Inversion Table Fall Injury, the Phantom Menace: Three Case Reports on Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Background: An inversion device, which is used to suspend one’s body and perform traction therapy, was introduced as an inversion table under the name of “Geokkuri” in South Korea. Fall injuries while hanging on inversion tables are among the most devastating spine injuries, as the likelihood of severe neurological sequelae such as tetraplegia increases. However, its enormous danger has been overlooked and this devastating injury has become a common clinical entity over time. The limited number of studies reported imply the lack of interest of researchers in these injuries. We reviewed three cases of spinal cord injury sustained on inversion tables in different environments and report the potential danger associated with the use of inversion tables to facilitate a safer exercise environment.

Clinic-as-Classroom Program: Preparing Students for the Transition to Clinical Placements

ABSTRACT Background: Clinical placements are invaluable for preparing students for their professional role and assisting the transition to practice. In order to thrive, it is the responsibility of universities to ensure students are prepared. The aim of this study was to examine the student response to learning within a university clinic-as-classroom educational program, for building self-perceived confidence to perform the competencies of clinical exercise physiology practice, prior to their first clinical placement. A secondary aim was to identify any learning areas that required further emphasis within the curriculum. Methods: This study was a prospective cohort study, assessing the change in confidence of 80 final year exercise physiology students to perform the competency of practice. Results: The study achieved an 87% response rate. Baseline data indicated students were confident to behave professionally, be reflective, work in teams, adapt to practice setting, ensure a safe exercise environment, and manage personal risk. Across the clinic-as-classroom program students reported a significant growth in confidence in 4 elements of competency: communication of data; placing the clinical exercise physiologist's role in the wider healthcare context; designing client centered exercise interventions; and integrating pathology into the program planning and delivery. Conclusion: The clinic-as-classroom educational program allowed novice students to become increasingly confident in the clinical environment in a low-risk, authentic, and supportive learning environment. A key recommendation was to embed the additional elements of clinical exercise physiology practice across the course and clinic-as-classroom curriculum to increase student preparedness for placement.

Relationship between Oxygen Uptake, Heart Rate, and Perceived Effort in an Aquatic Incremental Test in Older Women

Different parameters can be used to control the intensity of aerobic exercises, a choice that should consider the population and exercise environment targeted. Therefore, our study aimed to verify the relationship between oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and cadence during an aquatic incremental test in older women. Nine older women (64.3 ± 4.4 years) engaged in a water-based aerobic training performed an aquatic incremental test using the stationary running exercise (cadence increases of 15 b·min−1 every 2 min) until participants’ volitional exhaustion. VO2, HR, and RPE data were measured, and the percentage of peak VO2 (%VO2peak) and percentage of maximal HR (%HRmax) were calculated. Linear and polynomial regression analyses were performed (α = 0.05). Polynomial regressions revealed the best adjustments for all analyses. Data showed a significant relationship (p < 0.001) between %VO2peak and %HRmax (r = 0.921), %VO2peak and RPE (r = 0.870), and %HRmax and RPE (r = 0.878). Likewise, significant relationships between cadence (p < 0.001) and %VO2peak (r = 0.873), %HRmax (r = 0.874), and RPE (r = 0.910) were also observed. In summary, the physiological, subjective, and mechanical variables investigated were highly associated during an aquatic incremental test to exhaustion in older women. Therefore, these different parameters can be employed to adequately prescribe water-based programs according to preference and availability.

Preferred Music Genre Benefits During Strength Tests: Increased Maximal Strength and Strength-Endurance and Reduced Perceived Exertion

The ability to increase muscle strength seems to be influenced by extrinsic factors such as the characteristics of an exercise environment. Given that many people train while listening to music, the music environment is an important research topic. However, no studies have investigated whether a preferred music genre differentially affects strength production when compared to a non-preferred music genre. This study evaluated the influence of listening to varied conditions of musical genre preference on maximal strength and strength-endurance testing, and on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). We submitted 20 young men to three different listening conditions during strength testing: (a) preferred music genre (PMG), (b) non-preferred music genre (NPMG), and (c) no music (NM), with the order of these conditions randomized. We measured maximal strength with a handgrip dynamometer, strength-endurance through the participant’s maximal repetition execution in the lat-pulldown exercise, and RPE by participant-completed Borg’s scales at the end of the strength tests. Using three-way analyses of variances (ANOVAs) and a significance level of p < 0.05, we found that participants produced higher maximal strength, performed more repetitions of the lat-pulldown exercise, and reported decreased RPE in the PMG condition, compared to the NPMG (maximal strength p < 0.01, strength-endurance p < 0.01, RPE p = 0.016) and NM (maximal strength p < 0.01, strength-endurance p < 0.01, RPE p = 0.023) conditions. Individually determined PMG appears to improve maximal strength and strength-endurance performance during exercise, and to decrease RPE in the PMG condition.