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This study's goals were to determine the health status of a group of heart transplant recipients (HTRs) and their level of physical activity and to compare the health status among them and with a group of healthy sedentary individuals. Fifty-four HTRs and eighteen sedentary individuals (S) were assigned to four groups, according to their level of physical activity (determined with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire); patients with a low, moderate, and high level of physical activity (HTRL, HTRM, and HTRH, respectively) and S participants underwent a basic blood analysis and several tests to assess their cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and functional mobility condition and their quality of life. The S and HTRH were very similar in terms of BP, HR, and blood analysis while HTRM and HTRL differed from both S and HTRH in these parameters. Regarding the cardiovascular, neuromuscular, functional mobility, and quality of life variables assessed in this study, HTRH showed the best results across all of them, followed by S, HTRM, and HTRL. It is suggested that the weekly level of physical activity of HTRs should be high, which might help them to enhance their health and quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying movement coordination in cross‐country (XC) skiing, specifically the technique with its elemental forms, is challenging. Particularly, this applies when trying to establish a bidirectional transfer between scientific theory and practical experts' knowledge as expressed, for example, in ski instruction curricula. The objective of this study was to translate 14 curricula‐informed distinct elements of the V2 ski‐skating technique (horizontal and vertical posture, lateral tilt, head position, upper body rotation, arm swing, shoulder abduction, elbow flexion, hand and leg distance, plantar flexion, ski set‐down, leg push‐off, and gliding phase) into plausible, valid and applicable measures to make the technique training process more quantifiable and scientifically grounded. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) data of 10 highly experienced XC skiers who demonstrated the technique elements by two extreme forms each (e.g., anterior versus posterior positioning for the horizontal posture) were recorded. Element‐specific principal component analyses (PCAs)—driven by the variance produced by the technique extremes—resulted in movement components that express quantifiable measures of the underlying technique elements. Ten measures were found to be sensitive in distinguishing between the inputted extreme variations using statistical parametric mapping (SPM), whereas for four elements the SPM did not detect differences (lateral tilt, plantar flexion, ski set‐down, and leg push‐off). Applicability of the established technique measures was determined based on quantifying individual techniques through them. The study introduces a novel approach to quantitatively assess V2 ski‐skating technique, which might help to enhance technique feedback and bridge the communication gap that often exists between practitioners and scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to determine the body accelerations (BA) profile of the judo contest of the male and female weight divisions and to ascertain the involvement of the vertical, mediolateral and anteroposterior axes in it. Methods: Forty-eight male and forty-eight female national and international level athletes (some of them medalists in World, European and national championships) participated in a 5-min simulated contest (official fight time plus breaks) against an opponent of the same sex and weight division, wearing an accelerometer. Heart rate, blood lactate and ratings of perceived exertion were recorded to certify that the athletes performed the fullest. Results: The t2way test expressed differences in the athletes' BA (p = 0.001) and three profiles were identified: the light/middle weight male divisions, the light/middle weight female divisions and the heavy male and female ones. Athletes of all weight divisions performed their BA during the contest in all three directions (the one-sample Person's chi-square did not detect any significantly predominant one: p = 0.400, p = 0.631, p = 0.844, p = 0.749, p = 0.644 and p = 0.895, for male light, moderate and heavy, female light, moderate and heavyweight athletes, respectively). Monte Carlo method simulations suggested as the most likely scenarios those with BA involving all axes, with a slight preference of the anteroposterior and mediolateral ones. Discussion: These results suggest that the demands on judo athletes in a contest differ between weight classes and sexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Best practice in skill acquisition has been informed by motor control theories. The main aim of this study is to screen existing literature on a relatively novel theory, Optimal Feedback Control Theory (OFCT), and to assess how OFCT concepts can be applied in sports and motor learning research. Based on 51 included studies with on average a high methodological quality, we found that different types of training seem to appeal to different control processes within OFCT. The minimum intervention principle (founded in OFCT) was used in many of the reviewed studies, and further investigation might lead to further improvements in sport skill acquisition. However, considering the homogenous nature of the tasks included in the reviewed studies, these ideas and their generalizability should be tested in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Austria, exercise therapy is an accredited profession that requires academic training on a university’s master level. However, exercise therapy is not listed in the service plans of health and medical insurance funds and is therefore not reimbursed as a health service for patients. This position paper aims to compile the scientific evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of exercise therapy as a treatment component in medical care. It also informs about the skills and competencies that exercise therapists acquire during their university education in sport science. Based on that, the necessity to include exercise therapy as a health service for patients is argued. Additionally, legal parity for exercise therapists within the healthcare professions offering evidence-based treatment methods is advocated. Numerous studies confirm that exercise therapy clearly leads to improvements in musculoskeletal, internal, neurological, psychiatric, and psychosomatic diseases. Exercise therapy is thus a highly evidence-based, low-sideeffect component of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation measures for almost all chronic diseases. It has a positive impact on pathogenesis, symptoms, fitness, quality of life, morbidity, and mortality of patients. The five-year academic training in sport science for exercise therapists conveys medical, theoretical knowledge, and practical skills on training and exercise, communication-related, sports-, and movement-related skills, as well as a profound education in scientific methodology. Consequently, the integration of exercise as therapeutic treatment into the healthcare system is highly indicated from a medical, societal and economic perspective. A new legal framework offering self-employment regulations for exercise therapists is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has documented brain plasticity after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and suggests that these neural adaptations contribute to poorer motor control. Since both brain hemispheres show adaptations, we hypothesized that reduced dynamic stability occurs not only in the injured, but also the contralateral, uninjured leg. Further, given brain hemispheric specialization's impact on motor coordination, we hypothesized the need to consider the injury side. A total of 41 female athletes and 18 controls performed single-leg jump-landings. Dynamic postural stability was measured as time-to-stabilization (TTS). We found reduced medio-lateral dynamic stability for the ACL injured leg (p = 0.006) with a similar trend for the contralateral leg (p = 0.050) compared to the control group. However, when distinguishing between injuries to the dominant and non-dominant legs, we found increased medio-lateral TTS only if the injury had occurred on the dominant side where landings on injured (p = 0.006) and contralateral (p = 0.036) legs required increased TTS. Assessments of dynamic stability, e.g., in the context of return-to-sport, should consider the injury side and compare results not only between the injured and the contralateral leg, but also to uninjured controls. Future research should not pool data from the dominant-leg ACL with non-dominant-leg ACL injuries when assessing post-injury motor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]