Dinamometria isocinética de flexores e extensores de joelho: comparação entre atletas saltadores, velocistas e grupo não atleta

Participation in intensive sports activities leads to muscular specializations that may generate alterations in involved articular forces and cause static (posture) and dynamic changes (alterations of articular stability, coordination, etc.). Prevention of injury requires specific functional muscular evaluation in all athletes and for any kind of sport. OBJECTIVE: To dynamically evaluate, through isokinetic tests, the peak torque, total work, and average power of the knee flexor and extensor muscles of jumper and runner athletes and compare them to those of a non-athletic population, evaluating dominance and balance between agonistic and antagonistic muscle groups. RESULTS: In the non-athlete group, we noted a higher asymmetry between the dominant and nondominant members. The jumpers had the highest values of the evaluated parameters of all groups, whereas parameters for the runners were intermediate between non-athletes and jumpers.A prática esportiva leva às especializações musculares que podem gerar alteração nas forças atuantes articulares e causar alterações estáticas (postura) e dinâmicas (alteração da estabilidade articular, alteração da coordenação, etc.). A prevenção de lesões deve ser feita através de uma avaliação funcional muscular específica em todos os atletas e em qualquer modalidade esportiva. OBJETIVO: Avaliar dinamicamente, por testes isocinéticos, o torque máximo, o trabalho total, e a potência média dos músculos flexores e extensores do joelho de atletas saltadores e velocistas, comparando-os com uma população não atleta em relação à dominância e equilíbrio entre agonistas e antagonistas. RESULTADOS: Nota-se maior assimetria entre os membros dominante e não dominante no grupo de não atleta. Entre os grupos verifica-se que os saltadores têm valores maiores dos parâmetros avaliados, os velocistas têm parâmetros intermediários entre os não atletas e saltadores

Peptide glutamine supplementation for tolerance of intermittent exercise in soccer players

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether supplementation of carbohydrate together with peptide glutamine would increase exercise tolerance in soccer players. METHODS: Nine male soccer players (mean age: 18.4 ± 1.1 years; body mass: 69.2 ± 4.6 kg; height: 175.5 ± 7.3 cm; and maximum oxygen consumption of 57.7 ± 4.8 ml.kg-1.min-1) were evaluated. All of them underwent a cardiopulmonary exercise test and followed a protocol that simulated the movements of a soccer game in order to evaluate their tolerance to intermittent exercise. By means of a draw, either carbohydrate with peptide glutamine (CARBOGLUT: 50g of maltodextrin + 3.5g of peptide glutamine in 250 ml of water) or carbohydrate alone (CARBO: 50g of maltodextrin in 250 ml of water) was administered in order to investigate the enhancement of the soccer players' performances. The solution was given thirty minutes before beginning the test, which was performed twice with a one-week interval between tests. RESULTS: A great improvement in the time and distance covered was observed when the athletes consumed the CARBOGLUT mixture. Total distance covered was 12750 ± 4037m when using CARBO, and 15571 ± 4184m when using CARBOGLUT (

An overall view of aerobic physical training for chronic heart failure patients: a review study

Uma das modalidades de tratamento coadjuvante para a melhora da capacidade física e qualidade de vida em portadores de insuficiência cardíaca (IC) é o treinamento físico aeróbio. Objetivo: Atualizar por revisão sistemática o assunto efeito do treinamento físico aeróbio como coadjuvante no tratamento de portadores de IC. Métodos: Uma revisão sistemática de ensaios clínicos randomizados foi realizada utilizando as bases eletrônicas de dados (PubMed/MEDLINE, Lilacs, EMBASE, CINAH e a Biblioteca Cochrane foram pesquisados num período de cinco anos (2010 a 2015). Foram incluídos ensaios com no mínimo 3 meses de seguimento e com a avaliação dos efeitos das intervenções de exercícios como um componente do programa de reabilitação dos portadores de IC. Resultados: Sete protocolos clínicos foram incluídos com 4000 participantes, predominantemente com uma fração de ejeção reduzida (≤ 50%) e classe clínica II e III pela New York Heart Association. O programa de exercício como variável independente reduziu o risco geral e específico de hospitalização por insuficiência cardíaca e resultou em uma melhora clinicamente importante na qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Os estudos com análise de meta-regressão univariada mostraram que esses benefícios foram independentes do tipo, dose do exercício e duração do seguimento. Conclusão: Dentro dos limites estabelecidos nesta revisão foi possível mostrar que as melhorias na diminuição das hospitalizações e melhoria de saúde relacionados com qualidade de vida com base no engajamento dos portadores de IC em programas de exercício supervisionado parece ser consistente em todos os pacientes, independentemente das características do programa e pode reduzir a mortalidade a longo prazoOne of adjuvant treatment modalities for improving physical capacity and quality of life in patients with heart failure (HF) has been physical training. Objective: To update the knowledge on the effect of exercise training as an adjunct in the treatment of HF patients through a systematic review. Methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was conducted using the electronic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAH and the Cochrane Library, searching over five years (2010-2015). Included were trials with at least three months of follow-up and the assessment of the effects of exercise interventions as a rehabilitation program component for patients with HF. Results: Seven clinical trials were included with 4000 participants, predominantly with reduced ejection fraction (≤ 50%) and clinical class II and III by the New York Heart Association. The exercise program, as the independent variable, reduced the general and specific risk of hospitalization for heart failure and resulted in a clinically significant improvement in the patients’ quality of life. Studies with univariate meta-regression analysis showed that these benefits were independent of the type, amount of exercise, and duration of follow-up. Conclusion: Within the limits of this review, it was possible to show that improvements in reducing hospitalizations and in health were related to quality of life based on the engagement of HF patients in supervised exercise programs and appear to be consistent in all patients, regardless of the program’s features and can increase life expectanc

Association between muscle strength and the\ud cardiopulmonary status of individuals living with\ud HIV/AIDS

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare aerobic function [anaerobic threshold (%_VVO2-AT),\ud respiratory compensation point (%_VVO2-RCP) and peak oxygen uptake (_VVO2peak)] between physically active patients\ud with HIV/AIDS and matched controls and to examine associations between disease status, poor muscle strength,\ud depression (as estimated by the profile of mood states questionnaire) and the aerobic performance of patients.\ud METHODS: Progressive treadmill test data for %_VVO2-AT (V-slope method), RCP and (_VVO2peak) were compared\ud between 39 male patients with HIV/AIDS (age 40.6¡1.4 years) and 28 male controls (age 44.4¡2.1 years) drawn\ud from the same community and matched for habitual physical activity. Within-patient data were also examined in\ud relation to CD4+ counts (nadir and current data) and peak isokinetic knee torque.\ud RESULTS: AT, RCP and (_VVO2peak) values were generally similar for patients and controls.Within the patient sample,\ud binary classification suggested that AT, RCP and (_VVO2peak) values were not associated with either the nadir or\ud current CD4+ count, but treadmill test variables were positively associated with peak isokinetic knee torque.\ud CONCLUSION: The aerobic performance of physically active patients with HIV/AIDS is generally well conserved.\ud Nevertheless, poor muscle strength is observed in some HIV/AIDS patients, which is associated with lower anaerobic\ud power and (_VVO2peak), suggesting the possibility of enhancing the aerobic performance of patients with weak\ud muscles through appropriate muscle-strengthening activities

Muscle Activation Differs between Three Different Knee Joint-Angle Positions during a Maximal Isometric Back Squat Exercise

The purpose of this study was to compare muscle activation of the lower limb muscles when performing a maximal isometric back squat exercise over three different positions. Fifteen young, healthy, resistance-trained men performed an isometric back squat at three knee joint angles (20∘, 90∘, and 140∘) in a randomized, counterbalanced fashion. Surface electromyography was used to measure muscle activation of the vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM), rectus femoris (RF), biceps femoris (BF), semitendinosus (ST), and gluteusmaximus (GM). In general,muscle activity was the highest at 90∘ for the three quadricepsmuscles, yet differences in muscle activation between knee angles were muscle specific. Activity of the GM was significantly greater at 20∘ and 90∘ compared to 140∘.The BF and ST displayed similar activation at all joint angles. In conclusion, knee position altersmuscles activation of the quadriceps and gluteus maximus muscles. An isometric back squat at 90∘ generates the highest overall muscle activation, yet an isometric back squat at 140∘ generates the lowest overall muscle activation of the VL and GM only

Massage application for occupational low back pain in nursing staff

This is a clinical trial which aims to evaluate the efficiency of massage in the reduction of occupational low back pain, and its influence on the performance of work and life activities for the nursing team. The sample consisted of 18 employees who received seven to eight sessions after their work period. From the Numerical Pain Rating Scale, significant improvements were found between the 3rd and 1st evaluations (p=0.000) and between the 3rd and 2nd (p=0.004), using the Wilcoxon test. Regarding the Oswestry Disability Index, the paired t test showed a statistical difference (p=0.02) between the baseline, with a mean of 21.33% and the second evaluation (18.78%), which was also seen between the second and third evaluation (16.67%). The score for the Handling and Transfer Risk Evaluation Scale was 18 points (medium risk). It is concluded that massage was effective in reducing occupational low back pain, and provided improvement in activities of work and life. Clinical Trials Identifier: NCT01315197

Isokinetic Strength and Endurance in Proximal and Distal Muscles in Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease

Background: The objective of this study was to analyze the muscle strength and endurance of the proximal and distal lower-extremity muscles in peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients. Methods: Twenty patients with bilateral PAD with symptoms of intermittent claudication and nine control subjects without PAD were included in the study, comprising 40 and 18 legs, respectively. All subjects performed an isokinetic muscle test to evaluate the muscle strength and endurance of the proximal (knee extension and knee flexion movements) and distal (plantar flexion and dorsiflexion movements) muscle groups in the lower extremity. Results: Compared with the control group, the PAD group presented lower muscle strength in knee flexion (-14.0%), dorsiflexion (-26.0%), and plantar flexion (-21.2%) movements (P < 0.05) but similar strength in knee extension movements (P > 0.05). The PAD patients presented a 13.5% lower knee flexion/extension strength ratio compared with the control subjects (P < 0.05), as well as lower muscle endurance in dorsiflexion (-28.1%) and plantar flexion (-17.0%) movements (P < 0.05). The muscle endurance in knee flexion and knee extension movements was similar between PAD patients and the control subjects (P > 0.05). Conclusion: PAD patients present lower proximal and distal muscle strength and lower distal muscle endurance than control patients. Therefore, interventions to improve muscle strength and endurance should be prescribed for PAD patients

Globally invariant metabolism but density-diversity mismatch in springtails.

Soil life supports the functioning and biodiversity of terrestrial ecosystems. Springtails (Collembola) are among the most abundant soil arthropods regulating soil fertility and flow of energy through above- and belowground food webs. However, the global distribution of springtail diversity and density, and how these relate to energy fluxes remains unknown. Here, using a global dataset representing 2470 sites, we estimate the total soil springtail biomass at 27.5 megatons carbon, which is threefold higher than wild terrestrial vertebrates, and record peak densities up to 2 million individuals per square meter in the tundra. Despite a 20-fold biomass difference between the tundra and the tropics, springtail energy use (community metabolism) remains similar across the latitudinal gradient, owing to the changes in temperature with latitude. Neither springtail density nor community metabolism is predicted by local species richness, which is high in the tropics, but comparably high in some temperate forests and even tundra. Changes in springtail activity may emerge from latitudinal gradients in temperature, predation and resource limitation in soil communities. Contrasting relationships of biomass, diversity and activity of springtail communities with temperature suggest that climate warming will alter fundamental soil biodiversity metrics in different directions, potentially restructuring terrestrial food webs and affecting soil functioning