Indices of Loading and Propulsive Ability in the Gait of Patients With Chronic Stroke With Equinus Foot Deviation: A Correlation Study

In literature, indices of overall walking ability that are based on ground reaction forces have been proposed because of their ease of administration with patients. In this study, we analyzed the correlation between the indices of dynamic loading and propulsion ability of 40 chronic hemiparetic post-stroke patients with equinus foot deviation and a set of clinical assessments of ankle joint deviations and walking ability. Ankle passive and active range of motion (ROM) and triceps surae spasticity were considered, along with walking speed and three complementary scales of walking ability focusing respectively on the need for assistance on functional mobility, including balance and transfers, and the limitation in social participation. The correlation between the ground reaction force-based indices and both clinical and functional variables was carried out using the non-parametric Spearman correlation coefficient. Both indices were correlated to 8 of the 10 investigated variables, thus supporting their use. In particular, the dynamic propulsive ability was correlated with all functional scales (rho = 0.5, p < 0.01), and has the advantage of being a continuous variable. Among clinical assessments, limited ankle ROM affected walking ability the most, while spasticity did not. Since the acquisition of ground reaction forces does not require any patient prepping, the derived indices can be used during the rehabilitation period to quickly detect small improvements that, over time, might lead to the broad changes detectable by clinical scales, as well as to immediately highlight the lack of these improvements, thus suggesting adjustments to the ongoing rehabilitation approach.

Frame running to confidence: the athlete-perceived impact of an adapted physical activity on aspects of physical fitness, functional mobility and psychosocial outcomes

Objective: Frame Running (RaceRunning) allows people with moderate-to-severe mobility impairments to participate in physical activity using a 3-wheeled frame with a saddle and handlebars. The aim of this study was to investigate athlete-perceived impact of Frame Running on aspects of physical fitness, functional mobility and psychosocial outcomes. Design: Survey. Participants: Frame Running athletes aged 5 years and over. Methods: A survey was distributed to athletes through their club or sports organization. Results: The survey was completed by 115 athletes (53 females). Median age was 17 years (range 5–62 years) and 64 (57%) used a wheelchair or walker for distances over 50 m. Many felt that Frame Running stretched their muscles (n=93, 87%) and increased their self-confidence (n=63, 93%). Four (4%) reported extreme fatigue or sore muscles after training (n=17, 15%). Of the 110 athletes who had been participating in Frame Running for over 3 months, 46 (47%) reported being less out of breath during mobility tasks and 66 (66%) felt they had improved their functional mobility. However, 7 (7%) reported increased muscle tightness and 4 (4%) reported a Frame Running-related injury lasting more than 4 weeks. Conclusion: Frame Running is a safe physical activity with athlete-perceived benefits on physical fitness, functional mobility and psychosocial outcomes.

The Effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Yijinjing Qigong Exercise for the Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis on the Pain, Dysfunction, and Mood Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Although traditional Chinese Yijinjing Qigong Exercise (YJJQE) is popularly used in China, to alleviate symptoms of people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are available to evaluate the effects of YJJQE in patients with KOA. The purpose of this trial is to assess the clinical efficacy of YJJQE for patients with KOA.Methods: A total of 50 participants clinically diagnosed with KOA are randomly (1:1) assigned to the YJJQE group (n = 25) and to the stretching training exercise (STE) group (n = 25), for a 40-min exercise session twice a week for 12 weeks. All outcome measures are collected at baseline and at 12-week ending intervention, which includes the primary outcomes of Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index Scale (WOMAC), the secondary outcomes of visual analog scale (VAS), mental component summary (MCS), physical component summary (PCS), Beck depression inventory (BDI), perceived stress scale (PSS), Berg balance scale (BBS), and the Gait functional mobility data.Results: The YJJQE group did not have any significant changes compared to the control group on the WOMAC score after the 12-week intervention (P > 0.05), though the YJJQE group demonstrated better performance in MCS, BDI, and PSS (P = 0.002, P = 0.001, and P = 0.026, respectively) than the control group. No serious adverse events occurred in either group, and only mild muscle soreness was reported during both exercise treatments.Conclusion: Because no difference between both groups was shown, with regards to the primary outcome measurement (WOMAC), it can hardly explain that the YJJQE had an advantageous effect on patients experiencing the pain and dysfunction of knee osteoarthritis. However, compared to the control group, YJJQE appeared to be associated with improvements in psychological well-being including reduced stress, anxiety, depression, and mood disturbance to manage KOA. Further trials with larger sample sizes and follow-up studies will be required.Clinical Trial Registration:https://www.chictr.org.cn/edit.aspx?pid=60357&htm=4, ChiCTR2000037256.

Depression and Anxiety Are Associated with Physical Performance in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Retrospective Observational Study

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) combined with stress management training has been shown to be associated with fewer clinical events than CR alone. However, there have been no reports on the associations of CR with the psychological condition and detailed physical activities evaluated on the same day. Method: One hundred outpatients who participated in a CR program were graded on the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). We divided them into a high HADS group (n = 32) and a normal HADS group (n = 68) and investigated by whole patients, ischemic heart disease (IHD) patients, and heart failure patients. Results: Overall, the patient age was 70.5 ± 9.6 years, the percentage of males was 73.0%, and the body mass index was 23.4 (21.7–26.0) kg/m2. In the high HADS group, overall functional mobility was poor and the distance in a two-minute walking test was short. Especially in IHD patients, the high HADS group showed high fat mass in body composition and low exercise tolerance and ventilator equivalents in cardiopulmonary exercise test. Conclusions: Depression and anxiety involved poor physical performance in CR outpatients and particularly involved low exercise tolerance in IHD patients. To evaluate accurate physical performance, it is necessary to investigate psychological condition.

Effect of Tango on Motor Symptoms in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: In this study, we systematically reviewed the efficacy of tango in alleviating the motor symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Methods: We searched internet databases, such as PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science Core collection, and CNKI, for studies examining the effects of tango on the motor symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease, published from September 2021 to date. All types of tango intervention, including traditional tango, Argentinian tango, and adapted tango, were examined in our review. The Cochrane bias risk assessment tool was used to evaluate the quality of methodologies used in the included studies. RevMan 5.4 software was used for meta-analysis.Result: Eleven studies that included 390 Parkinson's patients met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis indicated that after tango, PD patients showed a considerable decrease in the overall severity of motor symptoms and improvement in balance, functional mobility, fast gait velocity, preferred gait velocity, stride length, and gait cadence. Compared with exercise, tango showed stronger effects on balance and functional mobility; however, no significant differences in the severity of motor symptoms, fast gait velocity, or preferred gait velocity were observed between the group treated using tango and that treated using exercise.Conclusion: Interventions using tango may help alleviate the severity of motor symptoms, and specifically promote balance and functional mobility, in patients with Parkinson's disease. However, except for improving balance and functional mobility, tango showed no significant advantages over exercise in alleviation of motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Home-based dance exercise for adults with moderate Parkinson’s disease: Protocol with a pilot study for a non-randomized clinical trial using video-dances in a DVD format (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Many people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have never received rehabilitation care due to lack of accessibility and transportation and high therapy costs for in-person rehabilitation. Home-based dance exercise is an innovative, low-cost therapy that may reduce accessibility barriers to exercise. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, home-exercise programs are a highly relevant, alternative approach for people with PD OBJECTIVE This clinical trial protocol aims to explore the effects of a Home-Based contemporary dance exercise program for people with moderate Parkinson’s Disease (PD), focusing on balance, functional mobility, quality of life (QOL), cognitive function, and depression. METHODS This protocol is for a non-randomized clinical trial for adults with moderate PD divided into control group (CG) and Experimental Group (EG). Participants from the EG will perform video-dances of the contemporary dance, delivered in a DVD format. The video-dances will be executed 16 weeks, three times per week, 30 minutes each day at home, with exercise intensity controlled by the BORG scale. Participants from the CG will not receive any new exercise therapy. As primary outcomes, the signs and symptoms of the PD assessed by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale – UPDRS II and III, Hoehn and Yahr for the PD severity, and health-related quality of life (HRQL), measured by the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire – PDQ-39) will be tested. Secondary outcomes include cognitive function by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment – MoCA, balance by the Mini-BESTest, functional mobility by the Timed “Up and Go” test – TUG and depression by the Geriatric Depression Scale – GDS. All outcomes will be assessed in an in-person evaluation by a blinded assessor before and after the 16 weeks of the program. RESULTS This protocol has a pilot study that included 10 participants (5 in each group). It was observed positive results favoring the EG over cognitive function (p = 0.034). In addition, HRQL, balance, and depression were improved after the pilot program in the EG, however, without significant difference. CONCLUSIONS This clinical trial has the potential to be a safe alternative exercise approach under COVID restrictions and travel-free therapy with effects on PD symptoms. CLINICALTRIAL RBR-58T68W (Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry)

Effects of Vitamin D3 Supplementation and Resistance Training on 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Status and Functional Performance of Older Adults: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Vitamin D status is associated with muscle strength and performance in older adults. To examine the additive effects of vitamin D3 supplementation during resistance training, 100 seniors (65–85 years) participated in a 16-week intervention. Besides a daily dose of 400 mg of calcium, participants received either 800 IU vitamin D3 per day (VDD), 50,000 IU vitamin D3 per month (VDM) or nothing (CON). After the initial loading phase of four weeks, all groups started a 10-week resistance training program. Assessments of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) status, muscle strength endurance (30-s chair stand and arm curl tests), aerobic capacity (6-min walk test) and functional mobility (gait speed and timed up and go test) were undertaken at baseline, after four weeks and at the end of the study. 25(OH)D status significantly improved in VDD and VDM, but not in CON (time x group: p = 0.021), as 15.2% of CON, 40.0% of VDD and 61.1% of VDM reached vitamin D sufficiency (>30 ng/mL; p = 0.004). Chair stand test, arm curl test, 6-min walk test, gait speed and timed up and go test improved over the whole intervention period (p < 0.05), however only chair stand and arm curl test were selectively affected by resistance training (p < 0.001). Neither muscle strength endurance, nor functional mobility or aerobic capacity were modulated by vitamin D supplementation. Therefore, the mere amelioration of 25(OH)D status of older adults does not lead to an additive effect on muscular performance during RT.

Peculiarities of changes of psychophysiological functions, state of human adaptive capacity and stress resistance of students of higher medical institutions

The study is devoted to assessing the psychophysiological adaptive capabilities of students of higher medical institutions. There was conducted a screening study on the basis of which a correlation analysis of a group of 42 students was performed. The main inclusion criterion was good physical activity. Exclusion criteria - the presence of chronic diseases, acute respiratory viral infections at the time of examination, taking antidepressants or psychoactive substances. The study was aimed to identify the peculiarities of changes in psychophysiological functions and the state of adaptive capacity of students of higher medical institutions being in stressful conditions. The following methods from the software and hardware complex "Psycholot-1" were used for the study: "Functional mobility of nervous processes according to Khilchenko" and "Memory." The survey was conducted under micro-stress, it means all tasks had to be completed in a limited period. Statistical analysis of the data was performed to establish correlations between psychophysiological indicators of short-term memory and functional mobility of nervous processes (Spearman's rank correlation index). It was found that the faster the stimulus appears in conditions of time deficit, the lower the mobility of nervous processes in the student, which is directly reflected in the indicators in increasing the minimum exposure time of the figure on the screen (0.27±0.007 s). In addition, a relationship was found between the rate of reaction of the left hand to a stimulus and the amount of information that a person can store in short-term memory. The information obtained will help to determine the initial data of the adaptive capacity of a potentially healthy contingent of people and predict their success in further professional activities in the sphere of medicine.

Neurodynamic predictors the effectiveness of cognitive activity of students ensuring healthy lifestyle

The paper presents the results of the assessment of neurodynamic characteristics and correlation of cognitive activity parameters of students with individual neurodynamic characteristics following the criteria of Sustainable Development Goal 3 "Good health and well-being" (SDG 3). The study was conducted in a cohort of female students aged 17-19 (n=111) of the South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University during the inter-sessional period. Diagnostics of neurodynamic characteristics of students was carried out using the hardware and software complex "NS–pSychoTest". Descriptive statistical analysis of data and correlation analysis were carried out in the environment of Statistica v. 7.0. The results of sensorimotor response presented in the article reflect the optimal level of adaptive regulation of the cerebral component of activity in the majority of the surveyed pedagogical university students in the conditions of their educational and professional activities, which is reflected in the relative stability of cerebral processes with average functional mobility and the optimal level of neurophysiological regulation of CNS activity in the conditions of sensory interference of the students of the cohort of the survey. The paper reveals the interrelationships of neurodynamic indicators with various characteristics of cognitive testing, which indicates the success of the development of educational programs.