Introduction: Clinically, knowing whether a static stretching (SS) intervention program conducted for several weeks can reduce passive muscle stiffness is important. Still, only a few previous studies have evaluated the chronic effects of an SS intervention program in older adults, and the potential relationship between ROM changes and muscle stiffness changes is still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 10- week SS intervention partially supervised program on joint range of motion (ROM) and tissue hardness in older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed to compare and examine the local and non-local effects of a foam rolling (FR) and static stretching (SS) intervention applied to the plantar flexor (PF).
Methods: Fourteen female participants were investigated. Each participant underwent three conditions in a random order at least 48h apart and at the same time of the day: Control (CC), SS, and FR.
Over the past 50 years, socioeconomic development has brought a reduction in birth rates, an increase in life expectancy and consequently in the elderly population. For this reason, there has been an increasing focus on physical and mental health of the elderly, promoting the concept of healthy aging. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between perceived physical and mental health of older adults and a variety of determinants, such as demographic factors, physical functional fitness, physical activity level, adherence to the Mediterranean diet and anthropometric indices, through a structural equation modeling (SEM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of this study was to compare the positional transversal release (PTR) technique to stretching and evaluate the acute effects on range of movement (ROM), performance and balance.
Methods: Thirty-two healthy individuals (25.3 ± 5.
Little is known about the dose-response of physical education interventions on motor coordination in preschoolers. Our aim was to investigate whether the development of motor skills changed depending on different amounts of a physical education program (PEP) in children aged 3-5 years. One hundred forty-five children were recruited from kindergartens and randomly divided into a control group (CG, = 28), which did not perform any PEP, and two intervention groups, which performed 4 h/week (I1, = 78) and 10 h/week (I2, = 39) of a PEP for 16 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysically active children have greater motor competence and a faster maturation compared with their sedentary peers. Recent research also suggests that physical activity during childhood may also promote cognitive development and therefore improve academic performance. The aim of this study was to understand if physically active academic lessons may improve academic achievement in primary schoolchildren.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Education is the ideal setting for carrying out projects to improve primary students' capacities. In recent years, interventions in natural environments have been more frequently proposed, but there is still a lack of standardization, making deeper study of the topic necessary. This review aims to report on what previous scientific research has been carried out, and eventually, to propose standard operating procedures for future interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElectronic performance tracking devices are largely employed in team sports to monitor performance and improve training. To date, global positioning system (GPS) based devices are those mainly used in soccer training. The aim of this study was to analyse the validity and reliability of the inertial sensor device (ISD) in monitoring distance and speed in a soccer-specific circuit and how their performance compare to a GPS system.
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