Effects on older adult Women's precision, strength and flexibility from resistance training and handicrafts practice.

Introduction: As individuals age, they experience a gradual decline in strength, flexibility, and precision control. While resistance training has shown positive effects on aging, little is known about how beneficial handicrafts could be in effectively promoting motor improvements in aging. This study aimed to compare manual precision, manual grip strength, and upper limb flexibility among three groups of older adult women: (a) regular practitioners of resistance training, (b) regular practitioners of handicrafts, and (c) insufficiently active participants who did not engage in either regular resistance training or handicraft practice.

Are the Predictions of the Dynamic Dominance Model of Laterality Applicable to Children?

According to the dynamic dominance model, the left cerebral hemisphere is specialized for the control of intersegmental dynamics and the right hemisphere for impedance control. Our aim was to test predictions from the dynamic dominance model in children by comparing performance between the right (preferred) and left hands in aiming. Three groups were compared: 4-7, 8-11, and 18-38 years old.

Asymmetric interlateral transfer of motor learning in unipedal dynamic balance.

Interlateral transfer of learning between the legs in body balance training is a topic of theoretical and practical interest, but it has been left untouched in previous research. In this investigation, we aimed to evaluate the magnitude and asymmetry of interlateral transfer of balance stability following the practice of a challenging task of unipedal support on an unstable base. Thirty participants (18-30 years old) were assigned to two groups practicing either with the right or the left leg.

Controlling Degrees of Freedom in Learning a Taekwondo Kick.

To test Bernstein's degrees of freedom (DF) hypothesis, the authors analyzed the effect of practice on the DF control and interjoint coordination of a Taekwondo kick. Thirteen inexperienced and 11 expert Taekwondo practitioners were evaluated. Contrary to Bernstein's hypothesis, the inexperienced group froze the DF at the end of learning, reducing the joint range of motion of the knee.

Freezing Degrees of Freedom During Motor Learning: A Systematic Review.

According to Bernstein, the central nervous system solution to the human body's enormous variation in movement choice and control when directing movement-the problem of degrees of freedom (DF)-is to freeze the number of possibilities at the beginning of motor learning. However, different strategies of freezing DF are observed in literature, and the means of selection of the control strategy during learning is not totally clear. This review investigated the possible effects of the class and objectives of the skill practiced on DF control strategies.

Dose-response effects of years of self-reported physical activity on old females' motor and cognitive function.

Background: There is a poor understanding of the dose-response relationship between years of physical activity and motor and cognitive function. We determined the dose-response effects of physical activity duration in years on motor and cognitive function and their relationship in healthy old females.

Objectives: To determine the dose-effects of physical activity duration in years on motor and cognitive function and their relationship in health aging adults.

Selective Maintenance of Motor Performance in Older Adults From Long-Lasting Sport Practice.

Purpose: Decline of motor performance in older individuals affects their quality of life. Understanding the contribution of sport-related training in advanced ages might help to attenuate motor performance decay as one gets older. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the extent to which long-lasting training in running or sport-specific skills during old age preserves motor performance in different motor tasks.

Effect of different types of exercise on postural balance in elderly women: a randomized controlled trial.

Different types of exercise are indicated for the elderly to prevent functional capacity limitations due to aging and reduce the risk of falls. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of three different exercises (mini-trampoline, MT; aquatic gymnastics, AG and general floor gymnastics, GG) on postural balance in elderly women. Seventy-four physically independent elderly women, mean age 69±4 years, were randomly assigned to three intervention groups: (1) MT (n=23), (2) AG (n=28), and (3) GG (n=23).