNKI, VIP, and other databases, and then filtering and extracting.
A total of seven papers were included. Meta-analysis showed that tai chi exercise was more effective in improving sleep problems in elderly patients with sleep disorders compared to the control group, and the difference was significant. This was demonstrated by a decrease in the global Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score SMD = −0.66, 95 % CI (−0.91, −0.41), P < 0.00001, as well as its subdomains of subjective sleep quality SMD = −0.79, 95 % CI (−1.06, −0.52), P < 0.00001, sleep latency SMD = −0.80, 95 % CI (−1.21, −0.40), P < 0.00001, sleep duration SMD = −0.38, 95 % CI (−0.72, −0.04), P = 0.03, habitual sleep efficiency SMD = −0.58, 95 % CI (−0.84, −0.31), P < 0.0001, sleep disturbance SMD = −0.51, 95 % CI (−0.78, −0.25), P = 0.00001 and daytime dysfunction SMD = −0.33, 95 % CI (−0.59, −0.07), P = 0.01. Improvement was also observed in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Insomnia Severity Index Scale (ISI). The results showed that the optimal duration and frequency of Tai Chi exercise therapy for improving moderately severe elderly patients with sleep disorders was long-term.
This study systematically assessed the efficacy of Tai Chi exercise therapy for elderly patients with moderate-to-severe sleep disorders. Through a meta-analysis of relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs), it aims to determine the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercise in improving sleep quality in elderly patients with moderate-to-severe sleep disorders, as well as to compare its effects with those of traditional treatments; to analyze the safety of Tai Chi exercise for this patient population and assess its feasibility as a non-pharmacological therapy; and to fill the research gaps and provide more comprehensive and systematic evidence support. This study provides a practical approach to reducing the risk of medication side effects in older adults with sleep disorders and offers a potentially effective non-pharmacological treatment option, especially for those who are unable or unwilling to use medication. Tai chi exercise may not only improve sleep, but also improve coordination, muscle strength, balance, and reduce stress and anxiety in older adults. It also helps older adults socialize and enhances their social connections and emotional support. This study suggests that community centers or activity centers for the elderly can organize tai chi classes to promote the participation of older adults, and can be used as a scientific exercise rehabilitation tool in clinical treatment, incorporating tai chi practice into daily life, such as tai chi practice at a fixed time every day or every week, which not only helps to improve the sleep disorders of older adults, but also improves their overall quality of life.
Cupping therapy has been used for the alleviation of muscle soreness in athletes. However, clinical studies of cupping therapy show conflicting results. Lack of standardized guidelines of the ...dose-response relationship of cupping therapy, such as appropriate cupping duration and negative pressure, limits the adoption of cupping therapy in clinical practice. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of various pressures and durations of cupping therapy on reducing muscle stiffness. The 2 × 2 factorial design with the repeated measures and counterbalanced design was used to test four cupping protocols, including two negative pressures at −225 and −300 mmHg and two durations at 5 and 10 min, in 12 healthy young people. B-mode and elastographic ultrasound was used to assess muscle stiffness of the triceps before and after cupping therapy. The region of interest of elastographic image was divided into the superficial and deep layers for assessing the effect of cupping therapy on stiffness of various depths of the triceps. Normalized stiffness was calculated as a ratio of pre-cupping stiffness divided by post-cupping stiffness of each participant. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to examine the main effects of the pressure and duration factors and the interaction effect between the pressure and duration factors. The results showed that there were no interactions between the pressure and duration factors (overall layer
p
= 0.149, superficial layer
p
= 0.632, and deep layer
p
= 0.491). The main effects of duration of the overall, superficial and deep layers were
p
= 0.538,
p
= 0.097 and
p
= 0.018, respectively. The results showed that 10-min cupping at -300 mmHg is more effective on reducing stiffness of the deep layer of the triceps compared to 5-min cupping (
p
= 0.031). This study provides the first evidence that the dose of cupping therapy could significantly affect changes of triceps stiffness and the deep layer of the muscle is more sensitive to cupping therapy compared to the superficial and overall layers.
The newly compiled Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi (Eight Methods and Five Footworks) is a fitness routine that has been developed in accordance with the appeal of the General Administration of Sport of China ...and promoted both in China and abroad. This paper aims to compare the differences in energy consumption and related parameters between the two types of Tai Chi.
A total of 60 healthy participants were recruited; 37 males (aged 37.4 ± 10.4 years) and 23 females (aged 31.9 ± 12.8 years). The maximal exercise capacity of participants was measured at baseline. Then, they received Tai Chi training for 12-week and their energy metabolism was measured dynamically.
A set of the Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi requires approximately 3 min, while a set of 24 form simplified Tai Chi approximately 5 min and 40 s. The average oxygen uptake/kg (VO
/kg, 10.8 ± 2.52 ml/kg/min vs. 12.9 ± 2.59 ml/kg/min,
= 0.000), the highest VO
/kg (19.3 ± 6.03 ml/kg/min vs. 24.1 ± 7.50 ml/kg/min,
= 0.000, the average metabolic equivalent (METs,2.3 ± 0.16 METs vs. 3.2 ± 0.14 METs,
= 0.000), the highest oxygen pulse (VO
/HR, 11.1 ± 0.99 ml vs. 13.9 ± 0.93 ml,
= 0.000) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE, 10.7 ± 0.70 vs. 1.3 ± 0.62,
= 0.000) gained immediately after Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi exercise were significantly lower than those in 24 form simplified Tai Chi; heart rate recovery (HRR,1.5 ± 0.41 vs. 1.3 ± 0.45,
= 0.008) at 1 min after the practice was significantly higher than after the 24 form simplified Tai Chi. Meanwhile, the average heart rate (HR, 104.1 ± 11.41 bpm vs. 105.7 ± 9.68 bpm,
= 0.696) and the highest respiratory quotient (RQ, 1.0 ± 0.06 vs. 0.9 ± 0.09,
= 0.643) were not significantly different. The intensity of Tai Chi was described as the highest oxygen uptake of the participants when they performed the Tai Chi divided by their individual maximal oxygen uptake. Tai Chi intensity during Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi (50% ± 11.7% vs. 64% ± 12.5%) was significantly lower than during 24 form simplified Tai Chi.
The newly compiled Bafa Wubu of Tai Chi is characterized by lower energy consumption than 24 form simplified Tai Chi.
Ethics Committee of Sports Science Experiment, Beijing Sport University- 2018010H. Registered 19 June 2018.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in both developed and many developing countries. Exercise training is a fundamental component of cardiac rehabilitation programs for ...patients with CHD. This study aims to investigate the effects of a Tai Chi rehabilitation program, which is provided through a hybrid online and offline mode, on oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in patients with CHD.
A total of 34 patients with coronary heart disease were randomly assigned to two groups: an experiment group (
= 14, age 62.07 ± 9.076 years) and a control group (
= 20, age 61.90 ± 9.700 years). The experiment group underwent a 12-week Tai Chi cardiac rehabilitation program (TCCRP), while the control group followed a conventional exercise rehabilitation program (CERP) consisting of 1-h sessions, 3 times per week, for a total of 36 sessions. Participants were studied at baseline and post-intervention. The main assessments include the levels of Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and Interleukin-10 (IL - 10) in blood samples. Pearson correlation analysis was used, and the differences between the two groups were subsequently tested using two-way repeated ANOVA. Statistical significance was defined as a two-sided
-value of <0.05.
The key finding of the study reveals that MDA was significantly reduced by 1.027 nmoL/mL. Additionally, the TCCRP showed significant improvements in SOD and IL-10, with values of 10.110 U/mL and 2.441 pg./mL, respectively. Notably, a significant positive correlation was found between SOD and IL-10 (
= 0.689,
= 0.006), while MDA showed a significant positive correlation with TNF-a (
= 0.542,
= 0.045). In contrast, the ECRP group only showed a significant improvement in SOD.
The study conducted a 12-week program on TCCRP, which utilized a hybrid online and offline model for individuals with coronary heart disease. The program showed promising results in alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation, possibly by regulating the balance between oxidative and antioxidative factors, as well as pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors.
Traditional sports in ethnic minority regions are a valuable cultural heritage. Regional ethnic traditional sports are not only a sports business but also a tourism resource. The construction of a ...reasonable regional sports tourism resource classification model is fundamental to the development of sports tourism resources. However, the existing sports tourism resources classification is mostly constructed manually based on the national standard tourism resources classification system. The efficiency and accuracy of the traditional manual classification are poor and cannot reflect the characteristics of regional ethnic traditional sports tourism. In order to solve the above problems, a machine learning-based classification method for regional ethnic traditional sports tourism resources is proposed. Firstly, the relevant concepts and characteristics of traditional sports tourism resources are introduced. Then, taking the development of traditional sports of ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province as the research object, SWOT analysis, literature, interview, questionnaire, and mathematical statistics are used to investigate and analyse the overall status of the development of regional ethnic traditional sports. Secondly, a classification evaluation method based on an optimised back-propagation (BP) neural network is proposed. Finally, the optimised BP neural network model is applied to the classification of traditional sports tourism resources. The experimental results show that the optimised BP model performs well in the classification of traditional sports tourism resources, verifying its effectiveness.
Objective. The present study examined the effects of a 16-week aerobic exercise (AE) on the serum leptin level and heart rate variability (time domain and frequency domain) in the obese girl children ...and correlation coefficients of changes between the serum leptin level and heart rate variability after a 16-week AE intervention. Methods. 36 participants were randomly assigned to either aerobic exercise (AE, n = 18) or obese group (n = 18). The obese girl children in the AE group conducted a 16-week (4 times per week and 60 min per time) exercise protocols, and the obese group did not perform regular physical training during 16 weeks of study. Then, the serum leptin level and HRV (time domain and frequency domain) were measured in all subjects before and after AE intervention. Results. (1) After 16-week AE intervention, compared with pre-exercise, LF/HF decreased P<0.05, HF, SDNN, and RMSSD significantly increased (P<0.05 and P<0.01), and there was no significant difference in LF P>0.05 in the AE group. Nevertheless, there was no significant change before and after the test in the serum leptin level and HRV of the obese group (P>0.05, respectively). (2) After 16-week AE intervention, compared with the obese group, SDNN and HF significantly increased (P<0.05, respectively), LF/HF significantly decreased P<0.05 in the AE group, but there was no significant difference in RMSSD and LF between the obese group and AE group. (3) The reduction variables of the serum leptin level before and after the AE intervention are positively correlated with the reduction in the LF/HF (r = 0.478, P<0.05) and negatively correlated with the increasing in the RMSSD (r = −0.482, P<0.05). But there is no significant association between the reduction in the serum leptin level and the change of LF, HF, and SDNN (P>0.05, respectively). Conclusion. 16-week AE significantly reduced the serum leptin level and improved cardiac autonomic function in the obese girl children. Moreover, the reduction in the serum leptin level was associated with the increase in parasympathetic activation and improved sympathetic-vagus balance after AE intervention. More research is needed to see whether the effect of exercise on leptin levels in obese girl children can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
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