The interest in soccer generally starts during childhood, with children and young people often looking for opportunities in sports. New exercise techniques can be effective in improving training. The ...aim of this study was to compare the effects on the strength and physical posture of a group practicing Pilates with another not practicing Pilates, both undergoing continuous football training. In this controlled randomized clinical trial, the participants were 15 soccer club members, who had a training frequency of least three times weekly. The sample was divided into a control group (
= 7) of players who did not undergo any therapeutic intervention (only the usual training) and a Pilates group (
= 8) of players who participated in the mat Pilates program. The intervention consisted of fifteen sessions. Postural evaluations were performed using biophotogrammetry and force analysis. Significant improvements were obtained in terms of increased muscle strength (
= 0.001) for the Pilates group, but there were no significant postural alterations when comparing the two groups. Five weeks of mat Pilates was sufficient to increase lower limb muscle strength in young football players. This pilot study indicates that Mat Pilates as a method that could be planned to be included in training.
Postural control mechanisms have a determinant role in reaching tasks and are typically impaired in post-stroke patients. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been demonstrated to be a ...promising therapy for improving upper limb (UL) function. However, according to our knowledge, no study has evaluated FES influence on postural control. This study aims to evaluate the influence of FES UL assistance, during turning on the light task, in the related postural control mechanisms. An observational study involving ten post-stroke subjects with UL dysfunction was performed. Early and anticipatory postural adjustments (EPAs and APAs, respectively), the weight shift, the center of pressure and the center of mass (CoM) displacement were analyzed during the turning on the light task with and without the FES assistance. FES parameters were adjusted to improve UL function according to a consensus between physiotherapists' and patients' perspectives. The ANOVA repeated measures, Paired sample t and McNemar tests were used to compare postural control between the assisted and non-assisted conditions. When the task was assisted by FES, the number of participants that presented APAs increased (p = 0.031). UL FES assistance during turning on the light task can improve postural control in neurological patients with UL impairments.
The epidemiological demands of aging point to the need for characterizing older adults regarding health and disability. This systematic review aims to summarize the indicators (instruments) ...identifying different components of disability as a result of aging exposition in community-dwelling older adults, considering the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health framework. Taking the PRISMA 2020 recommendations as a reference, studies with community-dwelling older adults, reporting the development and/or age disability modifications were included. Two reviewers analyzed the observational studies searched in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase databases. Of the 137 potentially eligible studies, 49 were included in this review. Several indicators (instruments) demonstrated older adults’ disabilities according to the different domains of the ICF. Objective measures assessed Body Structures, Body Functions, and Environmental Factors and included handgrip strength (dynamometry, n = 8), cognitive function (Mini-Mental State examination, n = 7), gait speed (walk test, n = 6), and endurance (Chair stand-test, n = 4). Self-reported measures assessed Activities and Participation, but not the Body Structures, and included the basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) (the Katz Index of ADL, n = 4 studies, the Lawton and Brody Instrumental ADL, n = 4 studies). The summary of the measures gathered can guide researchers and health professionals to select indicators (instruments) to assess and monitor older adults’ disabilities resulting from aging exposition, to support the development of new wearables, and to provide improvements to the existing ones, allowing the tailored assessment of different health and disability dimensions.
Principal component analysis (PCA) is a dimensionality reduction method that has identified significant differences in older adults' motion analysis previously not detected by the discrete ...exploration of biomechanical variables. This systematic review aims to synthesize the current evidence regarding PCA use in the study of movement in older adults (kinematics and kinetics), summarizing the tasks and biomechanical variables studied. From the search results, 1685 studies were retrieved, and 19 studies were included for review. Most of the included studies evaluated gait or quiet standing. The main variables considered included spatiotemporal parameters, range of motion, and ground reaction forces. A limited number of studies analyzed other tasks. Further research should focus on the PCA application in tasks other than gait to understand older adults' movement characteristics that have not been identified by discrete analysis.
Stroke leads to significant impairment in upper limb (UL) function. The goal of rehabilitation is the reestablishment of pre-stroke motor stroke skills by stimulating neuroplasticity. Among several ...rehabilitation approaches, functional electrical stimulation (FES) is highlighted in stroke rehabilitation guidelines as a supplementary therapy alongside the standard care modalities. The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive review regarding the usability of FES in post-stroke UL rehabilitation. Specifically, the factors related to UL rehabilitation that should be considered in FES usability, as well a critical review of the outcomes used to assess FES usability, are presented. This review reinforces the FES as a promising tool to induce neuroplastic modifications in post-stroke rehabilitation by enabling the possibility of delivering intensive periods of treatment with comparatively less demand on human resources. However, the lack of studies evaluating FES usability through motor control outcomes, specifically movement quality indicators, combined with user satisfaction limits the definition of FES optimal therapeutical window for different UL functional tasks. FES systems capable of integrating postural control muscles involving other anatomic regions, such as the trunk, during reaching tasks are required to improve UL function in post-stroke patients.
Antagonist co-activation represents a neuronal command for the modulation of muscle synergies with postural control purposes
1
, probably assuming a key role in the characterisation of tonus ...dysfunction in post-stroke subjects. This study aims to evaluate the ankle antagonist co-activation during different functional tasks in post-stroke subjects.
A cross-sectional study was performed in eight participants (age = 43.00 ± 10.63 years; median ± interquartile range) who had a subcortical ischaemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory for at least 6 months. The study was approved by the local ethics committee and implemented in a research centre. Antagonist co-activation between tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (SOL) and between TA and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) of the ipsilesional (IPSI) and contralesional (CONTRA) limbs was calculated through electromyographic signals collected during upright standing and postural phases of gait initiation and stand-to-sit, according to the methods proposed by Ribeiro
2
.
The CONTRA limb presented decreased values in TA/SOL pair during upright standing and increased values in both muscle pairs during gait initiation compared to the IPSI limb (
Table 1
). No significant differences were found between tasks (
Table 1
).
The IPSI and CONTRA limbs presented increased antagonist co-activation when an adequate antigravity function and the coordination of the tibia forward rotation are required, respectively. The comparison of these values with that obtained by healthy subjects
3
,
4
seems to point to a bilateral postural control dysfunction in post-stroke subjects related to tonus modulation deficits that should be addressed in neurorehabilitation. Future studies with a higher sample are required to extend the results.
Aging is one of the greatest challenges in modern society. The development of wearable solutions for telemonitoring biological signals has been viewed as a strategy to enhance older adults' ...healthcare sustainability. This study aims to review the biological signals remotely monitored by technologies in older adults. PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Web of Science, and the Joanna Briggs Institute Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports were systematically searched in December 2021. Only systematic reviews and meta-analyses of remote health-related biological and environmental monitoring signals in older adults were considered, with publication dates between 2016 and 2022, written in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Studies referring to conference proceedings or articles with abstract access only were excluded. The data were extracted independently by two reviewers, using a predefined table form, consulting a third reviewer in case of doubts or concerns. Eighteen studies were included, fourteen systematic reviews and four meta-analyses. Nine of the reviews included older adults from the community, whereas the others also included institutionalized participants. Heart and respiratory rate, physical activity, electrocardiography, body temperature, blood pressure, glucose, and heart rate were the most frequently measured biological variables, with physical activity and heart rate foremost. These were obtained through wearables, with the waist, wrist, and ankle being the most mentioned body regions for the device's placement. Six of the reviews presented the psychometric properties of the systems, most of which were valid and accurate. In relation to environmental signals, only two articles presented data on this topic. Luminosity, temperature, and movement were the most mentioned variables. The need for large-scale long-term health-related telemonitoring implementation of studies with larger sample sizes was pointed out by several reviews in order to define the feasibility levels of wearable devices.
Abstract Background Anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation have an important role in postural stability but also in gait performance. However, these first phase mechanisms of gait ...initiation have received little attention, particularly in subcortical post-stroke subjects, where bilateral postural control pathways can be impaired. This study aims to evaluate ankle anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in chronic post-stroke subjects with lesion in the territory of middle cerebral artery. Methods Eleven subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis with the ability to walk independently and twelve healthy controls participated in this study. Bilateral electromyographic activity of tibialis anterior, soleus and medial gastrocnemius was collected during gait initiation to assess the muscle onset timing, period of activation/deactivation and magnitude of muscle activity during postural phase of gait initiation. This phase was identified through centre of pressure signal. Findings Post-stroke group presented only half of the tibialis anterior relative magnitude observed in healthy subjects in contralesional limb (t = 2.38, P = 0.027) and decreased soleus deactivation period (contralesional limb, t = 2.25, P = 0.04; ipsilesional limb, t = 3.67, P = 0.003) as well its onset timing (contralesional limb, t = 3.2. P = 0.005; ipsilesional limb, t = 2.88, P = 0.033) in both limbs. A decreased centre of pressure displacement backward (t = 3.45, P = 0.002) and toward the first swing limb (t = 3.29, P = 0.004) was observed in post-stroke subjects. Interpretation These findings indicate that chronic post-stroke subjects with lesion at middle cerebral artery territory present dysfunction in ankle anticipatory postural adjustments in both limbs during gait initiation.
This study aims to: (1) to compare 2 methods of assessing the timing of medium latency responses (MLR), in regard to intrasession reliability and mean values, in subjects with and without chronic ...ankle instability (CAI), and (2) to analyze the influence of CAI in timing of MLR and in its reliability. Thirty six athletes with (16) and without (20) CAI participated. Bilateral electromyography of peroneus longus (PL), peroneus brevis (PB), tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (SOL) muscles was collected during a unilateral sudden inversion perturbation to assess the timing of MLR onset, in both standing and perturbed positions, through a baseline-based method and a peak-response-based method. The group without CAI presented higher relative reliability of SOL and peroneal muscles MLR with the peak response-based method than with the baseline-based method. Compared with the group without CAI and in both methods, the group with CAI presented a delayed and less reliable TA MLR, as well decreased coefficient variation of PL MLR in the uninjured limb. In conclusion, regardless of the method subjects with CAI present delayed and less reliable TA MLR while in subjects without CAI the peak response-based method provides higher reliability.
To present the translation and validation process of the Portuguese version of the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI).
A cross-sectional study was designed using a non-probability sample of 252 ...community-dwelling older adults. Preliminary studies were carried out for face and content validity assessment. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct (convergent/divergent) and criterion validity were subsequently analyzed.
The sample was mainly women (75.8%), with a mean age of 79.2 ± 7.3 years. TFI internal consistency was good (KR-20 = 0.78). Test-retest reliability for the total was also good (r = 0.91), with kappa coefficients showing substantial agreement for most items. TFI physical and social domains correlated as expected with concurrent measures, whereas the TFI psychological domain showed similar correlations with other psychological and physical measures. The TFI showed a good to excellent discrimination ability in regard to frailty criteria, and fair to good ability to predict adverse outcomes.
The psychometric properties of the TFI seem to be consistently good. These findings provide initial evidence that the Portuguese version is a valid and reliable measure for assessing frailty in the elderly.
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