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Objective: The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of social prescribing interventions in the management of long-term conditions in adults. Data sources: Eleven electronic databases were searched for randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials. Review Methods: Outcomes of interest were quality of life, physical activity, psychological well-being and disease-specific measures. Bias was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. A narrative synthesis and meta-analysis were performed. Results: Twelve studies (n = 3566) were included in this review. Social prescribing interventions were heterogeneous and the most common risks of bias were poor blinding and high attrition. Social prescribing interventions designed to target specific long-term conditions i.e., cancer and diabetes demonstrated significant improvements in quality of life (n = 2 studies) and disease-specific psychological outcomes respectively (n = 3 studies). There was some evidence for improvement in physical activity (n = 2 studies) but most changes were within group only (n = 4 studies). Social prescribing interventions did not demonstrate any significant changes in general psychological well-being. Conclusion: Social prescribing interventions demonstrated some improvements across a range of outcomes although the quality of evidence remains poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The comprehensive treatment for an athlete who sustains a complete posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury remains unclear. The purpose of this case report is to describe the effects of an isokinetic exercise program on muscle performance and physical function in a professional soccer player with a PCL injury. Study Design: Case Report Case Description: A 23-year-old male professional soccer player injured his right knee (non-dominant) during a soccer match, with magnetic resonance imaging confirming a complete PCL rupture. The athlete completed 23 sessions of isokinetic treatment over nine weeks to improve physical function and muscle performance. The concentric mode was used to evaluate quadriceps and hamstrings performance isokinetically at angular velocities of 60 °/s, 120 °/s, and 300 °/s. The LEFS questionnaire was used to evaluate physical function. The assessment occurred before starting the treatment and at the end of nine weeks. An athlete with similar anthropometric characteristics was invited to participate and serve as a control, in order to better understand the athlete's assessment results. Outcomes: After nine weeks, peak torque normalized to body mass (PT/BM) improved to 4.0 N.m/kg for knee extensors (control: 3.6 Nm/kg) and 2.3 N.m/kg for knee flexors (control: 1.9 Nm/kg) at 60 °/s. This increase in PT was reflected in the hamstrings-to-quadriceps (H:Q) ratio post-treatment (57 %). At the end of treatment, the athlete returned to sports activities with 98.7 % restored physical function as measured by the LEFS (Score: 79 points). Discussion: The results demonstrated that the isokinetic treatment improved knee functional capacity, with increased PT/BM for knee extensors and flexors and enhanced torque-holding capacity, indicating improved muscle performance. Level of evidence: 5 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a surgical procedure that can alter physical function and quality of life. Objectives: The aim was to verify the effects of aquatic exercises compared with exercises on land, control or other modalities, in patients undergoing THA on the primary outcomes: self‐reported physical function, quality of life and pain; and secondary outcomes: muscle strength, functional capacity and gait. Design: Systematic review that followed the PRISMA Statement and PROSPERO registered. The search was performed in the following databases: Web of Science, Embase, Medline, Cinahl, Lilacs, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane Library, Scopus, SciELO, and PEDro, from 1945 to 2022. The risk of bias assessment was performed using the Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2) from the Cochrane Collaboration. Results: Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included, with a total of 364 participants. In the selection process, two publications from the same study were found. The RoB2 assessment classified one RCT as "high risk of bias" and the others as "low risk of bias". Therefore, the analysis of the results considered only studies with a low risk of bias. For the self‐reported physical function outcome, evaluated by WOMAC, improvement was observed in favor of aquatic exercises, when started on the 14th postoperative day. Pain improved after 24th week postoperative, in favor of exercise (effect size between 0.2 and 0.4). Quality of life, verified only by one RCT, improved at each time point evaluated (effect size between 0.01 and 0.10). The functional capacity showed no difference between the groups. This was the first systematic review to assess the benefits of aquatic exercises specifically in THA and it was possible to infer that the exercises initiated after 14 days of postoperative are safer. The protocol should include proprioceptive, coordination, and resistance exercises. The session can last around 30 min and is held three times a week. Conclusion: Decision making for treatment in the postoperative of THA may include aquatic exercises as a safe and efficacious alternative to improve self‐reported physical function, pain, quality of life, and muscle resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory rheumatic disease in which the physical impact has been evaluated; however, the psychological consequences are less well explored. The primary aim of this review was to determine the effectiveness of group versus home‐based exercises on psychological status of patients with AS. Methods: Six databases were searched until January 2020. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials including group or home‐based exercise interventions. Risk of bias (RoB) was evaluated using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool. Relative percentage difference (RPD) between groups and effect sizes were presented as standardised mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Five studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 240), outcomes of interest were depression, anxiety and mental health. Three studies were low‐risk RoB, one study was high‐risk RoB and one study there was 'some concerns' of bias. Group‐based exercise was more effective than home‐based exercise for improving depression at 6‐week (RPD 18%) and 3‐month (RPD 42%), anxiety (RPD 17%) and mental health (RPD 20%). Home‐based exercise was more effective than control interventions for improving depression (RPD 33%). A meta‐analysis demonstrated group‐based exercises compared to home exercises, improved depression (SMD: −0.54; 95% CI: [−0.89; −0.18]; p = 0.003) and physical function (SMD: −0.49; 95% CI: [−0.84; −0.14]; p = 0.006). Conclusion: Supervised group‐based demonstrated improvements in depression, anxiety and mental health compared to home‐based exercise. Individualised home‐based exercise is more effective than no intervention for improving depression in people with AS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a novel procedure, based on the perceived exertion threshold (PET) concept, involving non-exhaustive tests ([PET.sub.14-17]) to estimate critical power (CP), as well as to examine the reproducibility of these indices. Twenty young men performed 2 trials (Trial 1 and Trial 2) of 4 exhaustive predictive tests to estimate CP, PET, and [PET.sub.14 17]. The slope coefficients of the regression lines corresponding to the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) versus time relationship (y axis) obtained during the predictive tests were plotted against the power outputs (x axis) to estimate PET. PET was calculated as the intersection point of the regression line in the power axis. The 14-1 7 RPE range of each predictive test was modeled using the same mathematical procedures used to estimate [PET.sub.14 17]. CP was derived from the power-time hyperbolic equation. Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences among CP (189-194 W), PET (190-191 W) and [PET.sub.14 17], (191-195 W). The correlations between CP and PET (r = 0.87), CP and [PET.sub.14 17] (r = 0.89), and PET and [PET.sub.14 17] (r = 0.88) were all strong. Additionally, the bias [+ or -] limits of agreement when plotting CP and PET was -2.16 [+ or -] 31.60 W, and -5.70 [+ or -] 31.21 W when comparing CP and [PET.sub.14 17]. Relatively high reproducibility levels of CP (ICC = 0.96), PET (ICC = 0.85) and [PET.sub.14 17] (ICC = 0.83) were recorded in the test-retest fashion. It can be concluded that the [PET.sub.14 17] can be utilized with relatively high accuracy and reproducibility to estimate CP without causing exhaustion in the subjects. KEY WORDS critical power, rating of perceived exertion, cycle ergometer

The purpose of this systematic review was to analyze the effects of concurrent training on one repetition maximum (1RM), maximum oxygen consumption (VO2 max), and peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) in healthy adults. The review followed PRISMA recommendations using randomized controlled trials in nine databases. Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria, totaling a sample of 796 subjects to perform the meta-analysis. As result, concurrent training provides similar increases in 1RM as strength training for upper limbs (standardized mean difference [SMD]: 0.12; 95% IC: [−0.18; 0.41]; p =0.43) and for the lower limbs (SMD: −0.32; 95% IC: [−0.79; 0.15]; p =0.19). Similarly, no difference was found in the aerobic capacity between the concurrent training vs. aerobic training groups ([SMD – VO2 max]: −0.19; 95% IC: [−0.71; 0.33]; p =0.48 and [SMD – VO2 peak]: −0.24; 95% IC: [−0.57; 0.08]; p =0.14). Based on the results found, we can affirm that a) similar to strength training, concurrent training provides maximum strength development for upper and lower limbs; and b) cardiorespiratory capacity is not impaired by concurrent training in relation to aerobic training, demonstrating the compatibility of the two training sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is large variation in administration of performance-based, dynamic balance measures among adults with lower-limb amputation (LLA). Further, there has been limited exploration of test-retest reliability of these measures in adults with lower-limb loss, including whether there is a difference in reliability if one records "best" vs "average" performance across trials.Objective: To determine test-retest reliability of several balance tests for both "best" and "average" score performance in community-dwelling adults with a unilateral LLA, including quantification of the precision of individual scores (SE of the measurement, SEM) and estimates of minimal detectable change (MDC90 ).Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Mobile research laboratory.Participants: 27 participants (55.5% female) with an average age of 51 (SD = 12.2) years, who were predominantly community-ambulators (92.5%), after a unilateral transtibial (n = 20), transfemoral (n = 5), or other major lower-extremity (n = 2) amputation, were included. Median time since amputation was 6.3 (2.3, 19 [25th, 75th interquartile range]) years.Methods: Reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) models (3,1 or 3,k). SEMs and MDC90 values with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.Main Outcome Measures: 360o Turn Test, 5 Times Sit-To-Stand, Functional Reach Test, Figure-of-8 Walk Test, and Four Square Step Test (FSST).Results: The ICCs (3,1 or 3,k) for all tests (for both "best" and "average" performance) were considered good-to-excellent and CIs varied from 0.69 (95% CI = 0.40-0.85) to 0.97 (95% CI = 0.95-0.99). For most tests, "best" and "average" performance demonstrated similar ICC values. MDC90 values did not surpass 10% of test means for any of the measures.Conclusions: The dynamic balance measures evaluated for use among community-dwelling adults with a unilateral LLA demonstrated excellent reliability, along with high precision of scores and MDC values that did not exceed 10% of testing means. Either best or average scoring may be used when administering the majority of these tests, as long as the assessment method is appropriately documented and replicated at follow-up to allow direct comparisons. With the FSST, clinicians should consider taking the average of two FSST trials.Level Of Evidence: III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]