Effectiveness of the aquatic physical therapy exercises to improve balance, gait, quality of life and reduce fall-related outcomes in healthy community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Opting to use aquatic or land-based physical therapy exercises to improve balance, gait, quality of life and reduce fall-related outcomes in community-dwelling older adults (CDOAs) is still a questionable clinical decision for physiotherapists.

Objective: Assess the quality of evidence from randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials that used aquatic physical therapy exercises to improve balance, gait, quality of life and reduce fall-related outcomes in CDOAs.

Methods: Articles were surveyed in the following databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, SCOPUS, LILACS, Web of Science, CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), PEDro, CINAHL, SciELO and Google Scholar, published in any language, up to July 31, 2023.

Acute Effect of a Half-Marathon over the Muscular Function and Electromyographic Activity of the Pelvic Floor in Female Runners with or without Urinary Incontinence: A Pilot Study.

Objective: to verify the acute effect of running a half marathon on pelvic floor muscle (PFM) function and electromyographic (EMG) activity in female runners with and without urinary incontinence.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional pilot study. The sample was divided into two groups: runners with urinary incontinence (with UI) and runners without urinary incontinence (without UI).

Techniques for registration of myoelectric activity of women's pelvic floor muscles: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this review is to identify the most frequently used protocols for analyzing the myoelectric activity of the pelvic floor muscles during surface electromyography in women aged 18 years or older.

Introduction: Surface electromyography is normally used in assessment and treatment for research purposes when it is intended to quantitatively measure the electrophysiological behavior of the neuromuscular system. However, although there are internationally standardized, non-invasive assessment protocols for most muscle groups, there is no consensus for pelvic floor muscles, which makes it difficult to standardize in scientific research and clinical applicability.

Acupuncture and Dry Needling in the Reduction of Peripheral Acute Fatigue Induced in the Biceps Braquii: Protocol for a Single-blinded Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

The present study aims to propose a protocol to verify the efficacy and acute effects of traditional Chinese acupuncture, dry needling, and the rest in peripheral acute fatigue (PAF) induced by intermittent isometric contractions of the nondominant biceps brachii (BB) of nonphysically active men in a randomized, single-blind clinical trial assessed with surface electromyography, contraction time in seconds, infrared thermal imaging, and visual analog scale applied to the PAF. These instruments will evaluate the median frequency, endurance time, temperature (°C), and perceived fatigue in BB of the volunteers. The measurements will be collected in four moments (Test 0, 01, 02, and 03) divided between the beginning and the end of two sets of exercises (Exercises 01 and 02) of intermittent isometric contractions.

Acute effects of whole-body vibration on spinal excitability level and ankle plantar flexion spasticity in post-stroke individuals: A randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the acute effects (up to 30 min) of whole-body vibration (WBV) on spinal excitability level and ankle plantar flexion spasticity in chronic stroke subjects.

Methods: Twenty-one subjects (age 30-70 years old) with chronic stroke and ankle plantar flexion spasticity were randomly assigned to the vibration group (VG, n = 11) or the control group (CG, n = 10). Subjects in the VG underwent 10 minutes of WBV with a frequency of 35 Hz and amplitude of 2 mm.

Cortical and spinal excitability changes after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation combined to physiotherapy in stroke spastic patients.

Objective: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) has been used to treat post-stroke upper limb spasticity (ULS) in addition to physiotherapy (PT). To determine whether rTMS associated with PT modulates cortical and spinal cord excitability as well as decreases ULS of post-stroke patients.

Methods: Twenty chronic patients were randomly assigned to either the intervention group-1 Hz rTMS on the unaffected hemisphere and PT, or control group-sham stimulation and PT, for ten sessions.

Cross-cultural Adaptation and Measurement Properties of the Brazilian Portuguese Version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) Questionnaire.

Background Achilles tendon disorders are very common among athletes. It is important to measure symptoms and functional limitations objectively related to Achilles tendinopathy using outcome measures that have been validated in the language of the target population. Objectives To perform a cross-cultural adaptation and to evaluate the measurement properties of the Brazilian version of the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) questionnaire.

Abdominal and pelvic floor electromyographic analysis during abdominal hypopressive gymnastics.

Introduction: Abdominal hypopressive gymnastics appeared as an alternative to traditional abdominal exercises to promote abdominal muscles strength without overloading the pelvic floor muscles (PFM). To determine the activation level of abdominal muscles and PFM and the posture influence in the level of activation in these muscles during abdominal hypopressive gymnastics, we used surface electromyography in young and healthy multipara women.

Methods: This is an observational study with eutrophic nulliparous women aged between 18 and 35 years, with abdominal skinfold less than or equal to 3 cm and active or irregularly active physical activity.

Electromyographic assessment of women's pelvic floor: What is the best place for a superficial sensor?

Aims: To compare the electromyographic signal of different surface electrodes and to identify the channel that presents the highest level of electromyographic activity through the mean and peak of Root Mean Square (RMS).

Methods: Thirty healthy women participated in this study. Each woman completed three collections (on different days) of electromyographic data.

Upper limbs total occlusion pressure assessment: Doppler ultrasound reproducibility and determination of predictive variables.

Total occlusion pressure (TOP) is an important variable to ischaemic exercise training because the optimal pressure of flow restriction (OPR), applied during this exercise modality, is derived from it. Despite the common use of Doppler ultrasound (DU) to determine the TOP, the reproducibility of this assessment was not evaluated yet. Given this, the objective was to evaluate the reproducibility of DU for the measurement of TOP in upper limbs and determine the predictive variables.

Reproducibility of the pressure biofeedback unit in measuring transversus abdominis muscle activity in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain.

The Pressure Biofeedback Unit (PBU) is often used by clinicians and researchers to indirectly evaluate transversus abdominis (TrA) muscle activity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inter and intra-examiner reproducibility of the PBU in measuring TrA muscle activity in fifty patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. This study was performed using a test-retest design with a seven day interval.