J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol., Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2019) – 16 articles

Taking part in regular physical activity (PA) is important for young adolescents to maintain physical, social and mental health. Schools are vibrant settings for health promotion and the complexity of driving a whole-school approach to PA has not been tested in the Irish school context. The feasibility of the pilot programme of the Department of Education and Skills second level Active School Flag (SLASF) is needed. SLASF is a two year process that consists of the Active School Flag (ASF) certificate programme (year 1) and the ASF flag programme (year 2). This protocol paper is specific to the first year certificate process. Three schools around Ireland were recruited as pilot schools to carry out the year-long SLASF programme with 17 planned actions involving the entire school. Students in the transition year programme have a particular role in the promotion of PA in SLASF. Data collection consists of physical measures, accelerometers, survey data and interviews at the beginning and the end of the academic year. The primary focus on the feasibility of the programme is through process evaluation tools and fidelity checks consisting of implementation of the SLASF programme through whole-school surveys, focus group discussions of key stakeholder groups, as well as one-to-one interviews with a member of management at each school and the SLASF coordinator of the school. Secondary outcomes include PA levels and its social cognitive theories based correlates through physical health measures, surveys carried out pre- and post-intervention, as well as focus group discussions of the students. The results of this study are needed to improve the development of the SLASF through a predetermined stopping criteria and inclusion into systems thinking approaches such as the Healthy Ireland Demonstration Project. Full article

Background: It has been shown that the fastest open-water swimmers (OW-swimmers) increase significantly the speed in the last split of the open-water events. The aim of the present work was to determine if the fastest OW-swimmers have a higher speed in the middle- and long-distance pool swimming events, and to develop a multivariate model that can predict the medalist group in the 10-km competition. Methods: A total of 484 athletes (252-males and 232-females) were included in the analysis. Swimmers were divided into four groups based on their finishing position in the competition. For each swimmer, the absolute best performance (PB) of 200, 400, 800 and 1500-meter in long course, the seasonal best performance (SPB) obtained before the open-water events and critical velocity (CV) were analyzed. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to detect significant differences between groups and discriminant analysis was used to predict a grouping variable. Results: All the variables analyzed were significantly different between groups (p < 0.001). The first discriminant function correctly classified 50% of the overall female and male swimmers. Conclusion: Fastest OW-swimmers have a higher speed in middle- and long-distance pool swimming events. Further studies should include different anthropometric and physiological variables to increase the accuracy of classification. Full article

Homeschool children may rely solely on organized sports and physical activities to achieve recommended levels of physical activity and fitness. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in fitness levels between homeschool children who did, and did not, participate in organized sports or physical activities, and then examine relationships between hours per week in sports or physical activities and cardiorespiratory fitness as measured by portions of the FitnessGram^® test battery. Organized sports/physical activity participation information was gathered on 100 children ages 10–17 years who completed tests of upper, abdominal, and cardiorespiratory fitness. The current investigation revealed that participation alone was not associated with higher levels of physical fitness as assessed by the 90° push-up test or curl-up test nor was time in participation related to cardiorespiratory fitness as assessed by the Progressive Aerobic Capacity Endurance Run (PACER). These activities alone may be insufficient for meeting physical activity recommendations and improving physical fitness. Therefore, children and adolescents educated at home may need additional opportunities to participate in unstructured daily physical activity. Full article

Lower back pain is a common symptom potentially associated with skeletal muscle dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate endurance in the lower back muscles of healthy participants using accelerometer-based mechanomyography. Methods: Young healthy subjects (N = 7) were tested. Surface electrodes and a tri-axial accelerometer were placed over the erector spinae muscle along the T11–L1 Vertebrae. Stimulation was for 3 min each at 2, 4, and 6 Hz, and changes in acceleration were used to calculate an endurance index (EI). Reproducibility of the endurance index measurements was tested on two separate days. Wrist flexor and vastus lateralis muscles were tested for comparison. Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to measure muscle oxygen levels (O₂Hb) (N = 5). EI was 70.3 + 13.4, 32.6 + 8.4, and 19.2 + 6.2% for 2, 4, 6 Hz, respectively. The coefficients of variation were 9.8, 13.9, and 20.3% for 2, 4, 6 Hz, respectively. EI values were lower in the erector spinae muscles compared to the arm and the leg (p < 0.05). O₂Hb values were 86.4 + 10.9% at rest and were 77.2 + 15.5, 84.3 + 14.1, and 84.1 + 18.9% for 2, 4, 6 Hz, respectively (p > 0.05, all comparisons). An endurance index can be obtained from the lower back erectors muscles that is reproducible and not influenced by voluntary effort or muscle oxygen levels. Full article

In the fields of professional and amateur sports, players’ health, physical and physiological conditions during exercise should be properly monitored and managed. The authors of this paper previously proposed a real-time vital-sign monitoring system for players using a wireless multi-hop sensor network that transmits their vital data. However, existing routing schemes based on the received signal strength indicator or global positioning system do not work well, because of the high speeds and the density of sensor nodes attached to players. To solve this problem, we proposed a novel scheme, image-assisted routing (IAR), which estimates the locations of sensor nodes using images captured from cameras mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles. However, it is not clear where the best viewpoints are for aerial player detection. In this study, the authors investigated detection accuracy from several viewpoints using an aerial-image dataset generated with computer graphics. Experimental results show that the detection accuracy was best when the viewpoints were slightly distant from just above the center of the field. In the best case, the detection accuracy was very good: 0.005524 miss rate at 0.01 false positive-per-image. These results are informative for player detection using aerial images and can facilitate to realize IAR. Full article

Background: Cortisol is a steroid hormone that follows a distinct diurnal timeline; however, while healthy ranges exist, it not been determined whether or why individuals differ on baseline cortisol levels. The aim of this study was to test the anecdotal evidence of different levels of responders by classifying these levels in resting cortisol, and to correlate individual cortisol responses to psychological traits. Methods: Twenty-two male athletes (mean age 22.5 ± 4.34 years) provided two saliva samples at the same time each day over three days in week one of their pre-season to determine individual baseline salivary cortisol levels. Participants also completed self-report psychological traits measures for correlation to cortisol levels. Results: Three levels of cortisol in responders were clearly identified (F_2,19 = 69.00, p < 0.001). Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed that there was no significant relationship between baseline cortisol levels and psychological traits (optimism, r = 0.23, p = 0.29; stress, r = 0.05 p = 0.82; decision making, r = 0.19 p = 0.38). Conclusions: This novel study identified that within an overall healthy range, individual athletes will likely fall into either a low, average or high band of baseline cortisol. However individual responses did not correlate to self-report psychological traits. Caution is required if sports science staff wish to use cortisol to measure psychological stress. Full article

Background: In response to the worldwide increasing prevalence of low cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), several interventions have been developed. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a school-based intervention on CRF in Brazilian students. Methods: A nonrandomised controlled design tested 432 students (intervention group: n = 247) from 6th to 9th grade recruited from two public secondary schools in Florianopolis, in 2015. The intervention entitled “MEXA-SE” (move yourself), applied over 13 weeks, included four components: (1) increases in physical activity during Physical Education classes; (2) active recess; (3) educational sessions; and (4) educational materials. CRF (20-m shuttle run test) was the primary outcome. Results: The effect size of the intervention on CRF was 0.15 (CI 95% = –0.04; 0.34). In the within-group comparisons, VO2max decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up in the control group but remained constant in the intervention group. After adjustment variables, differences between intervention and control group were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The “MEXA-SE” intervention did not have an effect on adolescents’ CRF. However, maintenance of VO2max in intervention group and a reduction within control group demonstrates that this intervention may be beneficial for long-term CRF and, possibly, the increased intervention time could result in a better effect. Full article

We are glad to introduce the eleventh Journal Club. This edition is focused on several relevant studies published in the last years in the field of exercise and osteoarthritis, chosen by our Editorial Board members and their colleagues. We hope to stimulate your curiosity in this field and to share with you the passion for sport seen also from the scientific point of view. The Editorial Board members wish you an inspiring lecture. Full article

Background: Task duration is a fundamental aspect of exercise, but little is known about how completed bouts of physical activity are perceived. Consequently, the purpose of the five experiments conducted for this investigation was to examine the effects of engaging in physical tasks on retrospective duration estimates with college student participants. Methods: Across the five experiments, participants were 113 college students (82 women, 31 men). In Experiments 1 and 2, participants provided duration estimates of a period spent engaging in physical activity or rest. In Experiments 3, 4, and 5, participants provided duration estimates of periods spent engaged in physical tasks of high intensity and low intensity. Results: In Experiments 1, 2, and 3, participants engaged in physical activity tended to perceive durations as shorter than participants at rest. When completing less familiar tasks (Experiments 4 and 5), however, participants recalled a high intensity bout of physical activity as lasting longer than a low intensity bout of physical activity of comparable duration. Cohen’s d values for physical activity effects on duration estimates ranged from 0.40 to 1.60. Conclusion: The findings, which partially support a contextual-change interpretation, suggest that factors, such as perceived exertion and task familiarity, affect retrospective duration estimates. Full article

The presence of a correlation between stomatognathic and postural systems has been investigated by different authors trying to identify a possible influence of dental occlusion on body posture and balance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between dental occlusion and neuromuscular control in a healthy young population using modern evaluation tools. 25 subjects (9 males and 16 females, aged 23 to 44) were evaluated for dental occlusion, particularly in relation to overjet and overbite parameters, anterior and posterior crossbite, scissor bite, mandibular crowding, molar and canine class, and deviation of the median dental line. Neuromotor control was assessed using two different types of stabilometric platforms in both monopodalic and bipodalic equilibriums (Prokin-B and MF-Stability, Tecnobody, Italy). All subjects were evaluated with and without cotton rolls positioned between the upper and lower arches at the premolar level in order to temporarily eliminate any pathological contact. In all 25 subjects, no statistically significant differences were revealed between the evaluations performed with and without cotton rolls in all the analyzed conditions (in static, in dynamics, with open and closed eyes). This study did not find a significant correlation between dental occlusion and neuromuscular control in a young and healthy population. Full article

Background: In community-dwelling older adults, slow gait speed is linked to falls; however, little is known about the use of gait speed to predict falls in nursing home residents. The prevalence of risk factors for falls in nursing home residents is multifactorial. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between falls and multiple factors such as age, sex, gait speed, mobility device, fear of falling, cognitive function, medication, and environmental causes in a nursing home setting. Material and Methods: Participants were recruited from a nursing home. Independent variables such as age, sex, gait speed for 40 feet, use of a mobility device, fear of falls, cognitive function, medication, and environmental causes of falls were measured and recorded. The dependent variable was falls. Participants were followed-up for a period of six months for falls. Falls were documented from the computerized medical records at the facility. Results: Five of the 16 participants had falls in the follow-up period. Exact logistic regression, bivariate analysis, showed no significant relationship between falls and the independent variables of age, sex, gait speed, mobility device, fear of falls, cognitive function, and medication. More than 30% of recorded falls had an environmental cause, which was significant at p = 0.0005. Conclusion: Environmental causes had a significant relationship with falls in nursing home participants. Environment hazard monitoring is therefore important to ensure the safety of nursing home residents. Full article

Purpose: This article presents data challenging the widely held but untested view that concurrently playing mid-week Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Europa League matches adversely affects domestic league performance. Method: Over 16 seasons we compared next-season domestic league performance of the two highest finishing UEFA Europa League qualifying clubs with the two highest finishing non-qualifiers in England and Spain. Results: Clubs concurrently playing UEFA Europa League football showed significantly superior domestic league performance including wins, losses, goals, goal difference and points tally. The number of European matches played was not related to domestic league performance. Conclusions: The absence of prior rigorous analysis including appropriate comparison data has led to the proliferation of a widespread confirmatory bias, defined as the tendency to seek out evidence that backs one’s hunches and to ignore evidence that contradicts them. Based on our evidence, football professionals, journalists, pundits, and fans should consider the UEFA Europa League competition more favorably. Full article

Several side effects of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) administration associated with training are reported in the biomechanical properties of the calcaneal tendon (CT) of rats. Thus, the aim of the present study is to evaluate the effects of the detraining and discontinuation of AAS administration on the CT morphology of rats submitted to exercise in water. Animals were divided into two groups (20/group): (1) Immediately after training (IA), and (2) Six weeks of detraining and AAS discontinuation (6W). The IA group included four subgroups: Sedentary (S), Trained (T), Sedentary with AAS administration (SAAS), and trained with AAS administration (TAAS). The 6W group included four subgroups: Sedentary (6W-S), six weeks of detrained (6W-T), six weeks of sedentary with AAS discontinuation (6W-SAAS), and six weeks of detrained with AAS discontinuation (6W-TAAS). Data show significant reduction in adipose cells volume density (Vv%) in the distal CT in 6W-TAAS group, indicating that training can exert a positive effect on the tendon. The 6W-SAAS group exhibited increased adipose cells Vv% in the distal region, compared with the W6-S and W6-T groups. A decrease in tendon proper cells Vv% and in peritendinous sheath cells Vv% of proximal and distal regions was also observed. In 6W-TAAS group showed increase in adipose cells, blood vessels, peritendinous sheath cells, and tendon proper cells Vv% in the distal region of the CT. The vertical jumps in water were not able to protect CT regions from the negative effects of AAS discontinuation for six weeks. However, after detraining and AAS discontinuation, many protective factors of the mechanical load in the long-term could be observed. Full article