Effects of immediate vs. delayed massage-like loading on skeletal muscle viscoelastic properties following eccentric exercise.

Background: This study compared immediate versus delayed massage-like compressive loading on skeletal muscle viscoelastic properties following eccentric exercise.

Methods: Eighteen rabbits were surgically instrumented with peroneal nerve cuffs for stimulation of the tibialis anterior muscle. Rabbits were randomly assigned to a massage loading protocol applied immediately post exercise (n=6), commencing 48h post exercise (n=6), or exercised no-massage control (n=6).

Changes in prevalence of calcaneal spurs in men & women: a random population from a trauma clinic.

Background: This study reports the changing prevalence of ankle (Achilles and plantar) spurs with age, in order to comment on their significance to rheumatologists.

Methods: 1080 lateral ankle radiographs from each of 9 (50 men and 50 women) age cohorts from 2 to 96 years old of patients attending a trauma clinic were examined and spurs classified as small or large.

Results: The prevalence of both Achilles and plantar spurs in relation to the age categories and sex was variable.

Acute effects of a dietary non-starch polysaccharide supplement on cognitive performance in healthy middle-aged adults.

Objective: Certain plant polysaccharides may provide psychological health benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether they can acutely improve mood and cognitive function.

Method: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, between subjects design trial, 73 middle-aged adults consumed 4 g of a proprietary mixture of non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) (Ambrotose® complex), a rice flour placebo, or a sucrose control.

Association between individual quadriceps muscle volume/enthesis and patello femoral joint cartilage morphology.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the association between individual quadriceps muscle volumes and the quadriceps enthesis structures and cartilage morphology at the patellofemoral joint (PFJ).

Methods: We studied 12 cadavers (age 75 ± 5 years). For both legs, individual quadriceps muscles (vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus intermedialis (VI) and vastus medialis (VM)) were dissected and their volumes measured.

Are There Differences in Ice Hockey Injuries Between Sexes?: A Systematic Review.

Background: Men's ice hockey allows for body checking, and women's ice hockey prohibits it. Studies have reported injury data on both sexes, but no systematic reviews have compared the injury patterns between male and female ice hockey players.

Hypothesis: Men's and women's ice hockey would have different types of injuries, and this difference would extend across the different age groups and levels of play.

Evaluation of endocrine and immune responses of steers challenged with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus.

Objective: To evaluate the endocrine and immune responses of steers challenged with infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV).

Animals: 12 crossbred beef steers.

Procedures: Steers were randomly assigned to IBRV- (control) or IBRV+ treatment groups.

Stem cells, angiogenesis and muscle healing: a potential role in massage therapies?

Skeletal muscle injuries are among the most common and frequently disabling injuries sustained by athletes. Repair of injured skeletal muscle is an area that continues to present a challenge for sports medicine clinicians and researchers due, in part, to complete muscle recovery being compromised by development of fibrosis leading to loss of function and susceptibility to re-injury. Injured skeletal muscle goes through a series of coordinated and interrelated phases of healing including degeneration, inflammation, regeneration and fibrosis.

Psychological predictors of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction outcomes: a systematic review.

Purpose: Lack of return to sport following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction often occurs despite adequate restoration of knee function, and there is growing evidence that psychological difference among patients may play an important role in this discrepancy. The purpose of this review is to identify baseline psychological factors that are predictive of clinically relevant ACL reconstruction outcomes, including return to sport, rehab compliance, knee pain, and knee function.

Methods: A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, UptoDate, Cochrane Reviews, and SportDiscus, which identified 1,633 studies for potential inclusion.

Position statement on youth resistance training: the 2014 International Consensus.

The current manuscript has been adapted from the official position statement of the UK Strength and Conditioning Association on youth resistance training. It has subsequently been reviewed and endorsed by leading professional organisations within the fields of sports medicine, exercise science and paediatrics. The authorship team for this article was selected from the fields of paediatric exercise science, paediatric medicine, physical education, strength and conditioning and sports medicine.

A mechatronic system for quantitative application and assessment of massage-like actions in small animals.

Massage therapy has a long history and has been widely believed effective in restoring tissue function, relieving pain and stress, and promoting overall well-being. However, the application of massage-like actions and the efficacy of massage are largely based on anecdotal experiences that are difficult to define and measure. This leads to a somewhat limited evidence-based interface of massage therapy with modern medicine.

Gluteus maximus and soleus compensate for simulated quadriceps atrophy and activation failure during walking.

Important activities of daily living, like walking and stair climbing, may be impaired by muscle weakness. In particular, quadriceps weakness is common in populations such as those with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and following ACL injury and may be a result of muscle atrophy or reduced voluntary muscle activation. While weak quadriceps have been strongly correlated with functional limitations in these populations, the important cause-effect relationships between abnormal lower extremity muscle function and patient function remain unknown.

Exercise deficit disorder in youth: a paradigm shift toward disease prevention and comprehensive care.

Despite the widely recognized benefits of daily play, recreation, sports, and physical education on the physical and psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents, many contemporary children and adolescents worldwide do not meet the recommendations for daily physical activity (PA). The decline in PA seems to start early in life, which leads to conditions characterized by reduced levels of PA in the pediatric population that are inconsistent with current public health recommendations. Unlike many other diseases and disorders in pediatrics, physical inactivity in youth is unique in that it currently lacks a clinical gold standard for diagnosis.

High resolution spatial map imaging of a gaseous target.

Electrostatic ion imaging with the velocity map imaging mode is a widely used method in atomic and molecular physics and physical chemistry. In contrast, the spatial map imaging (SMI) mode has received very little attention, despite the fact that it has been proposed earlier [A. T.

The role of muscle strength & activation patterns in patellofemoral pain.

Background: To investigate the extent to which quadriceps muscle activation and strength are responsible for patellofemoral pain.

Methods: A pain on-off switch system synchronized with a force transducer and surface electromyography was utilized on 32 volunteer patellofemoral pain patients during maximal isometric and squat exercises.

Findings: There were 26 patients out of the 32 tested who complained of pain during the squat or isometric test, of these 20 subjects presented a significant advantage for the vastus lateralis compared to the vastus medialis obliquis activation and 12 patients had decreased quadriceps strength of the symptomatic compared to the non symptomatic leg.

Role of nitric oxide in muscle regeneration following eccentric muscle contractions in rat skeletal muscle.

We examined the role of nitric oxide (NO) in muscle repair and regeneration following repetitive eccentric contractions (ECC). A standardized exercise protocol was used to create eccentric contraction-induced injury to the left tibialis anterior muscle of 48 male Wistar rats (body wt 250-350 g), using a customized isokinetic test device and a bout of 40 ECCs under electrical stimulation. A nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME; 35 mg kg(-1) day(-1)), was included in the diet for half the animals (n = 24) beginning 3 days prior to the ECC and continuing throughout the experiment, whereas the other half (n = 24) received a control diet.

Exit channel dynamics in a micro-hydrated SN2 reaction of the hydroxyl anion.

We report on the reaction dynamics of the monosolvated SN2 reaction of cold OH(-)(H2O) with CH3I that have been studied using crossed beam ion imaging. Two SN2 reaction channels are possible for this reaction: Formation of unsolvated I(-) and of solvated I(-)(H2O) products. We find a strong preference for the formation of unsolvated I(-) reaction products with respect to the energetically favored reaction toward solvated I(-)(H2O).

Lumbopelvic neuromuscular training and injury rehabilitation: a systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the evidence for lumbopelvic neuromuscular training (LNMT) in individuals after musculoskeletal (MSK) injury.

Data Sources: A literature search of PubMed and EMBASE databases was performed for English studies from January 1990 to March 2012. Search terms including and related to trunk, core, stability, injury, and LNMT were used.

The effect of dietary supplements on the quality of life of retired professional football players.

Professional football players may experience negative health consequences when they retire such as chronic pain, cognitive problems as well as other consequences of sports-related injuries. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with multiple nutrients on the quality of life of retired football players. Fifteen retired players received daily supplementation of fish oil with cholecalciferol, antioxidants, natural vitamins and minerals, polysaccharides and phytosterol-amino acid complex for 6 months.

Increased maternal cytokine production and congenital heart defects.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are a major cause of infant mortality. Most CHDs are thought to result from genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that include maternal obesity, diabetes, toxicant exposure, and alterations in anti-oxidant capacity. Since these well-documented risk factors are also associated with immune dysregulation, we sought to compare the maternal immune response in mothers carrying a fetus with a CHD with those mothers whose pregnancies were not affected by any birth defect.

Massage timing affects postexercise muscle recovery and inflammation in a rabbit model.

Purpose: This study compared the effect of immediate versus delayed massage-like compressive loading (MLL) on peak isometric torque recovery and inflammatory cell infiltration after eccentric exercise (EEX).

Methods: Eighteen skeletally mature New Zealand White rabbits were instrumented with peroneal nerve cuffs for the stimulation of hindlimb tibialis anterior muscles. After a bout of EEX, rabbits were randomly assigned to an MLL protocol (0.

Reaction dynamics of temperature-variable anion water clusters studied with crossed beams and by direct dynamics.

We present a study of the different product channels in the reactions of OH and OH-(H2O) with methyl iodide over a range of collision energies. Direct dynamics classical trajectory simulations are employed to obtain an atomistic comparison with the experimental results. For the experiments we have combined a crossed beam ion imaging setup with a multipole rf ion trap.