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Background: Carotenoids, found in vegetables and fruits, act as antioxidants and are a source of vitamin A. Carotenoids may play an important role in maternal and fetal health (e.g., eye health and brain development) and the prevention of pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, small for gestational age babies and/or intrauterine growth restriction. No studies have examined relationships among carotenoid concentrations, intake of vegetables and fruit, and weeks of gestation. Understanding of the stability of carotenoid concentrations across gestation, despite increasing demands placed on the body (e.g., increase in metabolic demands, body mass and volume), may help inform specific guidelines for vegetable and fruit intake during pregnancy. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the relationships of vegetable and fruit intake, body mass, volume, density and gestation with the carotenoid reflection score. Method: Carotenoid concentration in the fat of women throughout their pregnancy was assessed using a non-invasive Veggie Meter™ device which measures carotenoid reflection spectroscopy from the fingertip. Gestation and vegetable and fruit intake were self-reported. Body mass and body volume were measured via a 3D body scanner and force plate. Correlations between baseline visit measures, differences between visit I and II and repeated measures correlations (up to four visits) were analysed for all measures. Findings: Only nine of the 35 women (25.7%) in this study met the guideline of 7+ a day for vegetable and fruit intake. Carotenoid reflective scores tended to be lower for those with greater body mass (r = -0.48, 95% CI = -0.70, -0.18; p < 0.001) and volume (r = -0.50, 95% CI = -0.71, -0.20; p < 0.001). Although women increased their vegetable and fruit intake with increased gestation (rrm = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.2, 0.83; p = 0.01), their carotenoid reflective score did not increase (rrm = -0.29, 95% CI = -0.66, 0.19; p = 0.22). Conclusion: Supporting previous recommendations for the general population that vegetable and fruit intake should increase relative to body size, the current study findings suggest it may be advisable for women to progressively consume more vegetables and fruit to align with increases in body mass throughout pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Musculoskeletal pain while running is a concern to women during pregnancy and can lead to running cessation. To support women who wish to run during pregnancy, it is essential to understand the sites, severities and personal risk factors associated with musculoskeletal pain. Objective: The aim was to investigate prevalence and risk factors for musculoskeletal pain when running during pregnancy. Methods: An online survey was completed by women who had a child in the past 5 years and ran prior to and during pregnancy. Pain frequency informed prevalence rates by body site, and logistic regression odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: A total of 3102 women of 23 ethnicities from 25 countries completed the survey. Women were 22–52 years old when they gave birth and ran 2–129 km/week during the 0.5–35 years before the birth of their youngest child. Women ran significantly less distance and less often during pregnancy than before pregnancy. Most women (86%) experienced pain while running during pregnancy (59% pelvis/sacroiliac joint, 52% lower back, 51% abdomen, 44% breast, 40% hip). The highest prevalence of severe-to-worst pain was at the pelvis/sacroiliac joint (9%). Women at greatest risk of pain while running during pregnancy had a previous injury (OR = 3.44) or were older (OR = 1.04). Women with a previous child were less likely to experience breast pain (OR = 0.76) than those running during their first pregnancy. Conclusion: Healthcare practices to reduce pain should focus on regions of greatest musculoskeletal change during pregnancy, specifically the pelvis, lower back and abdomen. Efforts to support women to run for longer throughout pregnancy should focus on pain at the pelvis and breasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination variability (CV) is commonly analyzed to understand dynamical qualities of human locomotion. The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines for the number of trials required to inform the calculation of a stable mean lower limb CV during overground locomotion. Three-dimensional lower limb kinematics were captured for 10 recreational runners performing 20 trials each of preferred and fixed speed walking and running. Stance phase CV was calculated for 9 segment and joint couplings using a modified vector coding technique. The number of trials required to achieve a CV mean within 10% of 20 strides average was determined for each coupling and individual. The statistical outputs of mode (walking vs running) and speed (preferred vs fixed) were compared when informed by differing numbers of trials. A minimum of 11 trials were required for stable mean stance phase CV. With fewer than 11 trials, CV was underestimated and led to an oversight of significant differences between mode and speed. Future overground locomotion CV research in healthy populations using a vector coding approach should use 11 trials as a standard minimum. Researchers should be aware of the notable consequences of an insufficient number of trials for overall study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female gymnasts have been evidenced to experience sport-specific growth, of which broad shoulders and narrow hips are common characteristics. In addition to being a central component of handstand performance, postural control mechanisms, including whole-body and lumbo-pelvic stability, have been identified as risk factors for overuse spinal pathology. The study aimed to develop a fundamental understanding of musculoskeletal growth and postural control responses of female artistic gymnasts in order to extend longitudinal insights into overuse spinal pathology risk. Whole-body anthropometric measures were collected for 12 competitive female gymnasts (age at recruitment: nine to 15 years) at three time points across a 12 month period. Musculoskeletal growth was partially defined as the rate of bicristal-to-biacromial breadth ratio development, and informed shoulder- and pelvis-dominant growth sub-groups. Kinematic and kinetic indicators of postural control were determined for a total of 700 handstand trials. The shoulder-dominant (gymnastics-specific) growth group was found to have significantly greater biomechanical risk for general stability (p < 0.001) than the pelvis-dominant group. Significantly greater lumbo-pelvic risk was demonstrated for the pelvis-dominant group (p < 0.001). Extended idiosyncratic examination of proportional sport-specific growth measures alongside multi-faceted risk monitoring was advocated for the effective development of future overuse pathology prevention protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]