Season changes in performance of upper limbs and trunk in para swimmers.

Objectives: To evaluate upper limb performance, trunk extensor endurance, and serratus anterior strength in para swimmers over a sports season.

Design: A cohort study conducted over eleven months.

Settings: Three assessments were performed at pre-season, mid-season, and post-season, evaluating the CKCUEST, Sorensen Test, and isometric strength of the serratus anterior.

Timed up and go and 30-S chair-stand tests applied via video call are reliable and provide results similar to face-to-face assessment of older adults with different musculoskeletal conditions.

Background: Remote assessments are promising for coping with adverse situations, such as those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Measurement properties must be specific to the characteristics of the population and the context in which the instruments are used.

Purpose: s: 1) To evaluate the parallel reliability of the timed up and go (TUG) and 30-s chair-stand test (30CST) performed in-person and remotely and 2) to analyze the intra-rater, inter-rater, and test-retest reliability of these tests assessed remotely in older adults with different musculoskeletal conditions.

Myofascial force transmission between latissimus dorsi and contralateral gluteus maximus in runners: a cross-sectional study.

The anatomical connection between latissimus dorsi (LD), thoracolumbar fascia, and contralateral gluteus maximus (GM) enables myofascial force transmission (MFT) between the shoulder, trunk, and hip. This study investigates whether regular sports practice, specifically running, influences this MFT pathway. Given the potential changes in tissue stiffness from sports practice and the importance of this property for MFT, we hypothesize that runners may exhibit greater MFT between the LD and GM, resulting in altered passive properties of the lumbar and hip regions during LD contraction.

Hip Stability Isometric Test (HipSIT): Concurrent Validity and Reference Values for CrossFit® Participants.

Background: The Hip Stability Isometric Test (HipSIT) is a practical clinical assessment of posterolateral hip muscle performance. There is no information regarding the validity of the HipSIT in participants exposed to high-intensity training, such as CrossFit®.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the Hip Stability Isometric Test (HipSIT) concurrent validity with the isokinetic assessment in CrossFit® participants.

App-based telerehabilitation program for older adults on waiting list for physiotherapy after hospital discharge: a feasibility pragmatic randomized trial.

Background: Inactivity while waiting for outpatient physiotherapy worsens the physical deconditioning of older adults after hospital discharge. Exercise programs can minimize the progression of deconditioning. In developing countries, telerehabilitation for older adults on the waiting list is still in the early stages.

Reductions in rearfoot eversion posture due to proximal muscle strengthening are dependent on foot-ankle varus alignment.

Background: Strengthening the hip and trunk muscles may decrease foot pronation in upright standing due to expected increases in hip passive torque and lower-limb external rotation. However, considering the increased pronation caused by a more varus foot-ankle alignment, subjects with more varus may experience smaller or no postural changes after strengthening.

Objective: To investigate the effects of hip and trunk muscle strengthening on lower-limb posture during upright standing and hip passive torque of women with more and less varus alignment.

The Midfoot Joint Complex (Foot Arch) Contributes to the Upper Body Position in Bipedal Walking and Coordinates With the Lower Limb Joints.

This study estimated the contribution of the midfoot joint complex (MJC) kinematics to the pelvis anterior-posterior positions during the stance phase of walking and investigated whether the MJC is functionally coordinated with the lower limb joints to maintain similar pelvic positions across steps. Hip, knee, ankle, and MJC sagittal angles were measured in 11 nondisabled participants during walking. The joints' contributions to pelvic positions were computed through equations derived from a link-segment model.

Influence of reduced passive ankle dorsiflexion range of motion on lower limb kinetics and stiffness during gait.

Background: The ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (ADF-ROM) during single support phase allows elastic energy storage in the calcaneal tendon, contributing to advance the body forward. Reduced ADF-ROM may influence lower limb kinetics and stiffness.

Research Question: What is the influence of reduced passive ADF-ROM on lower limb internal moments and stiffness during gait?

Methods: Thirty-two participants, classified into two groups according to passive ADF-ROM (smaller than 10° and greater than 15°), were submitted to gait assessment at self-selected speed with a force platform and a three-dimensional motion analysis system.

Prevalence and incidence of health problems and their characteristics in Brazilian para athletes: A one-season single-center prospective pilot study.

Background: Para athletes experience high prevalence and incidence of health problems related to sport. Despite this, there are few longitudinal studies.

Objective: To describe the characteristics, prevalence, incidence, and severity of health problems in para athletes from one of the Brazilian Paralympic Reference Centers during a sports season and to compare the prevalence of health problems between para athletics, para powerlifting, and para swimming.

Effects of Resistance Training of Upper Limb and Trunk Muscles on Soccer Instep Kick Kinematics.

The upper body and trunk muscles are crucial to perform soccer kicks. Resistance training targeting these muscles may modify the pattern adopted during kicking. This study aimed to investigate the effect of resistance training of the arm and anterior trunk muscles on instep kicking kinematics.

Trunk, Mass Grasp, Knee, and Hip Muscle Performance in CrossFit Participants: Reference Values According to Participants' Sex and Limb Dominance.

Background: CrossFit is characterized by a diverse range of exercises recruiting different muscles and requiring different muscle functions. A characterization of muscular performance parameters in this population is needed.

Purpose: To determine reference values for various aspects of muscular performance of muscles of the trunk, thigh, hip, and mass grasp in CrossFit participants.

Current Technologies and Practices to Assess External Training Load in Paralympic Sport: A Systematic Review.

Context: Knowing the methods to assess the external load in Paralympic sports can help multidisciplinary teams rely on scientific evidence to better prescribe and monitor the athlete's development, improving sports performance and reducing the risk of injury/illness of Paralympic athletes.

Objectives: This review aimed to systematically explore the current practices of quantifying the external load in Paralympic sports and provide an overview of the methods and techniques used.

Evidence Acquisition: A search in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO was carried out until November 2022.

Performance in field-tests and dynamic knee valgus in soccer players psychologically ready and not ready to return to sports after ACL reconstruction.

Background: The objective was to compare the performance in field tests, dynamic knee valgus, knee function, and kinesiophobia of soccer players who were psychologically ready and not ready to return to unrestricted training or competitions after ACL reconstruction.

Methods: Thirty-five male soccer players who had undergone primary ACL reconstruction at least 6 months were divided based on the Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) questionnaire score into ready (≥60) and not-ready (<60) groups. The modified Illinois change of direction test (MICODT) and reactive agility test (RAT) were used to impose the demand for directional change and reactive decision-making.

A new marker cluster anchored to the iliotibial band improves tracking of hip and thigh axial rotations.

Tracking hip and thigh axial rotation has limited accuracy due to the large soft tissue artifact. We proposed a tracking-markers cluster anchored to the prominent distal part of the iliotibial band (ITB) to improve thigh tracking. We investigated if the ITB cluster improves accuracy compared with a traditionally used thigh cluster.

New Optimized Dynamic Calibration Proposition for Discretized Sensorized Insoles With Resistive Force Sensor: A Descriptive and Comparative Study.

Sensorized insoles (SIs) have been used as a wearable instrument to study human gait and have the potential to identify and predict pathologies and injuries. However, most of these sensorized insoles are only statically calibrated, relying on a scale and known weights to establish a relationship between electrical signals and the load applied on laboratory benches while ignoring the dynamic interaction between person and instrument. This study proposes and verifies a calibration method complementary to static calibration to compensate for different dynamic interactions between the insole and the individual during gait.

The Sleep Parameters of Paralympic Athletes: Characteristics and Assessment Instruments.

Context: Sleep serves many important functions for athletes, particularly in the processes of learning, memory, recovery, and cognition.

Objectives: Define the sleep parameters of Paralympic athletes and identify the instruments used to assess and monitor sleep Paralympic athletes.

Evidence Acquisition: This systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA guidelines.

Effectiveness of multimodal circuit exercises for chronic musculoskeletal pain in older adults: A randomized controlled trial protocol.

Studies have shown that musculoskeletal pain is one of the most prevalent health conditions that affects many individuals worldwide. In older adults, persistent pain is a widely prevalent and a disabling condition of multiple contributing factors: physical, mental, and social. Consequently, their quality of life is hampered.

Association of Cycling Kinematics With Anterior Knee Pain in Mountain Bike Cyclists.

Context: Comfort and pain in cyclists are often discussed as a result of the posture on the bike, and bike fit, including motion analysis, is advocated as a strategy to minimize these conditions. The relationship between cycling kinematics, comfort, and pain is still debatable.

Objectives: To investigate the association of ankle, knee, and trunk kinematics with the occurrence of anterior knee pain (AKP) in mountain bike cyclists.

Reliability of a Low-Cost Assessment of Tibial Torsion and Transverse-Plane Posture of the Lower Limb and Pelvis Using a Smartphone Compass.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate intra- and interrater reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of clinical measures proposed to assess tibial torsion and the posture of the lower limbs and pelvis in the transverse plane.

Methods: Twenty-five able-bodied and asymptomatic participants (mean age 27 ± 4.03, 12 women) were assessed during relaxed standing with a compass application on a smartphone coupled to a caliper.

Sleep in Paralympic athletes and its relationship with injuries and illnesses.

Objectives: To evaluate sleep characteristics and investigate the relationship of sleep with injuries and illnesses in Paralympic athletes.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Sports Training Center.

Knee Kinetics and Kinematics of Young Asymptomatic Participants during Single-Leg Weight-Bearing Tasks: Task and Sex Comparison of a Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study aimed to describe and compare kinetic and kinematic variables of the knee joint during stair descent, single-leg step down, and single-leg squat tasks. It also aimed to investigate potential sex difference during the tasks. Thirty young asymptomatic individuals (15 males, 15 females) were assessed during the performance of single-leg weight-bearing tasks.

Interaction of scapular dyskinesis with hand dominance on three-dimensional scapular kinematics.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of scapular dyskinesis and its interaction with hand dominance and humerothoracic angles on three-dimensional scapular kinematics in asymptomatic individuals in all planes of arm motion.

Methods: Forty-five asymptomatic participants, seventeen men and twenty-eight women, were separated into two groups: with (n = 22) and without scapular dyskinesis (n = 23) according to the Yes/No classification. Scapular kinematic data of dominant and non-dominant sides in both groups were measured with an electromagnetic tracking device during arm elevation and lowering phases in scapular, frontal and sagittal planes.