Adapting the "Chester step test" to predict peak oxygen uptake in children.

Aim Of The Study: Maximal exercise testing may be difficult to perform in clinical practice, especially in obese children who have low cardiorespiratory fitness and exercise tolerance. We aimed to elaborate a model predicting peak oxygen consumption (VO2) in lean and obese children with use of the submaximal Chester step test.

Methods: We performed a maximal step test, which consisted of 2-minute stages with increasing intensity to exhaustion, in 169 lean and obese children (age range: 7-16 years).

Role of pain in measuring shoulder strength abduction and flexion with the Constant-Murley score.

Objectives: The Constant-Murley score (CS) has been used for more than 25 years to assess shoulder function. Strength by itself accounts for 25% of the total score. The measurement at 90° abduction seems to be sometimes limited by pain, particularly with tendinopathy or subacromial impingement.

The respiration pattern as an indicator of the anaerobic threshold.

The anaerobic threshold (AT) is a good index of personal endurance but needs a laboratory setting to be determined. It is important to develop easy AT field measurements techniques in order to rapidly adapt training programs. In the present study, it is postulated that the variability of the respiratory parameters decreases with exercise intensity (especially at the AT level).

Subjective perceptions as prognostic factors of time to fitness for work during a 4-year period after inpatient rehabilitation for orthopaedic trauma.

Introduction: Time to fitness for work (TFW) was measured as the number of days that were paid as compensation for work disability during the 4 years after discharge from the rehabilitation clinic in a population of patients hospitalised for rehabilitation after orthopaedic trauma. The aim of this study was to test whether some psychological variables can be used as potential early prognostic factors of TFW.

Material And Methods: A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the associations between predictive variables and TFW.

Epidemiology and contemporary risk profile of traumatic spinal cord injury in Switzerland.

Background: Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) has a high personal and socio-economic impact. Effective public health prevention policies that aim to reduce this burden are reliant on contemporary information of the risk and underlying causes of TSCI. This study contextualizes Swiss annual incidence rates within the European context, and provides detailed estimates by age, gender and etiology towards informing targeted intervention strategies.

Care related pain in rehabilitation after orthopedic trauma: An exploratory study with qualitative data.

Objective: Care related pain (CRP) is generally under-estimated and rarely studied in rehabilitation as well as in general medecine. Beliefs about pain influence psychological distress, adjustment to pain and physical disability. In this sense, perceptions of CRP could limit recovery.

Characterization of a benchmark database for myoelectric movement classification.

In this paper, we characterize the Ninapro database and its use as a benchmark for hand prosthesis evaluation. The database is a publicly available resource that aims to support research on advanced myoelectric hand prostheses. The database is obtained by jointly recording surface electromyography signals from the forearm and kinematics of the hand and wrist while subjects perform a predefined set of actions and postures.

Could local dynamic stability serve as an early predictor of falls in patients with moderate neurological gait disorders? A reliability and comparison study in healthy individuals and in patients with paresis of the lower extremities.

Falls while walking are frequent in patients with muscular dysfunction resulting from neurological disorders. Falls induce injuries that may lead to deconditioning and disabilities, which further increase the risk of falling. Therefore, an early gait stability index would be useful to evaluate patients in order to prevent the occurrence of future falls.

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, internal consistency and validation of the Hand Function Sort (HFS©) for French speaking patients with upper limb complaints.

Introduction: Functional evaluation of upper limb is not only based on clinical findings but requires self-administered questionnaires to address patients' perspective. The Hand Function Sort (HFS©) was only validated in English. The aim of this study was the French cross cultural adaptation and validation of the HFS© (HFS-F).

Predicting non return to work after orthopaedic trauma: the Wallis Occupational Rehabilitation RisK (WORRK) model.

Background: Workers with persistent disabilities after orthopaedic trauma may need occupational rehabilitation. Despite various risk profiles for non-return-to-work (non-RTW), there is no available predictive model. Moreover, injured workers may have various origins (immigrant workers), which may either affect their return to work or their eligibility for research purposes.

Responses to exercise in normobaric hypoxia: comparison of elite and recreational ski mountaineers.

Purpose: Hypoxia is known to reduce maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) more in trained than in untrained subjects in several lowland sports. Ski mountaineering is practiced mainly at altitude, so elite ski mountaineers spend significantly longer training duration at altitude than their lower-level counterparts. Since acclimatization in hypobaric hypoxia is effective, the authors hypothesized that elite ski mountaineers would exhibit a VO2max decrement in hypoxia similar to that of recreational ski mountaineers.

Non-linear dynamics of human locomotion: effects of rhythmic auditory cueing on local dynamic stability.

It has been observed that times series of gait parameters [stride length (SL), stride time (ST), and stride speed (SS)], exhibit long-term persistence and fractal-like properties. Synchronizing steps with rhythmic auditory stimuli modifies the persistent fluctuation pattern to anti-persistence. Another non-linear method estimates the degree of resilience of gait control to small perturbations, i.

Local dynamic stability as a responsive index for the evaluation of rehabilitation effect on fall risk in patients with multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal study.

Background: Gait and balance problems are common in patients with multiple sclerosis, leading to high risk for falls. Local Dynamic Stability (LDS), a non-linear gait stability index, has been advocated as an early indicator of risk for falls. With this longitudinal study over three weeks, we aimed to assess the responsiveness of Local Dynamic Stability to a rehabilitation program and to compare it to other measures.

Diagnosis of partial complex regional pain syndrome type 1 of the hand: retrospective study of 16 cases and literature review.

Background: The partial form of the complex regional pain syndrome of the hand type 1 (CRPS 1), involving only 1 to 3 fingers, is a rare condition first described in 1972. The aim of the study is to define more precisely the diagnosis workup and the prognosis of this clinical entity.

Methods: Retrospective study of CRPS1 partial form observed during five years in a rehabilitation ward.

Do orthopaedic shoes improve local dynamic stability of gait? An observational study in patients with chronic foot and ankle injuries.

Background: Complex foot and ankle fractures, such as calcaneum fractures or Lisfranc dislocations, are often associated with a poor outcome, especially in terms of gait capacity. Indeed, degenerative changes often lead to chronic pain and chronic functional limitations. Prescription footwear represents an important therapeutic tool during the rehabilitation process.

Significant molecular and systemic adaptations after repeated sprint training in hypoxia.

While intermittent hypoxic training (IHT) has been reported to evoke cellular responses via hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) but without substantial performance benefits in endurance athletes, we hypothesized that repeated sprint training in hypoxia could enhance repeated sprint ability (RSA) performed in normoxia via improved glycolysis and O(2) utilization. 40 trained subjects completed 8 cycling repeated sprint sessions in hypoxia (RSH, 3000 m) or normoxia (RSN, 485 m). Before (Pre-) and after (Post-) training, muscular levels of selected mRNAs were analyzed from resting muscle biopsies and RSA tested until exhaustion (10-s sprint, work-to-rest ratio 1:2) with muscle perfusion assessed by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Persistent and anti-persistent pattern in stride-to-stride variability of treadmill walking: influence of rhythmic auditory cueing.

It has been observed that long time series of Stride Time (ST), Stride Length (SL) and Stride Speed (SS=SL/ST) exhibited statistical persistence (long-range auto-correlation) in overground walking. Rhythmic auditory cueing induced anti-persistent (or anti-correlated) patterns in ST series, while SL and SS remained persistent. On the other hand, it has been shown that SS became anti-persistent in treadmill walking, while ST and SL remained persistent.

Manual therapy followed by specific active exercises versus a placebo followed by specific active exercises on the improvement of functional disability in patients with chronic non specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent clinical recommendations still propose active exercises (AE) for CNSLBP. However, acceptance of exercises by patients may be limited by pain-related manifestations. Current evidences suggest that manual therapy (MT) induces an immediate analgesic effect through neurophysiologic mechanisms at peripheral, spinal and cortical levels.

Cardiorespiratory responses to the 30-15 intermittent ice test.

Purpose: In this study, the authors compared the cardiorespiratory responses between the 30-15 Intermittent Ice Test (30-15(IIT)) and the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30-15(IFT)) in semiprofessional hockey players.

Methods: Ten players (age 24 ± 6 y) from a Swiss League B team performed the 30-15(IIT) and 30-15(IFT) in random order (13 ± 4 d between trials). Cardiorespiratory variables were measured with a portable gas analyzer.

Ventilation, oxidative stress, and nitric oxide in hypobaric versus normobaric hypoxia.

Purpose: Slight differences in physiological responses and nitric oxide (NO) have been reported at rest between hypobaric hypoxia (HH) and normobaric hypoxia (NH) during short exposure.Our study reports NO and oxidative stress at rest and physiological responses during moderate exercise in HH versus NH.

Methods: Ten subjects were randomly exposed for 24 h to HH (3000 m; FIO2, 20.

Self perceptions as predictors for return to work 2 years after rehabilitation in orthopedic trauma inpatients.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify self-perception variables which may predict return to work (RTW) in orthopedic trauma patients 2 years after rehabilitation.

Methods: A prospective cohort investigated 1,207 orthopedic trauma inpatients, hospitalised in rehabilitation, clinics at admission, discharge, and 2 years after discharge. Information on potential predictors was obtained from self administered questionnaires.

Hypobaric versus normobaric hypoxia: same effects on postural stability?

Aims: To test the hypothesis that postural stability would be more affected during acute exposure in hypobaric (HH) than in normobaric (NH) hypoxia.

Methods: In separate trials, 12 subjects stood on a posturographic platform for two successive 25.6 sec tests in three conditions: eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC), and verbal dual task (DT).

Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, internal consistency and validation of the Spinal Function Sort (SFS) for French- and German-speaking patients with back complaints.

Introduction: Functional subjective evaluation through questionnaire is fundamental, but not often realized in patients with back complaints, lacking validated tools. The Spinal Function Sort (SFS) was only validated in English. We aimed to translate, adapt and validate the French (SFS-F) and German (SFS-G) versions of the SFS.

Rehabilitation outcomes for orthopaedic trauma individuals as measured by the INTERMED.

Purpose: Bio-psychosocial characteristics of patients after orthopaedic traumas may be a strong predictor of poor outcome. The objective of this prospective study was to assess whether the INTERMED, a measure of bio-psychosocial complexity, identifies complex inpatients during rehabilitation including vocational aspects with a poor outcome 1 year after discharge.

Method: At entry, the INTERMED scores of 118 inpatients were used to assign patients to the high or low complexity group.

Association of moderate alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy with neonatal health.

Background: Heavy drinking and smoking during pregnancy are known to have a negative impact on the unborn child. However, the impact of low-to-moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking has been debated recently. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of moderate prenatal drinking and binge drinking with birthweight, being small for gestational age (SGA) at birth, preterm birth, and neonatal asphyxia.