Body balance control represents a key factor preventing falls and subsequent injuries in seniors aged 65+. Intervention based on yoga exercises seem to be effective in improving balance.
The ...objective is to analyse and compare changes in static, dynamic, and total balance scores, changes in body composition and social indices as effects of yoga-based intervention.
A total of 500 participants (234 men aged 74.5 SD±7.74 and 266 women aged 76.9 SD±7.23) were assessed using the Tinetti Balance Assessment Tool, the InBody 230 bioimpedance body composition analyser, and the SF-36 Health Survey, applied to pre and post-testing. The experimental group (n=262; 122 males; 140 females) underwent a four-week yoga-based intervention, 30 minutes daily, while the control group (n=238; 112 males; 126 females) underwent its usual daily programme at senior homes or centres. The ANOVA model, consisting of the Group, Stage, Subject and Group × Stage interaction factors, was used for data evaluation.
Intervention led to improvements in the static, dynamic and total balance scores in the experimental group compared to the control group. The results of SF-36 showed positive changes in the psychosocial aspects of health, such as promoting of calmness and happiness in male seniors and reducing fatigue, nervousness and depression in female seniors. The post-intervention decrease in body fat percentage and increase in muscle mass in seniors is discussed.
The four-week yoga-based intervention had positive effects on the static, dynamic and total balance scores, body composition and social status.
Balance control is a critical task of daily life, the ability to maintain upright posture becomes of particular concern during aging when the sensory and motor system becomes deteriorated. Falls ...contribute to the most deaths caused by injury within the aged population, and the mortality rate following a fall is drastically elevated. Longitudinal and reliable assessment of balance control abilities is a critical point in the prediction of increased risk of falling in an elderly population. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Homebalance test in the identification of persons being at higher risk of falling. 135 subjects (82 women and 53 men) with geriatric syndrome have been recruited and the Homebalance and the Tinetti Balance test were performed. Results of both tests strongly correlated proving the good performance of the Homebalance test. Standing balance declines with increasing body mass index in both genders. Analysis of fluctuations of the center of pressure (COP) revealed higher frequency and magnitude in mediolateral direction COP movements when compared women to men. A strong negative correlation has been found between Tinetti static balance score and the total length of the COP trajectory during the examination on Homebalance (r = -0.6, p<0.001). Although both methods revealed good performance in detecting balance impairment, Homebalance test possesses higher precision due to the continuous nature of COP-derived parameters. In conclusion, our data proved that the Homebalance test is capable to identify persons with impaired balance control and thus are at higher risk of falling.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies demonstrated a relationship between sex and balance determinants in seniors; however, no study has focused on sex-related differences in static and ...dynamic balance performance after a physical intervention as primary interest. The aim was to investigate sex differences in the static and dynamic balance performance after a 4-week physical intervention based on yoga in seniors 65+ years of age. Five-hundred participants (234 males, 266 females) were assessed with the Tinetti Balance Assessment Tool in pre-and post-testing. The experimental group (122 males, 140 females) underwent the intervention, while the control group (112 males, 126 females) ran their usual daily program. ANCOVA model was used for the statistical evaluation of the results. No sex differences were found in balance performance after a short-term physical intervention in seniors 65+ years of age. At the same time, a significant positive shift was demonstrated in performance in both static and dynamic balance.
The track components that are the most heavily loaded from the axles of train units are the switch components and rail crossing parts. These parts can be refurbished by welding on suitable types of ...additional materials. Parts made of high-alloyed Mn-steel (Hadfield steels) need to meet specific conditions for their welding. For the experiment, ESAB OK Tubrodur 14.71 and ESAB OK Tubrodur 15.65 materials were used. The results show the feasibility of appropriate procedures under specific conditions due to the occurrence of metallurgical defects affecting the safety of operation on railway and tram lines. The aim of the experiment was to perform and assess the properties of two types of austenitic welds of different chemical composition on the rail head and rail grooves with the same welding parameters.
Injured shoulders have been examined by a new technique, which, it is believed, shows a previously unrecognised, typical muscle imbalance. The long head of the triceps, the pectoralis major and the ...biceps brachii are involved and changes in their muscle tone have been detected. It is believed that this causes ventral (anterior) protrusion of the humeral head and consequent instability of the glenohumeral joint. The paper describes the method of examination and treatment of these cases. Further work is required to show the validity of these findings and whether this pattern is seen most frequently in snowboarders.
The morphogenesis of the sphincter urethrae muscle was studied in human ontogeny. Muscles of 65 embryos and fetuses, 7 newborns, 3 children and 3 adults of both sexes were examined histologically and ...by means of microdissection. Three developmental stages can be recognized in terms of morphogenetic events, histogenesis and development of sexual dimorphism. In the sexually indifferent stage (up to approximately 50 mm crown-rump length), the sphincter urethrae primordium is formed by a shallow arch apposed only to the ventrolateral wall of the urethra. The primordium extends from the level of the urogenital diaphragm up to the vesicourethral transition. It consists of a condensation of mononuclear cells. Myotubes appear in fetuses of 30 mm crown-rump length. During the second stage (until birth) sexual dimorphism develops in conjunction to the formation of the prostate and vagina. In this stage, the sphincter urethrae muscle fibres gradually extend to the posterior wall of the urethra. At the same time cranially situated muscle fibres project to the lateral wall of the prostate, whereas in females caudally located muscle fibres attach to the lateral wall of the vagina. In this way the sphincter achieves the sexually distinct form. The definitive arrangement develops in the third morphogenic stage (after birth), in which a complete muscle ring is formed by encircling the urethra in the infraprostatic part in males and in the upper, larger part of the sphincter in females. The sphincter urethrae muscle is located inside the sling of the puborectalis muscle in both sexes, but no muscle fibres connect them to one another.
In human embryos and fetuses a supernumerary muscle was found situated on the distal margin of the gluteus maximus muscle and supplied by the most distal main branch of the inferior gluteus nerve. ...According to its origin and insertion it is being named the coccygeofemoralis muscle. In embryos and fetuses of up to 40 mm in CR length the coccygeofemoralis muscle is separated by loose connective tissue from neighbouring fetal muscles. Later on, close contact between the coccygeofemoralis and the distal margin of the fetal gluteus maximus muscle develops, and during the prenatal period both fetal muscles gradually fuse. Postnatally, the coccygeofemoralis muscle is incorporated into the gluteus maximus muscle of which the pars sacroiliaca corresponds to the fetal gluteus maximus itself and the pars coccygea represents the fetal coccygeofemoralis muscle. With respect to the general process of muscle morphogenesis, the developmental pattern described for the gluteus maximus muscle demonstrates that adult muscles may be formed by a fusion of several fetal muscles.
The research is focused on the design and development of woven textile-based structural hollow composites. E-Glass and high tenacity polyester multifilament yarns were used to produce various woven ...constructions. Yarn produced from cotton shoddy (fibers extracted from waste textiles) was used to develop hybrid preforms. In this study, unidirectional (UD), two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) fabric preforms were designed and developed. Further, 3D woven spacer fabric preforms with single-layer woven cross-links having four different geometrical shapes were produced. The performance of the woven cross-linked spacer structure was compared with the sandwich structure connected with the core pile yarns (SPY). Furthermore, three different types of cotton shoddy yarn-based fabric structures were developed. The first is unidirectional (UD), the second is 2D all-waste cotton fabric, and the third is a 2D hybrid fabric with waste cotton yarn in the warp and glass multifilament yarn in the weft. The UD, 2D, and 3D woven fabric-reinforced composites were produced using the vacuum-assisted resin infusion technique. The spacer woven structures were converted to composites by inserting wooden blocks with an appropriate size and wrapped with a Teflon sheet into the hollow space before resin application. A vacuum-assisted resin infusion technique was used to produce spacer woven composites. While changing the reinforcement from chopped fibers to 3D fabric, its modulus and ductility increase substantially. It was established that the number of crossover points in the weave structures offered excellent association with the impact energy absorption and formability behavior, which are important for many applications including automobiles, wind energy, marine and aerospace. Mechanical characterization of honeycomb composites with different cell sizes, opening angles and wall lengths revealed that the specific compression energy is higher for regular honeycomb structures with smaller cell sizes and a higher number of layers, keeping constant thickness.
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