Quantifying the diverse contributions of hierarchical muscle interactions to motor function.

The muscle synergy concept suggests that the human motor system is organized into functional modules composed of muscles "" toward common task goals. This study offers a nuanced computational perspective to muscle synergies, where muscles interacting across multiple scales have functionally similar, complementary, and independent roles. Making this viewpoint implicit to a methodological approach applying Partial Information Decomposition to large-scale muscle activations, we unveiled nested networks of functionally diverse inter- and intramuscular interactions with distinct functional consequences on task performance.

New-Onset Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Following COVID-19 Infection Fulfils the Fibromyalgia Clinical Syndrome Criteria: A Preliminary Study.

New-onset chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain (>3 months duration) is a common symptom of post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS). This study aimed to characterise new-onset chronic MSK pain in patients with PCS and its overlap with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS). We enrolled patients with new-onset chronic MSK pain post-COVID-19 and assessed the nature of the pain and associated symptoms using the C19-YRS (Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale).

Creating a postgraduate syllabus for a team care diploma examination: a Delphi study.

Objectives: There is no agreed standard assessment of the minimum knowledge and skills that are required to provide healthcare to participants in individual or team sports. This study aims to develop a syllabus for the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) Team Care Diploma examination. This will provide a recognised assessment of the minimum required skills and knowledge for healthcare professionals providing care in an individual and team sport environment.

Clinical Characterization of New-Onset Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: New-onset chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is one of the common persistent symptoms in Long COVID (LC). This study investigated its clinical characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and impact on function, psychological health, and quality of life.

Patients And Methods: Thirty adults (19 female, 11 male) with LC and new-onset chronic MSK pain underwent clinical examination, Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST), and blood tests for inflammatory markers and completed the following outcome measures: Timed Up and Go test (TUG), handgrip strength test, COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS), Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), International Physical Activity Questionnaire-short form (IPAQ-sf), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and EuroQol Five Dimensions health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L).

A drift diffusion model analysis of age-related impact on multisensory decision-making processes.

Older adults (OAs) are typically slower and/or less accurate in forming perceptual choices relative to younger adults. Despite perceptual deficits, OAs gain from integrating information across senses, yielding multisensory benefits. However, the cognitive processes underlying these seemingly discrepant ageing effects remain unclear.

A tensor decomposition reveals ageing-induced differences in muscle and grip-load force couplings during object lifting.

Do motor patterns of object lifting movements change as a result of ageing? Here we propose a methodology for the characterization of these motor patterns across individuals of different age groups. Specifically, we employ a bimanual grasp-lift-replace protocol with younger and older adults and combine measurements of muscle activity with grip and load forces to provide a window into the motor strategies supporting effective object lifts. We introduce a tensor decomposition to identify patterns of muscle activity and grip-load force ratios while also characterizing their temporal profiles and relative activation across object weights and participants of different age groups.

Using Ripple Effects Mapping to understand the longer-term impacts of delivering a dance programme for older adults on dance artists.

Background: The dance workforce plays a central role in delivering arts and health programmes yet there is little exploration of how programme delivery impacts dance artists in a professional or personal capacity. This study explored the experiences of dance artists delivering , which engages inactive older people 55yrs+.

Methods: Ripple Effects Mapping was used to explore the short- and long term experiences and practices of dance artists delivering a dance programme.

Acute Effects of Strength and Skill Training on the Cortical and Spinal Circuits of Contralateral Limb.

Unilateral strength and skill training increase strength and performance in the contralateral untrained limb, a phenomenon known as cross-education. Recent evidence suggests that similar neural mechanisms might be responsible for the increase in strength and skill observed in the untrained hand after unimanual training. The aims of this study were to: investigate whether a single session of unimanual strength and skill (force-tracking) training increased strength and skill in the opposite hand; measure ipsilateral (untrained) brain ( transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS) and spinal ( the monosynaptic reflex) changes in excitability occurring after training; measure ipsilateral (untrained) pathway-specific changes in neural excitability ( TMS-conditioning of the monosynaptic reflex) occurring after training.

The acute effects of motor imagery and cervical transcutaneous electrical stimulation on manual dexterity and neural excitability.

Transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TCES) of the spinal cord induces changes in spinal excitability. Motor imagery (MI) elicits plasticity in the motor cortex. It has been suggested that plasticity occurring in both cortical and spinal circuits might underlie the improvements in performance observed when training is combined with stimulation.

Dance on: a mixed-method study into the feasibility and effectiveness of a dance programme to increase physical activity levels and wellbeing in adults and older adults.

Background: Physical activity (PA) has beneficial effects on physical and mental health outcomes in older adults. However, a consistent decline in PA participation has been noted with increasing age, with older adults consistently being reported as the least physically active population. Previous evidence showed that dance is an appropriate form of PA in older adults as it integrates the body's movement with physical, cognitive, and social elements.

Evaluating Muscle Synergies With EMG Data and Physics Simulation in the Neurorobotics Platform.

Although we can measure muscle activity and analyze their activation patterns, we understand little about how individual muscles affect the joint torque generated. It is known that they are controlled by circuits in the spinal cord, a system much less well-understood than the cortex. Knowing the contribution of the muscles toward a joint torque would improve our understanding of human limb control.

Clinical Characteristics and Mechanisms of Musculoskeletal Pain in Long COVID.

Objective: Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is being increasingly reported by patients as one of the most common persistent symptoms in post-COVID-19 syndrome or Long COVID. However, there is a lack of understanding of its prevalence, characteristics, and underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. The objective of this review is to identify and describe the features and characteristics of MSK pain in Long COVID patients.

The Relationship between Physical Activity and Long COVID: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The relationship between Long Covid (LC) symptoms and physical activity (PA) levels are unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we examined this association, and the advice that individuals with LC received on PA. Adults with LC were recruited via social media.

The effect of limb position on a static knee extension task can be explained with a simple spinal cord circuit model.

The influence of proprioceptive feedback on muscle activity during isometric tasks is the subject of conflicting studies. We performed an isometric knee extension task experiment based on two common clinical tests for mobility and flexibility. The task was carried out at four preset angles of the knee, and we recorded from five muscles for two different hip positions.

The Effect of Sound and Stimulus Expectation on Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Elicited Motor Evoked Potentials.

The amplitude of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the motor cortex is influenced by multiple factors. TMS delivery is accompanied by an abrupt clicking noise which can induce a startle response. This study investigated how masking/attenuating the sound produced by the TMS system discharging influences MEP amplitudes.

Reliability of the TMS-conditioned monosynaptic reflex in the flexor carpi radialis muscle.

A subthreshold pulse of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on the motor cortex can modulate the amplitude of the monosynaptic reflex (H-reflex) elicited in the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) muscle, a method known as TMS-conditioning of the H-reflex. The purpose of this study was to establish the intersession reliability of this method over the course of three sessions. Eleven healthy participants received either peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), TMS or a combination of the two.

The effect of using a cycling workstation on mouse dexterity.

This study investigated the effect of using a cycling workstation on mouse dexterity, including if and how this changed with practice. Thirty-four healthy adults were allocated to a sitting group (n = 17) or cycling group (n = 17). All participants completed standardised computer tasks on 6 occasions: baseline and final-all participants were seated; practice 1 to 4-sitting group participants were seated, cycling group participants pedalled on an under desk cycle.

The effects of unimanual and bimanual massed practice on upper limb function in adults with cervical spinal cord injury: a systematic review.

Background: Individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI) have identified improving upper limb function as their most important rehabilitation goal. Unimanual massed practice (UMP) and bimanual massed practice (BMP) may help achieve this.

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the effects of UMP and BMP on upper limb function in adults with cSCI.

The effect of task symmetry on bimanual reach-to-grasp movements after cervical spinal cord injury.

Injury to the cervical spinal cord results in deficits in bimanual control, reducing functional independence and quality of life. Despite this, little research has investigated the control strategies which underpin bimanual arm/hand movements following cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI). Using kinematics and surface electromyography this study explored how task symmetry affects bimanual control, in patients with an acute cSCI (< 6 m post injury), as they performed naturalistic bimanual reach-to-grasp actions (to objects at 50% and 70% of their maximal reach distance), and how this differs compared to uninjured age-matched controls.

"We expect seniors to be able to prepare and recover from a cyclone as well as younger members of this community": Emergency Management's Expectations of Older Adults Residing in Aging, Remote Hamlets on Australia's Cyclone-Prone Coastline.

Objective: To investigate the extent to which older residents feel they can remain "self-reliant" during future natural disasters and to compare the findings with the viewpoints of local policy-makers and with those charged with caring for the elderly both on a day-to-day basis and in times of crisis.

Methods: This study used an array of non-probability snowballing techniques to seek the participation of senior citizens over the age of 65 years, emergency services officers, community health carers, and local government disaster managers located in aging, remote, coastal Australian communities vulnerable to cyclones and storm surges. All respondents participated in either a face-to-face personal interview or a focus group, with senior citizens also completing a self-administered questionnaire.

Dancing in time: feasibility and acceptability of a contemporary dance programme to modify risk factors for falling in community dwelling older adults.

Background: Falls are a common cause of injury in older adults, with the prevention of falls being a priority for public health departments around the world. This study investigated the feasibility, and impact of an 8 week contemporary dance programme on modifiable physical (physical activity status, mobility, sedentary behaviour patterns) and psychosocial (depressive state, fear of falling) risk factors for falls.

Methods: An uncontrolled 'pre-post' intervention design was used.

Bimanual reach to grasp movements after cervical spinal cord injury.

Injury to the cervical spinal cord results in bilateral deficits in arm/hand function reducing functional independence and quality of life. To date little research has been undertaken to investigate control strategies of arm/hand movements following cervical spinal cord injury (cSCI). This study aimed to investigate unimanual and bimanual coordination in patients with acute cSCI using 3D kinematic analysis as they performed naturalistic reach to grasp actions with one hand, or with both hands together (symmetrical task), and compare this to the movement patterns of uninjured younger and older adults.

Environmental and perceived stress in Australian dental undergraduates: Preliminary outcomes.

Dental students have reported a high prevalence of psychological stress and the causes are associated with the challenging dental environmental and demographic factors. This study aimed to conduct a preliminary investigation on dental students' stress status, using a sample of first-to-third-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students in an Australian university. Special interests included causes of dental environmental stress and access to help services.

The relationship between perfectionistic self-presentation and reactions to impairment and disability following spinal cord injury.

Univariate and multivariate relationships between perfectionistic self-presentation and reactions to impairment and disability following spinal cord injury were examined. A total of 144 adults with spinal cord injury ( M = 48.18 years old, SD = 15.