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This study examined whether professional footballers with previous biceps femoris long head (BFLH) injury in the last 3-years present a smaller proximal aponeurosis (Apo-BFLH) size compared to footballers with no previous injury. We examined the Apo-BFLH and BFLH size using magnetic resonance imaging and tested the knee flexor maximal isometric strength in 80 thighs of 40 footballers. Apo-BFLH size parameters were processed using a semi-automated procedure. Outcomes were compared between thighs with (n=9) vs. without (n=71) previous BFLH injury. No differences were observed between injured and non-injured thighs for the Apo-BFLH and BFLH size parameters (p>0.05) except for Apo-BFLH volume, which was higher in the non-injured thighs of athletes with previous injury (3692.1±2638.4 mm3, p

Dancers frequently perform jump-landing activities, with the foot-ankle complex playing an essential role to attenuate the landing forces. However, scarce research has been conducted in professional dancers multi-segmented foot in landings. The aim of this study was to compare the multi-segmented foot kinematics between professional dancers and non-dancers, during forward and lateral single-leg jump-landings.Descriptive group comparison.Marker trajectories and synchronized ground reaction forces of 15 professional dancers and 15 non-dancers were collected using motion capture and a force plate, during multidirectional single-leg jump-landings. Sagittal and frontal hindfoot-tibia, forefoot-hindfoot, and hallux-forefoot kinematics of the multi-segmented foot model were computed at initial contact, peak vertical ground reaction force and peak knee flexion. Repeated measures ANOVAs were conducted (p 0.05).Professional dancers landed with higher hindfoot-tibia and forefoot-hindfoot plantarflexion angles at initial contact (p 0.001), and hindfoot-tibia dorsiflexion angles at peak vertical ground reaction force and peak knee flexion (p 0.001) than non-dancers. Also, dancers exhibited higher sagittal hindfoot-tibia and forefoot-hindfoot excursions than non-dancers (p 0.001). No statistically significant differences were found in the frontal plane.The multi-segmented foot allows a comprehensive kinematic analysis of the different foot joints. In jump-landings, professional dancers higher hindfoot-tibia, and forefoot-hindfoot plantarflexion at initial contact, compared to non-dancers, contributed to a subsequent higher foot joints excursion. This pattern is commonly linked to a better shock absorption mechanism in landings.

espanolObjetivo: cuantificar y comparar la actividad electromiografica de 10 musculos en tres diferentes ejercicios de pullover. Metodo: 15 hombres sanos, con al menos 2 anos de experiencia en entrenamiento de resistencia, realizaron seis repeticiones al 60% de 1 Repeticion Maxima en orden aleatorio para tres ejercicios de pullover diferentes: acostados en una tabla con mancuernas y agarre 100% biacromial (E1), acostados en una tabla con mancuernas, agarre 150% biacromial (E2) y acostado en una pelota suiza con mancuernas, agarre 100% biacromial (E3). Se registro la senal electromiografica de superficie de Deltoides (anterior y posterior), Pectoral Mayor (clavicular y esternocostal), Serrato Anterior, Triceps Braquial (porcion externa), Dorsal Grande, Infraespinoso, Recto Abdominal, Oblicuo Interno y Transverso del Abdominal. Se calculo la Repeticion Maxima normalizada para cada musculo y para cada ejercicio. Resultados: los musculos mas involucrados fueron el Infraespinoso (51-53%) y el Deltoides Posterior (49-51%). La actividad electromiografica de superficie fue similar entre los ejercicios E1, E2 y E3. Conclusiones: este estudio cuantifico las demandas musculares durante los ejercicios pullover realizados con un 60% de la Repeticion Maxima. Los musculos con mayor nivel de activacion fueron el Deltoides Posterior e Infraespinoso, lo que sugiere que el pullover puede ser una opcion valida para fortalecer los musculos estabilizadores dinamicos de la articulacion del hombro en individuos entrenados. No se observaron diferencias significativas en el nivel de la activacion muscular cuando se modifico la distancia del agarre y la estabilizacion del tronco, lo que demuestra que estas condiciones no influyen en los niveles de activacion muscular. Sin embargo, 1 Repeticion Maxima fue menor cuando el pullover se realizo en una pelota suiza, lo que sugiere que es posible obtener un mayor nivel de reclutamiento muscular con pesos menores en ejercicios inestables. EnglishObjective: To quantify and compare the electromyographic activity of 10 muscles in three pullover exercises. Methods: 15 healthy men, with at least two years of experience in resistance training, executed in random order six repetitions with 60% of 1 Maximum Repetition for three different pullover exercises: lying on a step with a barbell, grip 100% biacromial (E1); lying on a step with a barbell, grip 150% (E2); lying on a Swiss ball with a barbell, grip 100% (E3). Surface electromyography was recorded from the Deltoideus (Clavicular and Spinalis Pars), Pectoralis Major (Clavicular and Sternocostalis Pars), Serratus Anterior, Triceps Brachii (Long Head), Latissimus Dorsi, Infraspinatus, Rectus Abdominis, Obliquus Internus Abdominis and Transversus Abdominis. The normalized Maximum Repetition electromyographyc of each muscle was calculated for each exercise. Results: The most engaged muscles were Infraspinatus (51-53%) and Posterior Deltoid (49-51%). Surface electromyography activity was similar between the E1, E2 and E3 exercises. Conclusions: This study quantified muscular solicitation during pullover exercises performed with 60% Maximum Repetition. The muscles with higher level of activation were the Posterior Deltoid and the Infraspinatus, suggesting that pullover may be a valid option for strengthening the dynamic stabilizing muscles of shoulder joint in trained individuals. No significant differences in muscle electromyography intensity were observed when grip distance and trunk stabilization were altered, showing that these conditions do not influence muscle activation levels. However, the 1 Maximum Repetition was lower when the pullover was performed on a Swiss ball, suggesting that it is possible to obtain higher level of muscle recruitment with lower weights in unstable exercises. portuguesObjetivo: Quantificar e comparar a atividade eletromiografica de 10 musculos em tres exercicios pullover. Metodo: 15 homens saudaveis, com pelo menos dois anos de experiencia em treinamento resistido, executaram em ordem aleatoria seis repeticoes com 60% de 1 Repeticao Maxima para tres exercicios pullover diferentes: deitado em um step com barra e pegada 100% biacromial (E1), deitado no steep com barra e pegada 150% biacromial (E2) e deitado em uma bola suica (fitball) e pegada 100% biacromial (E3). A atividade eletromiografica de superficie foi registrada dos musculos Deltoide (Clavicular e Spinalis Porcao), Peitoral Maior (Porcao Clavicular e Esternocostal), Serratil Anterior, Triceps Braquial (Cabeca Longa), Grande Dorsal, Infraespinhal, Reto Abdominal, Obliquo Interno Abdominal e Transverso Abdominal. A atividade eletromiografica de uma Repeticao Maxima normalizada de cada musculo foi calculada para cada exercicio. Resultados: Os musculos mais envolvidos foram o infraespinal (51-53%) e o Deltoide Posterior deltoide (49-51%). A atividade eletromiografica foi semelhante entre os exercicios E1, E2 e E3. Conclusoes: Este estudo quantificou a solicitacao muscular durante exercicios pullover realizados com 60% de Repeticao Maxima. Os musculos com maior nivel de ativacao foram o Deltoide Posterior e o Infraspinatus, sugerindo que o pullover pode ser uma opcao valida para o fortalecimento dos musculos estabilizadores dinâmicos da articulacao do ombro em individuos treinados. Nao foram observadas diferencas significativas na intensidade da atividade eletromiografica muscular quando a distância da pegada e a estabilizacao do tronco foram alteradas, mostrando que essas condicoes nao influenciam os niveis de ativacao muscular. No entanto, a 1 Repeticao Maxima foi menor quando o pullover foi realizado em uma bola suica (fitball), sugerindo que e possivel obter maior nivel de recrutamento muscular com pesos menores em exercicios instaveis.

Walking with different types of cueing/stimulus (i.e. auditory, visual) has shown to alter gait variability, thus emerging as an innovative therapeutical tool to restore abnormal gait variability in clinical populations. However, the majority of the research in this area has focused on auditory stimulus, while visual stimulus is an understudied alternative that needs more attention, particularly due to the natural dependence on vision during walking. Furthermore, the time differences between the occurrences of the walking steps and the sensory cues, also known as asynchronies, have also received minimal attention even though how well will synchronize with different stimuli is of great importance. This study investigated how synchronizing to visual stimulus that is presented with different temporal structures could affect gait variability and their respected asynchronies. Participants performed four 15-minute walking trials around an indoor track while wearing insole footswitches for the following conditions: a) self-paced walking, and b) walking with glasses that instructed the subjects to step in sync with a virtual moving bar. The stepping occurences of the moving bar were presented in three different ways b1) non-variable, b2) variable and b3) random. Stride times and asynchronies were determined, and the mean values along with the fractal scaling (an indicator of the complexity) in their time series, were calculated. The fractal scaling of the stride times was unaltered when participants walked with the variable stimulus as compared to the self-paced walking condition; while significantly decreased during the non-variable and random conditions indicating a loss of complexity for these two conditions. Regarding the asynchronies, no differences were observed in the means or the fractal scaling of the asynchronies. The correlation analysis between stride times and asynchronies revealed a strong relationship for the non-variable condition but a weak one for both variable and random conditions. Taken together, the present study results supports the idea of an existing internal timekeeper that exhibits complexity. We have shown that this complex pattern is similar regardless of the stimulus condition, suggesting that the system’s complexity is likely to be expressed at the task performance level – asyncrhonies – when walking to a stimulus. Thus, future research in sensoriomotor gait synchronization should focus and further explore the role of the asynchronies as it may be of clinical significance.

Introduction: The use of oral appliances to enhance sports performance has been advocated by some authors, however, studies addressing the effectiveness of these strategies are inconclusive. Methods: Here we investigate the effects of dental occlusions on shoulder strength. Fourteen healthy male subjects (age = 21.67 ± 0.86 years) without temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder participated in this study. Isokinetic strength was evaluated in shoulder abduction/adduction and arm external/internal rotation tests. Three randomised conditions were assessed: (1) occlusal splint (OS), which repositioned the TMJ in centric relation; (2) placebo splint (PS); and (3) no-splint (N). The strength tests were performed at a speed of 60°/sec in concentric mode. Muscle activity was measured by surface electromyography (EMG) in the main muscles engaged in the movements. Results: Significant differences in peak torque between OS and both of the other experimental conditions were found in some of the analyzed variables. Moreover, there was significantly higher muscular EMG activation in the OS condition when compared to the other conditions for some of the tested muscles. These data suggest that splints may have a positive ergogenic effect on shoulder muscular strength in healthy male subjects. Conclusion: KEY MESSAGES: Occlusal splints in centric relation position have an ergogenic effect, by increasing strength and muscle activation on shoulder in healthy subjects. These results could have implications for sports or other physical activities were arm and shoulder strength are important.

Introduction: Although several approaches have been proposed to mitigate post-match fatigue, few studies have been conducted in team sports to understand the types of recovery methods and the underlying reasons for the choices of medical and technical staff. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable online questionnaire to assess the recovery practices implemented by football clubs within 72 h post-match.Methods: Two research members developed the original questionnaire proposal, and two experts in sports science and sports medicine confirmed the content and face validities. Then, 20 football coaches (age: 39.4 ± 6.8 years) with a minimum of 5 years of experience in professional football (9.1 ± 4.9 years) and with an academic background participated in determining the ecological validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The acceptability and relevance of the questionnaire were determined using descriptive statistics.Results: After confirming the content and face validities, one questionnaire section with two questions was excluded due to lack of relevance, seven open-ended questions were removed due to the adherence of small participants (i.e., 45.4%), and one section was divided into three to facilitate clearness in reading. The remaining sections were considered acceptable and relevant (>94.1%). About 91.8% of nominal and ordinal items derived from the questionnaire questions showed good to very good reliability outcomes (average k classification: 0.73 ± 0.13; min–max: 0.22–1.00, p < 0.05; average wk classification: 0.82 ± 0.15; min–max: 0.22–1.00, p < 0.05).Conclusions: This study provided a novel, valid, reliable, and easy-to-use tool to examine the post-match recovery practices in professional football contexts.

This study sought to examine the active stiffness of semitendinosus (ST) and biceps femoris long head (BFlh) during a knee flexor isometric contraction at 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction until failure in elite footballers (n=50, age: 22.3±5.3 years; height: 1.82±0.08 m; body mass: 74.7±9.0 kg). Active stiffness was assessed using ultrasound-based shear wave elastography by means of shear modulus quantification. Comparisons were performed between limbs with (n=11) vs. without (n=89) previous hamstring injury. Similar time until failure in the knee flexor fatigue task was observed between groups (p=0.401). At the start of the task, lower limbs with previous hamstring injury showed a lower BFlh active stiffness (31.0.1±10.4 kPa, p=0.023) and BFlh/ST active stiffness ratio (0.50±0.29), and no differences for ST (72.8±26.8 kPa, p=0.221) compared to lower limbs without previous hamstring injuries (BFlh: 38.0±9.6 kPa; ST: 64.0±18.4 kPa; BFlh/ST: 0.65±0.27). During the task, the ST active stiffness in both groups decreased from 80% of task time (p=0.032), in the absence of changes in BFlh active stiffness (p=0.534), resulting in an increase in BFlh/ST active stiffness from 80% of task time (p=0.029). No differences between limbs were observed during the fatigue task for all parameters (p>0.099). Future research is warranted to verify if the differences found represent an increased risk of hamstring injury.

Muscle coordination in human movement has been assessed through muscle synergy analysis. In sports science, this procedure has been mainly applied to the comparison between highly trained and unexperienced participants. However, the lack of knowledge regarding strength training exercises led us to study the differences in neural strategies to perform the power clean between weightlifters and untrained individuals. Synergies were extracted from electromyograms of 16 muscles of ten unexperienced participants and seven weightlifters. To evaluate differences, we determined the pairwise correlations for the synergy components and electromyographic profiles. While the shape of activation patterns presented strong correlations across participants of each group, the weightings of each muscle were more variable. The three extracted synergies were shifted in time with the unexperienced group anticipating synergy #1 (−2.46 ± 18.7%, p &lt, 0.001) and #2 (−4.60 ± 5.71%, 0.001) and delaying synergy #3 (1.86 ± 17.39%, p = 0.01). Moreover, muscle vectors presented more inter-group variability, changing the composition of synergy #1 and #3. These results may indicate an adaptation in intermuscular coordination with training, and athletes in an initial phase of training should attempt to delay the hip extension (synergy #1), as well as the upper-limb flexion (synergy #2).

This study sought to investigate whether the stiffness of the biceps femoris long head differs between proximal and distal regions during isometric knee flexion at different contraction intensities and muscle lengths. Twelve healthy individuals performed knee flexion isometric contractions at 20% and 60% of maximum voluntary isometric contraction, with the knee flexed at 15 and 45 degrees. Muscle stiffness assessment was performed using ultrasound-based shear wave elastography. Proximal and distal regions of the biceps femoris long head were assessed. Biceps femoris long head muscle showed a greater stiffness (i) in the distal region, (ii) at higher contraction intensity, and (iii) at longer muscle length. The proximal-to-distal stiffness ratio was significantly lower than 1 (i.e., heterogenous) at lower contraction intensity regardless of the muscle length. However, this was not observed at higher contraction intensity. This study is the first to show heterogeneity in the active stiffness of the biceps femoris long head. Given the greater incidence of injury at the proximal region of biceps femoris long head, this study opens new directions for future research. Additionally, the present study results indicate that studies assessing muscle stiffness at one single muscle region should be interpreted with caution.

This study examined whether a knee flexor isometric contraction at 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction until exhaustion would alter the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) and semitendinosus (ST) active stiffness, assessed using ultrasound-based shear wave elastography. Twelve healthy individuals participated in 2 sessions separated by 7 days. Time to exhaustion was similar in both sessions (day 1: 443.8 ± 192.5 s; day 2: 474.6 ± 131.7 s; p = 0.323). At the start of the fatigue task, the ST showed greater active stiffness than the BFlh (p

Knee valgus motion observed during landing tasks has been proposed as a predictor of future knee injury. It mainly involves excess motion in the frontal plane and is known to be greater in individuals with excessive medial knee displacement (MKD). This affects postural control during sports manoeuvres. Previous sports medicine-related research suggests that the nature of these fluctuations provide rich and more sensitive information to identify risk of (re)injury. We aimed to investigate the fluctuations of the centre of pressure (CoP) in individuals with and without excessive MKD. Twenty females (12 controls; 8 excessive MKD) were instructed to perform single-leg landing tasks from three different directions. The participants landed on a force plate and stayed still for 20 seconds. The fluctuations of the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions of the CoP were determined through the calculation of Sample Entropy. Mixed-model ANOVAs (3 [Landing Direction] x 2 [Group]) were used. We have found that only the entropy of the medial-lateral direction was different between groups. Individuals with excessive MKD exhibited an increase in entropy values, indicating greater randomness in CoP fluctuations. This suggests a decreased ability to adapt to environmental demands that likely result in an increased risk of injury.

Purpose:To investigate the muscle-activation patterns and coactivation with the support of kinematics in some of the world’s best breaststrokers and identify performance discriminants related to national elites at maximal effort.Methods:Surface electromyography was collected in 8 muscles from 4 world-class (including 2 world champions) and 4 national elite breaststroke swimmers during a 25-m breaststroke at maximal effort.Results:World-class spent less time during the leg recovery (P = .043), began this phase with a smaller knee angle (154.6° vs 161.8°), and had a higher median velocity of 0.18 m/s during the leg glide than national elites. Compared with national elites, world-class swimmers showed a difference in the muscle-activation patterns for all 8 muscles. In the leg-propulsion phase, there was less triceps brachii activation (1 swimmer 6% vs median 23.0% [8.8]). In the leg-glide phase, there was activation in rectus femoris and gastrocnemius during the beginning of this phase (all world-class vs only 1 national elite) and a longer activation in pectoralis major (world champions 71% [0.5] vs 50.0 [4.3]) (propulsive phase of the arms). In the leg-recovery phase, there was more activation in biceps femoris (50.0% [15.0] vs 20.0% [14.0]) and a later and quicker activation in tibialis anterior (40.0% [7.8] vs 52.0% [6.0]). In the stroke cycle, there was no coactivation in tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius for world champions.Conclusion:These components are important performance discriminants. They can be used to improve muscle-activation patterns and kinematics through the different breaststroke phases. Furthermore, they can be used as focus points for teaching breaststroke to beginners.

Research in physiology and sports science has shown that fatigue, a complex psychophysiological phenomenon, has a relevant impact in performance and in the correct functioning of our motricity system, potentially being a cause of damage to the human organism. Fatigue can be seen as a subjective or objective phenomenon. Subjective fatigue corresponds to a mental and cognitive event, while fatigue referred as objective is a physical phenomenon. Despite the fact that subjective fatigue is often undervalued, only a physically and mentally healthy athlete is able to achieve top performance in a discipline. Therefore, we argue that physical training programs should address the preventive assessment of both subjective and objective fatigue mechanisms in order to minimize the risk of injuries. In this context, our paper presents a machine-learning system capable of extracting individual fatigue descriptors (IFDs) from electromyographic (EMG) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements. Our novel approach, using two types of biosignals so that a global (mental and physical) fatigue assessment is taken into account, reflects the onset of fatigue by implementing a combination of a dimensionless (0-1) global fatigue descriptor (GFD) and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The system, based on 9 main combined features, achieves fatigue regime classification performances of0.82±0.24, ensuring a successful preventive assessment when dangerous fatigue levels are reached. Training data were acquired in a constant work rate test (executed by 14 subjects using a cycloergometry device), where the variable under study (fatigue) gradually increased until the volunteer reached an objective exhaustion state.

International audience; ObjectivesNeurodynamic techniques are often used to treat people with sciatica pain, but their mechanical effects on the sciatic nerve are unknown. Shear wave elastography (SWE) has been shown to effectively estimate the stiffness of peripheral nerves in real time. The aim of this study was to use SWE to assess the effects of slump neurodynamics in the sciatic stiffness of people with sciatica.MethodsSixteen participants volunteered for this study. The sciatic stiffness of 8 patients with unilateral chronic sciatica and 8 healthy control participants was measured by SWE, with the participants in a prone position and during a dynamic condition (ie, ankle dorsiflexion). These measurements were performed before and immediately after the neurodynamic intervention, which consisted of a static slump position applied to the symptomatic limb of the patients with sciatica and in a randomly chosen limb of the healthy participants.ResultsThe 8 patients with sciatica included 6 male and 2 female patients, and the 8 healthy control participants included 5 male and 3 female volunteers. Slump neurodynamics resulted in an immediate decrease in the sciatic nerve stiffness of the symptomatic limb in people with sciatica by 16.1% (effect size = 0.65; P = .019). The intervention showed no significant changes in the sciatic nerve stiffness of the healthy participants (effect size = 0.05; P = .754).ConclusionsSlump neurodynamics have the potential of decreasing the sciatic nerve stiffness in people with sciatica, and this effect can be quantified by SWE, which may provide valuable information for health professionals.

Dynamic knee valgus is a multi-planar motion that has been associated with anterior cruciate ligament injuries and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Clinical assessment of dynamic knee valgus is usually performed through visual appearance of medial knee displacement (MKD) during the overhead squat. The aim of this study is to identify the kinematic and neuromuscular parameters associated with MKD. Twenty-two females performed an overhead squat and were assigned to the control group (n = 14) or the MKD group (n = 8). Electromyography and kinematic data of the lower extremity were collected. We observed MKD to exhibit greater muscle activity in the following muscles: adductor magnus, biceps femoris, vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles during the eccentric phase of the overhead squat. No group differences were observed during the concentric phase. Regarding the kinematics, the MKD group showed higher knee internal rotation and, knee abduction and ankle abduction, compared to controls. The combined information from the muscle activity results and kinematics of squat helps to explain the occurrence of excessive medial knee displacement and, hence, providing relevant information for health professionals to address this injury risk factor.

BACKGROUND: Older persons are the fastest growing segment of the population living in the Western hemisphere. Longevity comes at a price, including a higher rate of morbidity, functional and mental disability and the eventual loss of independence. Physical inactivity further aggravates the decline in physiological function along the aging process. Therefore, the promotion of regular exercise may be seen as one of the main non-pharmacological approaches that should be recommended to older adults. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive review on the interaction between exercise training and improved physical fitness in the elderly. Specifically, 175 papers describing the overall benefits of exercise training on the cardiovascular, neuromuscular and brain function of older adults were included. The effectiveness of training for improving quality of life at an older age was also reviewed. RESULTS: Exercise training can partially reverse the age-related physiological decline and enhance work capacity in the elderly. Numerous studies have shown that maintaining a minimum quantity and quality of physical exercise decreases the risk of cardiovascular mortality, sarcopenia, prevents the onset of osteopenia and even exerts a prophylactic role against neurodegeneration. The systemic physiologic effects are profound and may be directly linked to a favorable feedforward cycle whereby improved physiologic function begets improved physical function and so on. CONCLUSION: We conclude that structured training programs should be designed to improve the physiological function in this population. Finally, the benefits of exercise training vary as a function of training volume and this relationship is independent of age and sex. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The aim of this study was to compare the electromyographic patterns of the lower limb muscles during a golf swing performed by low- and high-handicap golfers.Ten golfers (5 low- and 5 high-handicap) performed 8 swings using a 7-iron. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded for the following lower limb muscles on both sides: biceps femoris, semitendinosus, gluteus maximus, vastus medialis and lateralis, rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, and gastrocnemius medialis and lateralis. The golf-swing phases were determined by 3-dimensional high-speed video analysis.Compared with the high-handicap golfers, the low-handicap golfers performed the forward swing with a shorter duration of the swing phases, with the exception of the late follow-through, where they exhibited longer duration. Considering the EMG patterns, the low-handicap golfers showed a tendency for the studied muscles to reach an activation peak earlier and presented statistically significant higher muscle activity in some of the lower limb muscles, mainly from the left side.Differences between low- and high-handicap golfers were found in the average duration of swing phases and in the activation level of the lower limbs, with more evidence on muscles from the left side.

Objectives To analyze differences in trunk endurance time, fatigue and activation in tennis players with and without low back pain. Design Observational study, cross-sectional design. Methods Thirty-five tennis players completed an isometric trunk endurance protocol comprising four tasks (flexor, extensor and side bridge tests). LBP history was obtained through the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. Endurance time was recorded for each test. Surface electromyographic activity was recorded bilaterally from rectus abdominis, external obliques, iliocostalis lumborum and longissimus thoracis. Average electromyographic amplitude and median frequency slopes during the tests were calculated and used as indicators of change in muscle activation and fatigue. Results Asymptomatic players had greater flexor (p = 0.004) and right side bridge (p = 0.043) endurance times. These players produced a greater increase in avrEMG during the right side bridge test for the left ES-I (p = 0.046) and right EO (p = 0.008). Players with LBP in the last 7 days showed reduced activation of the left (p = 0.014) and right (p = 0.013) ES-I and left longissimus thoracis (ES-L, p = 0.047) in the extensor test. In the left side bridge test there was a lower avrEMG slope of the left EO (p = 0.024) and left RA MF slope (p = 0.011). In the right side bridge test a lower left ES-I avrEMG slope was found (p = 0.048). Conclusions Symptomatic players show lower activation of extensor muscles, less co-contraction patterns and less abdominal endurance. Tennis coaches and clinicians should consider these factors in their approach to players with LBP.

Muscle synergy extraction has been utilized to investigate muscle coordination in human movement, namely in sports. The reliability of the method has been proposed, although it has not been assessed previously during a complex sportive task. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate intra- and inter-day reliability of a strength training complex task, the power clean, assessing participants&rsquo, variability in the task across sets and days. Twelve unexperienced participants performed four sets of power cleans in two test days after strength tests, and muscle synergies were extracted from electromyography (EMG) data of 16 muscles. Three muscle synergies accounted for almost 90% of variance accounted for (VAF) across sets and days. Intra-day VAF, muscle synergy vectors, synergy activation coefficients and individual EMG profiles showed high similarity values. Inter-day muscle synergy vectors had moderate similarity, while the variables regarding temporal activation were still strongly related. The present findings revealed that the muscle synergies extracted during the power clean remained stable across sets and days in unexperienced participants. Thus, the mathematical procedure for the extraction of muscle synergies through nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) may be considered a reliable method to study muscle coordination adaptations from muscle strength programs.

This study sought to examine the shear modulus (i.e., an force index) of three quadriceps muscles [i.e., vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), and rectus femoris (RF)] during passive stretching to determine whether epimuscular myofascial force transmission occurs across muscles. Secondly, this study compared the shear modulus between the quadriceps muscles, in both proximal and distal regions. Twelve healthy individuals were assessed during a passive knee flexion maneuver between 0 and 90 of knee flexion with the hip in two positions: flexed (80 ) vs. neutral (0 ). Muscle electrical activity was also assessed during the testing. No differences were observed between the hip testing positions for myoelectric activity (p > 0.43), and for VL and VM shear modulus (p = 0.12–0.98). Similarly, there were no differences between the proximal and distal regions for all muscles (p = 0.42–0.93). RF showed a higher shear modulus with the hip in the neutral position (p = 0.004). With the hip flexed, the VL showed the greatest shear modulus among the tested muscles (p < 0.025); while with the hip in the neutral position, no differences were observed for shear modulus between VL and RF (p = 0.817). These findings suggest that epimuscular myofascial force transmission (at a muscle belly level) does not occur between the quadriceps muscles when passively flexing the knee until 90 . Whether epimuscular myofascial force transmission occurs in the quadriceps muscles bellies with greater muscle stretch (either through knee flexion or hip extension) remains to be examined. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Purpose To assess the stiffness of hamstring muscles during isometric contractions in healthy individuals, using ultrasoundbased shear wave elastography to (1) determine the intra- and inter-day assessment repeatability, (2) characterize the stiffness of semitendinosus (ST) and biceps femoris long head (BFlh) along the contraction intensity, and (3) characterize stiffness distribution among the hamstring muscles and inter-limb symmetry. Methods Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I (n = 12), the intra-day repeatability in assessing the BFlh and ST stiffness were determined at intensities between 10–60% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in a single session. In experiment II (n = 11), the stiffness of the hamstring muscles of both thighs was assessed at 20% of MVIC in the first session; and retested (for one randomly chosen thigh) in a second session. Isometric contraction of knee flexors was performed with the knee flexed at 30° and with the hip in a neutral position. Results Moderate-to-very-high intra- and inter-day repeatability was found (ICC = 0.69–0.93). The BFlh/ST stiffness ratio increased with contraction intensity. At 20% of MVIC, the ST showed the highest stiffness among the hamstring muscles (p < 0.02), with no differences between the remaining hamstring muscles (p > 0.474). No differences were found between limbs (p = 0.12). Conclusions The stiffness distribution among the hamstring muscles during submaximal isometric contractions is heterogeneous, but symmetric between limbs, and changes depending on the contraction intensity. Shear wave elastography is a reliable tool to assess the stiffness of hamstring muscles during contraction. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Background: Modeling physiological signals is a complex task both for understanding and synthesize biomedical signals. We propose a deep neural network model that learns and synthesizes biosignals, validated by the morphological equivalence of the original ones. This research could lead the creation of novel algorithms for signal reconstruction in heavily noisy data and source detection in biomedical engineering field. Method: The present work explores the gated recurrent units (GRU) employed in the training of respiration (RESP), electromyograms (EMG) and electrocardiograms (ECG). Each signal is pre-processed, segmented and quantized in a specific number of classes, corresponding to the amplitude of each sample and fed to the model, which is composed by an embedded matrix, three GRU blocks and a softmax function. This network is trained by adjusting its internal parameters, acquiring the representation of the abstract notion of the next value based on the previous ones. The simulated signal was generated by forecasting a random value and re-feeding itself. Results and conclusions: The resulting generated signals are similar with the morphological expression of the originals. During the learning process, after a set of iterations, the model starts to grasp the basic morphological characteristics of the signal and later their cyclic characteristics. After training, these models' prediction are closer to the signals that trained them, specially the RESP and ECG. This synthesis mechanism has shown relevant results that inspire the use to characterize signals from other physiological sources. publishersversion published

Background: Neurodynamics techniques aim to assess and improve neural mechanosensitivity. However, there is no in vivo evidence regarding the mechanical effects of these techniques in the nerve stiffness. This study examined the immediate effects of a slump neurodynamics technique in the sciatic nerve shear wave velocity (SWV. i.e. an index of stiffness) using ultrasound-based elastography. Methods: Fourteen healthy participants were included in this experiment. Sciatic SWV and ankle passive torque were measured during a passive ankle dorsiflexion motion (2°/s), before and immediately after 3 minutes of slump neurodynamics technique, randomly applied to one lower limb. The contralateral limb served as control. Results: The slump intervention did not change the sciatic SWV (P=0.78), nor the dorsiflexion passive torque (P=0.14), throughout the ankle dorsiflexion motion. Excellent values of intra-rater repeatability (ICC=0.88, 0.68-0.96), and low values of standard error of measurement (0.59 m/s, 0.35-1.15m/s), were observed for the SWV measurements. Conclusions: The sciatic nerve stiffness of healthy participants did not change immediately after a slump neurodynamics technique, suggesting a compliance of the neural tissue to tensile loads. However, these results ought to be confirmed using other neurodynamics techniques and in other populations (e.g. peripheral neuropathies). Level of evidence: III.

The portion of society aged ≥60 years is the fastest growing population in the Western hemisphere. Aging is associated with numerous changes to systemic physiology that affect physical function and performance. We present a narrative review of the literature aimed at discussing the age-related changes in various metrics of physical performance (exercise economy, anaerobic threshold, peak oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and power). It also explores aging exercise physiology as it relates to global physical performance. Finally, this review examines the vascular contributions to aging exercise physiology. Numerous studies have shown that older adults exhibit substantial reductions in physical performance. The process of decline in endurance capacity is particularly insidious over the age of 60 years and varies considerably as a function of sex, task specificity, and individual training status. Starting at the age of 50 years, aging also implicates an impressive deterioration of neuromuscular function, affecting muscle strength and power. Muscle atrophy, together with minor deficits in the structure and function of the nervous system and/or impairments in intrinsic muscle quality, plays an important role in the development of neuromotor senescence. Large artery stiffness increases as a function of age, thus triggering subsequent changes in pulsatile hemodynamics and systemic endothelial dysfunction. For this reason, we propose that vascular senescence has a negative impact on cerebral, cardiac, and neuromuscular structure and function, detrimentally affecting physical performance.

The present study aimed to compare muscle coordination strategies of the upper and lower limb muscles between beginners and elite breaststroke swimmers. Surface electromyography (EMG) of eight muscles was recorded in 16 swimmers (8 elite, 8 beginners) during a 25 m swimming breaststroke at 100% of maximal effort. A decomposition algorithm was used to identify the muscle synergies that represent the temporal and spatial organisation of muscle coordination. Between-groups indices of similarity and lag times were calculated. Individual muscle patterns were moderately to highly similar between groups (between-group indices range: 0.61 to 0.84). Significant differences were found in terms of lag time for pectoralis major (P < 0.05), biceps brachii, rectus femoris and tibialis anterior (P < 0.01), indicating an earlier activation for these muscles in beginners compared to elites (range: -13.2 to -3.8% of the swimming cycle). Three muscle synergies were identified for both beginners and elites. Although their composition was similar between populations, the third synergy exhibited a high within-group variability. Moderate to high indices of similarity were found for the shape of synergy activation coefficients (range: 0.63 to 0.88) but there was a significant backward shift (-8.4% of the swimming cycle) in synergy #2 for beginners compared to elites. This time shift suggested differences in the global arm-to-leg coordination. These results indicate that the synergistic organisation of muscle coordination during breaststroke swimming is not profoundly affected by expertise. However, specific timing adjustments were observed between lower and upper limbs.

We are glad to introduce the second Journal Club. On the occasion of the recent Global Running Day, the first of June 2016, the second edition is focused on several relevant studies published recently in the field of Joint Biomechanics of Running, chosen by our Scientific Board members. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion for the sport seen also from the scientific point of view. The Editorial Board members wish you an inspiring lecture.

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the EMG patterns of select lower limb muscles throughout the golf swing, performed with three different clubs, in non-elite middle-aged players. Fourteen golfers performed eight swings each using, in random order, a pitching wedge, 7-iron and 4-iron. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded bilaterally from lower limb muscles: tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, gluteus maximus, vastus medialis, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. Three-dimensional high-speed video analysis was used to determine the golf swing phases. Results showed that, in average handicap golfers, the highest muscle activation levels occurred during the Forward Swing Phase, with the right semitendinosus and the right biceps femoris muscles producing the highest mean activation levels relative to maximal electromyography (70-76% and 68-73% EMG(MAX), respectively). Significant differences between the pitching wedge and the 4-iron club were found in the activation level of the left semitendinosus, right tibialis anterior, right peroneus longus, right vastus medialis, right rectus femuris and right gastrocnemius muscles. The lower limb muscles showed, in most cases and phases, higher mean values of activation on electromyography when golfers performed shots with a 4-iron club.