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BACKGROUND: Stretching exercises increase the joint range of motion (ROM) and depend on the skeletal tissues' exposition-time to stretch. However, it is unclear how a long stretching time affects the muscle-tendon unit's passive mechanical properties. AIM: This study aimed to analyze changes in the triceps surae muscle-tendon unit’s passive mechanical properties before and after a 10-minute passive stretching protocol. METHOD: Thirty healthy participants (26.57 ± 3.82 years old) were allocated into a control group (n=15), who did not perform any intervention, and to an experimental group (n=15), who performed one bout of a 10-minute ankle plantar flexor passive static stretching. Ankle ROM, plantar flexor passive torque, and myotendinous junction displacement were evaluated pre-intervention, immediately after, and 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes after the end of the intervention. The stiffnesses of the muscle-tendon unit, muscle, and tendon were calculated for all moments. A generalized estimating equation test was performed to compare groups and moments. RESULTS: The experimental group increased the ROM (p

BACKGROUND: Achilles tendon pain is present in tendons’ non-rupture injuries usually exacerbated by mechanical loading (i.e., overuse injury).Photobiomodulation is a light therapy that may reduce pain in tendinopathy. AIM: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials tested the acute and chronic effects of photobiomodulation on Achilles tendon pain. METHOD: Randomized clinical trials were included comparing photobiomodulation with a control group in patients with Achilles tendon pain.The search included MEDLINE (Pubmed), SCOPUS, EMBASE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Cochrane CENTRAL), LILACS, and Science Direct databases, and manual search until November 2021.The bias’s risk was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration bias risk assessment tool and PEDro scale, while the level of evidence strength by the GRADE. Quantitative analysis through meta-analyzes was performed. The protocol was registered (PROSPERO-CRD42018091509). RESULTS: The search yielded 3.239 papers in the seven databases. Five studies were included after screening, eliminating duplicates, and applying eligibility criteria, and three were included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis (n=79) showed no photobiomodulation acute and chronic effects compared with control group on Achilles tendon pain (p= 0.45, SMD: 0.28). In the qualitative analysis, three studies showed a high risk, and two studies a low risk of bias in all characteristics. GRADE analysis showed very low- to low-quality evidence of the studies. CONCLUSION: There is no photobiomodulation effect in Achilles tendon pain. Due to the very low and low strength of evidence, new studies with better methodological quality should be conducted to improve the level of evidence.

BACKGROUND: The Biomechanics Olympic Games (BOG) is a teaching method (see Carpes et al., Adv Physiol Educ. 2017;41(3):436-440) to facilitate biomechanics education. It has been conducted over the past 9 years and replicated in other universities, successfully reducing failing grades. AIM: Therefore, a recurrent question is whether the BOG reduces failing grades by raising the physical education and physiotherapy students' final scores or favors improving education. METHOD: To address this question, we considered retrospective data from two biomechanics courses for 9 years and analyzed their final grades considering or not including BOG scores in calculating final grades. RESULTS: The score attributed to BOG did not determine the success rate because most class grades were enough to approve, regardless of BOG scores. In this sense, the BOG played the role of facilitator in the teaching-learning processes in biomechanics. We found that enrollment with BOG activities increased the average scores in the classroom by ~7% and reduced variability by ~3% compared to final grades without considering the BOG participation. CONCLUSION: The BOG promotes biomechanics education, not by determining the classroom success rate but by promoting a more homogeneous learning development of the classroom.