Judo as a tool for social integration in adolescents at risk of social exclusion: A pilot study

Social policies of the advanced countries have begun to incorporate sport to speak on manifestations of social exclusion, as tool to reach out to young people, strengthen their identity or enhance self-esteem vulnerable groups. Judo can be a good tool for the fulfilment of this purpose because has a philosophy and educational practice that contains much of the core competencies of the educational system. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence of judo practice in changing attitudes, values, norms and capabilities across organizational forms as a means of enhancing socialization in their interventions with young people at risk of social exclusion.Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deport

Judo as a tool for social integration in adolescents at risk of social exclusion: A pilot study

Purpose: Social policies of the advanced countries have begun to incorporate sport to speak on manifestations of social exclusion, as tool to reach out to young people, strengthen their identity or enhance self-esteem vulnerable groups. Judo can be a good tool for the fulfilment of this purpose because has a philosophy and educational practice that contains much of the core competencies of the educational system. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence of judo practice in changing attitudes, values, norms and capabilities across organizational forms as a means of enhancing socialization in their interventions with young people at risk of social exclusion. Material/Methods: We used a qualitative research methodology, linked to interpretive or comprehensive paradigm with various methods of data collection: interviews (open o semi-structured), participant observation and literature review. The sample consists of 15 adolescents, 4 girls and 11 boys, of whom have been intervened in six cases. Results: The most significant findings have been is in the area of collaboration and cooperation. The dimension with the greatest improvement was related to cognitive aspects. It is observed a total acceptance in the sports rule, which will help to improve the acceptance of social norms. Conclusions: The results show that judo can be a reinforcement on different personal aspects of these young people and to serve as a tool of socialization

Effects on intermittent postural control in people with Parkinson's due to a dual task

Objectives The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of performing a dual task on the sway density plot parameters in Parkinson's disease and control subjects. Methods A cross-sectional design was used to establish differences in the mean peak, mean time, and mean distance between a group with Parkinson's disease and a control group without Parkinson's disease. The subjects performed, in a unique measurement session, two trials under three different randomized conditions: i. eyes open, ii. eyes closed, and iii. Eyes open with foam base. One trial was performed as a single task (i.e., the subjects completed one of the balance test), while the other trial was performed as a dual task (i.e., the subjects performed a cognitive task at the same time that they maintained the static balance). Results There was a group x dual task x condition effect in mean peak (F1.5, 51.1 = 5.21; p = 0.015; η2p = 0.13) and mean time (F1.4, 47.3 = 4.43; p = 0.03; η2p = 0.11) variables. According dual-task cost analysis, there was a main effect of the condition (F6,134 = 2.44; p = 0.05; η2p = 0.34) on MD (F2,68 = 6.90; p < 0.01; η2p = 0.17). Conclusions This result indicates differences in the dual task interference in the postural control mechanisms between the Parkinson's disease population and healthy pairs. For easy dual tasks, the Parkinson subjects used anticipatory control responses for longer periods of time, and for more difficult tasks, their control strategy did not change regarding single balance task

Sex differences in postural control maturation during childhood andadolescence: a cross-sectional study in children between 4 and 17 years old

Purpose: the aim of this study was to determine the differences between the sexes in the development of postural control during childhood and adolescence. Methods: Three hundred and eighty-nine children were involved in a 30-s trial with eyes open and a 30-s trial with eyes closed. Using a Wii Balance Board, the mean velocity and median frequency in antero-posterior and medio-lateral directions were calculated, as well as the 95% confidence interval ellipse area. Results: The results showed that the youngest boys (4-5 years old) had a greater ellipse area than girls of the same age, while the girls in this age group showed a greater ellipse area ratio, although these differences disappeared until 12-13 years old. At this age, the boys showed greater mean velocity in antero-posterior direction both with eyes open and closed, as well as a greater ellipse area and mean velocity in the medio-lateral direction with eyes open. At 16-17 years old, the boys had lower mean velocity in the medio-lateral direction both with eyes open and eyes closed. Conclusions: In conclusion, the results indicate certain differences in the postural control maturation of girls and boys during childhood and adolescence.Objetivo: el objetivo de este estudio fue determinar las diferencias entre sexos en el desarrollo del control postural durante la infancia y la adolescencia. Material y métodos: Trescientos ochenta y nueve niños participaron en un ensayo de 30s con los ojos abiertos y otro de 30s con los ojos cerrados. Utilizando una Wii Balance Board, se calculó la velocidad media y la frecuencia media en las direcciones anteroposterior y medio-lateral, así como el área de la elipse del intervalo de confianza del 95%. Resultados: Los resultados mostraron que los niños más pequeños (4-5 años) tenían un área de elipse mayor que las niñas de la misma edad, mientras que las niñas de este grupo de edad mostraban una mayor relación de área de elipse, aunque estas diferencias desaparecieron hasta los 12-13 años. A esta edad, los chicos mostraron una mayor velocidad media en dirección anteroposterior tanto con los ojos abiertos como cerrados, así como una mayor área de la elipse y velocidad media en dirección medio-lateral con los ojos abiertos. A los 16-17 años, los chicos presentaban una menor velocidad media en la dirección medio-lateral tanto con los ojos abiertos como cerrados. Conclusiones: los resultados indican ciertas diferencias en la maduración del control postural de chicas y chicos durante la infancia y la adolescencia

The Mediating Role of Vision in the Relationship Between Proprioception and Postural Control in Older Adults, as Compared to Teenagers and Younger and Middle-Aged Adults

[Abstract] The aim of this study is to analyze the mediating role of vision in the relationship between conscious lower limb proprioception (dominant knee) and bipedal postural control (with eyes open and closed) in older adults, as compared with teenagers, younger adults and middle-aged adults. Methods: The sample consisted of 119 healthy, physically active participants. Postural control was assessed using the bipedal Romberg test with participants’ eyes open and closed on a force platform. Proprioception was measured through the ability to reposition the knee at 45_, measured with the Goniometer Pro application’s goniometer. Results: The results showed an indirect relationship between proprioception and postural control with closed eyes in all age groups; however, vision did not mediate this relationship. Conclusions: Older adults outperformed only teenagers on the balance test. The group of older adults was the only one that did not display differences with regard to certain variables when the test was done with open or closed eyes. It seems that age does not influence performance on proprioception tests. These findings help us to optimize the design of training programs for older adults and suggest that physical exercise is a protective factor against age-related decline.This research recieved funding from Aristos Campus Mundus 2018 proyect. ID: ACM20180

Effects of an incremental maximal endurance exercise stress-induced cortisol on cognitive performance

Objectives: It can be hypothesized that cognitive performance decreases after fatigue protocol when it coincides with the maximum peak of cortisol. The first aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of a single bout of high intensity exercise on behavioural (i.e., attention and memory) and physiological (i.e., salivary cortisol) responses. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of the performance of the cognitive tasks on cortisol levels. Methods: Thirty-four physically active men (at least 5 days/week of physical activity practice) 38.11 (1.57) years old completed a maximal incremental protocol on a treadmill by running until they reached a state of stress. Salivary cortisol and cognitive functions were evaluated in counterbalanced order prior and following exercise-induced stress. Results: Results showed lower cortisol levels before exercise and higher cortisol values before the cognitive task. Indeed, exercise-induced stress had only a detrimental effect on attention without any impact on declarative memory and finding improvements on working memory performance. Conclusion: The effects of stress on cognitive performance depending on the main brain areas responsible of cognitive functions (i.e., prefrontal cortex and hippocampus) and time elapsed between the cessation of exercise and the evaluation of these

Uso de teléfonos inteligentes para la promoción y medición de la actividad física en personas con lesión medular

Los teléfonos inteligentes o smartphones son una herramienta con un gran potencial para realizar intervenciones centradas en la promoción de la actividad física. Poblaciones como las personas con paraplejia pueden beneficiarse de estos dispositivos, ya que mantener niveles adecuados de actividad física es de gran importancia para su salud. Sin embargo, actualmente son todavía pocos los estudios que se centran en el uso de nuevas tecnologías para promocionar la actividad física en esta población. Por ello, los objetivos de este trabajo de investigación son (i) validar el uso de los smartphones para la medición del gasto energético en personas con paraplejia y (ii) evaluar los efectos de una intervención mediante una mHealth, creada específicamente para este proyecto, sobre la actividad física (y otras variables relacionadas) que realiza esta población. Para ello, se llevaron a cabo dos estudios independientes. La muestra del primer estudio estuvo compuesta por 20 participantes con paraplejia, los cuales completaron 10 actividades de la vida diaria durante 5 minutos cada una mientras se registró su consumo de oxígeno y las aceleraciones del brazo no dominante mediante un analizador de gases portátil y un smartphone, respectivamente. Se utilizaron series temporales de un minuto de consumo de oxígeno y 55 variables de acelerometría para obtener modelos lineales múltiples, utilizando un método de validación cruzada 10-fold. Los resultados mostraron que los modelos que incluían todas las variables y los que sólo incluían las variables lineales mostraban un rendimiento comparable, con una correlación de r = 0,72. Por otra parte, 14 sujetos con paraplejia formaron parte del segundo estudio. Todos los participantes realizaron dos pre-test y un post-test con 8 meses de intervalo entre las evaluaciones. Cuando los participantes realizaron el pre-test 2, se instaló la mHealth ParaSportAPP en sus smartphones que se utilizó como herramienta de promoción de la actividad física durante 8 meses de intervención (justo al principio de la intervención se decretó el estado de alarma por el COVID-19). Se realizaron las mismas pruebas en el mismo orden en todas las evaluaciones: i) cuestionarios sobre actividad física autoreportada, ansiedad, depresión, resiliencia, independencia, calidad de vida y usabilidad ii) fuerza muscular respiratoria iii) espirometría y iv) prueba de esfuerzo. Los resultados no mostraron diferencias en ninguna de las variables estudiadas entre ninguno de los tiempos de medición. En conclusión, mediante este trabajo se ha conseguido validar el uso de smartphones para la medición del gasto energético. Además, la ParaSportAPP consiguió mantener los valores de las variables estudiadas en niveles similares a pesar de los problemas de movilidad impuestos como consecuencia de la pandemia del COVID-19

Rate of concurrent augmented auditory feedback in postural control learning in adolescents

Introduction: The main objective of this study was to determine the rate of auditory concurrent feedback that best enhanced the learning of a continuous postural task in adolescents. Material and methods: A sample of thirty adolescents (13 to 14-years old) was used, who were assigned to three groups: i) control group (CG); ii) 100% auditory feedback group and iii) 67% auditory feedback group. The subjects performed a pre-test, practice, post-test and a retention (24 hours after the practice). In the postural control task subjects were instructed to remain on a seesaw (unstable in anteroposterior position) and keeping it as level as possible. Results: The results demonstrated that concurrent auditory feedback did not enhance the performance of the continuous postural task, although concurrent auditory feedback (both 100% and 67% rates) caused changes to the postural control strategies. Conclusions: From this it was concluded that 100% and 67% concurrent auditory feedback are more recommendable than no-feedback in adolescents’ postural control learning

Diversity awareness in university students from Physical Education with the proposal of good practice "More than able"

The present study describes and analyzes the assessment of university students with regard to the “More than able” proposal. This is a diversity awareness proposal from the area of Physical Education, and specifically, through tasks related to fundamental motor skills. The aim of this work was to design, apply, and evaluate a good practice offering a proposal for raising students’ awareness based on the use of comic characters such as superheroes and superheroines. In order to assess the degree of satisfaction of the proposal, a questionnaire of good practices and an open question in relation to the experience were used. The results showed that the practice was valued as useful, innovative, sustainable, and transferable to their future teaching experience, as well as a satisfactory experience for students. Therefore, the teaching staff of this or other Schools that train future teachers, as well as currently employed teachers, must be aware of these types of proposals and carry them out in the formal training of future teachers to bring the current school closer to an inclusive approach.El presente estudio describe y analiza la valoración del alumnado universitario ante la propuesta “More than able”. Esta es una propuesta de buenas prácticas sobre la sensibilización hacia la diversidad funcional desde el área de Educación Física, y específicamente, mediante tareas relacionadas con las habilidades motrices básicas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue diseñar, aplicar y valorar una buena práctica que ofrezca una propuesta de sensibilización al alumnado basada en el uso de personajes de cómics como son los superhéroes y las superheroínas. Para valorar el grado de satisfacción de la propuesta, se empleó el cuestionario sobre la experiencia de buenas prácticas y el análisis de contenido sobre una pregunta abierta en relación a la experiencia. Los resultados mostraron que la práctica fue valorada como útil, innovadora, sostenible y transferible a su futura experiencia docente, así como una experiencia satisfactoria para el alumnado. Por tanto, el profesorado de las facultades de Magisterio o de otras que preparen a los/as futuros/as docentes, así como ellos mismos, deben ser conocedores de este tipo de propuestas y llevarlas a cabo en la formación reglada de los/as futuros/as egresados/as para acercar la escuela actual a una escuela inclusiva

Validation of Using Smartphone Built-In Accelerometers to Estimate the Active Energy Expenditures of Full-Time Manual Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury

[EN] This study aimed to investigate the validity of using built-in smartphone accelerometers to estimate the active energy expenditures of full-time manual wheelchair users with spinal cord injury (SCI). Twenty participants with complete SCI completed 10 5-min daily activities that involved the upper limbs, during which their oxygen consumption and upper limb activity were registered using a portable gas analyzer and a smartphone (placed on the non-dominant arm), respectively. Time series of 1-min averaged oxygen consumption and 55 accelerometer variables (13 variables for each of the four axes and three additional variables for the correlations between axes) were used to estimate three multiple linear models, using a 10-fold cross-validation method. The results showed that models that included either all variables and models or that only included the linear variables showed comparable performance, with a correlation of 0.72. Slightly worse general performance was demonstrated by the model that only included non-linear variables, although it proved to be more accurate at estimating the energy expenditures (EE) during specific tasks. These results suggest that smartphones could be a promising low-cost alternative to laboratory-grade accelerometers to estimate the energy expenditure of wheelchair users with spinal cord injury during daily activities.This work was supported by Fundacio la Marato de la TV3, under Projects 201720-10 and 201701-10, and European Union through the Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the Valencian Community 2014-2020 (IDIFEDER/2018/029)Marco-Ahulló, A.; Montesinos-Magraner, L.; Gonzalez, L.; Llorens Rodríguez, R.; Segura-Navarro, X.; García-Massó, X. (2021). Validation of Using Smartphone Built-In Accelerometers to Estimate the Active Energy Expenditures of Full-Time Manual Wheelchair Users with Spinal Cord Injury. Sensors. 21(4):1-9. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21041498S1921