The Effects of Tissue Flossing on Perceived Knee Pain and Jump Performance: A Pilot Study

Background: Tissue compression and partial vascular occlusion using band flossing results in reperfusion of blood to the muscle tissue that may ultimately reduce joint pain and increase range of motion, enhancing prevention from or rehabilitation of injury. However, the extent of research examining the effect of tissue flossing in an athletic setting is currently very limited, and the effects of band flossing on knee pain and jump performance have not yet been investigated and remain unclear. Purpose: To investigate the effect of band flossing on perceived knee pain and vertical jump performance in recreational athletes with knee pain. Methods: Five young male recreational athletes with previously reported knee pain took part in this study (age 22±0.5; height 184±6.8cm; weight 79±1.5kg; BMI 23.34±1.2 kg/m2). Participants performed a number of tests pre and post intervention, with the application of a floss band on the knee joint. The experimental protocol consisted in the performance of countermovement jump (CMJ) tests (without occlusion, with occlusion, and after occlusion). Pre and Post intervention measures included a perceived knee pain -by visual analogue scale (VAS)- and CMJ performance -by force platform-. Results: The application of flossing bands in knee joint resulted in enhancements in all test measures pre to post intervention (10% jump height; 4.5% time in the air; 5% jump velocity; 13% jump power; 7.5% jump force). Participants reported a 3.5-point pain enhancement in AVS during performance of CMJ tests. Conclusion: Flossing bands caused a reduction in perceived knee pain and improved vertical jump performance in young male recreational athletes

A Short-Term Body Jump® Training Program Improves Physical Fitness and Body Composition in Young Active Women

(1) Background: Body Jump® is a novel group fitness program with musical support, which is performed rebounding in a minitrampoline. Although the number of practitioners has increased exponentially in recent years, this activity’s short-term effects on physical fitness and body composition in women have not yet been studied. (2) Methods: 27 healthy young women were randomly divided into a Body Jump® group (BJ) and a control group (CG). BJ performed three classes per week for one month. The week before and after the intervention, the anthropometric assessments were carried out to estimate the body composition, and different performance tests were performed to assess the jumping capacity (countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) tests), the muscular strength (1RM test) and the aerobic fitness (UKK test). (3) Results: VO2 max (p = 0.001), CMJ flight height (p = 0.023), SJ flight height (p = 0.003) and the 1RM value in the half-squat exercise (p = 0.009) were significantly increased in BJ. In CG, there were no statistically significant differences after the intervention period. Regarding the changes in body composition, a significant enhancement in several parameters were found in BJ, such as the sum of skinfolds (p = 0.003) and the percentage of fat mass (p = 0.002), while no changes were found in any of the anthropometric variables in CG. (4) Conclusions: carrying out the Body Jump® program three days per week for one month had positive effects on physical fitness and body composition in a group of healthy young women. This training program can be an effective option for enhancing, in the short term, these fitness parameters and the body composition of these recreational users into the fitness centers.This research was partially supported by project EAC1-16I

Functional movement screen differences between male and female young judokas athletes

Background and Study Aim: The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) test has been used in different sports to identify the alterations and asymmetries in the basic movement patterns of the athletes, although it has not been analysed as widely in children population, and even less in judo. The cognitive objective of this study was knowledge about the basic motor competence and the probability of injury in children practicing judo through the evaluation of fundamental movement patterns using the FMS test, and to establish a comparison between genders. Material and Methods: Thirty young judokas (16 girls and 14 boys) participated in the study. The performance of each participant was digitally recorded by two cameras, one in each plane (front and sagittal), and was later analysed jointly by two evaluators who are experts in the use of FMS. Results: The girls obtained higher scores on the sum of the seven tests, compared to boys (16.00 ±1.79 vs. 13.57 ±2.59; p = 0.005). In particular, girls scored significantly better than boys in the deep squat, the rotary stability and the active straight leg raise tasks (p<0.05). The boys scored statistically significantly higher than girls in the trunk stability push up task (p<0.05). Conclusions: The girls scored higher on most tasks, indicating better fundamental movement patterns. In addition, most girls scored above 14 points, while most boys scored at or below 14 points, which may indicate decreased motor competence and increased risk of injury in boys

The Effect of Cranio-Cervical Position on Core Muscle Activation during the Prone Plank Exercise

This study aimed to investigate the influence of head position on the electromyographical activity of the core muscles during the prone plank exercise. Twenty healthy participants were enrolled in this study. Muscle activation was registered using surface electromyography in the rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and the lumbar portion of erector spinae. Three plank conditions were randomly evaluated, varying the position of the cranio-cervical segment during the plank performance (neutral, flexion and extension). The activation of each individual examined muscle and the overall core muscle activity (Total Intensity), as well as the ratings of perceived exertion were analysed with statistical significance set at p 0.90). The rectus abdominis presented larger activation in flexion compared to the other variations (p 0.70). Flexion elicited a greater response for both sides of external oblique when compared to neutral and extension, and also for both sides of internal oblique compared to the other conditions (p 0.70). Both flexion and extension reported higher exertion rating values compared to neutral (p 0.90). Head position influenced the electromyographical activation of core musculature, showing highest values when performing the plank in a head flexion.This research was funded by Consellería de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana, and European Social Fund (European Union), Grant Project Number ACIF/2016/048

Respuesta cardíaca de defensa y emocionalidad negativa en población normal

III Jornades d'Investigació per a l'Alumnat de la Facultat de Ciències de la SalutLa Respuesta Cardíaca de Defensa (RCD) es un patrón dinámico de reactividad cardíacaen respuesta a un estímulo aversivo, intenso e inesperado que consiste en doscomponentes sucesivos acelerativos y decelerativos, cuya significación psicológica seatribuye tanto a procesos atencionales como emocionales. De acuerdo con el modelode la cascada defensiva propuesto por Lang (1995), el segundo componente acelerativode la RCD puede interpretarse como un indicador de activación del sistema motivacionaldefensivo. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar la relación entre laRCD y los niveles de ansiedad y depresión, como indicadores de emocionalidad negativa.La muestra experimental fue de 100 participantes, estudiantes de Psicología yCriminología de la Universitat Jaume I. La tarea experimental consistió en la presentaciónde un sonido intenso y aversivo (500 ms, 105 dB) tras un periodo de reposo de6 minutos. El registro de los componentes acelerativos y decelerativos se realizó durantelos 80 s posteriores a la presentación del estímulo acústico. Al finalizar la sesiónexperimental se administró una batería de cuestionarios, entre ellos el BDI y el STAI-R.Los análisis preliminares muestran una mayor reactividad cardíaca en los participantescon mayores puntuaciones en ansiedad y depresión. Estos datos sugieren que unamayor reactividad del sistema motivacional defensivo podría interpretarse como unfactor de vulnerabilidad para desarrollar trastornos de ansiedad y depresión. Podemosconcluir, por tanto, que la RCD parece ser un indicador fiable y válido de la hiperactividaddel sistema motivacional defensivo en personas que presentan una mayor predisposicióna reaccionar con sintomatología ansiosa o depresiva.The Cardiac Defense Response (CDR) is a dynamic pattern of cardiac reactivity in responseto an aversive, discrete, intense and unexpected stimulus consisting of twosuccessive accelerative and decelerative components whose psychological significanceis attributed to both attentional and emotional processes. According to the modelof the defensive cascade proposed by Lang (1995), the second accelerative componentof the CDR can be interpreted as an indicator of activation of the defensive motivationalsystem. This study aims to analyze the relationship between CDR and levels ofanxiety and depression as indicators of negative emotionality. The sample consisted of100 participants, students of Psychology and Criminology, from Jaume I University. Theexperimental task consisted in the presentation of intense and aversive sound (500 ms,105 dB) after a 6-minute rest period. Accelerative and decelerative components wereobtained during the 80 s after the presentation of the acoustic stimulus. At the end ofthe experimental session, a battery of questionnaires was administered, including BDIand STAI-R. Preliminary results show higher cardiac reactivity in participants withhigher scores both on anxiety and depression. These data suggest that a greater reactivityof the defensive motivational system can be a factor of vulnerability to developanxiety and depression disorders. We can conclude, therefore, that CDR may be interpretedas an index of the hyperactivity of the defensive motivational system in peoplewith greater predisposition to react with anxious or depressive symptoms

Electromyographical responses of the lumbar, dorsal and shoulder musculature during the bent-over row exercise: a comparison between standing and bench postures (a preliminary study)

Rowing exercises are widely used in resistance training. However, from an efficacy and safety standpoint, few science-based recommendations about proper ergonomics performing different rowing variations are currently available. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the electromyographical (EMG) differences between four variations during the dynamic performance of the bent-over row (BOR) exercise: BOR in inclined bench with 90º shoulder abduction (B/AB); BOR in inclined bench with maximum shoulder adduction (B/AD); standing BOR with 90º shoulder abduction (S/AB); standing BOR with maximum shoulder adduction (S/AD). A cross-sectional preliminary study of repeated measures was designed. three young and healthy participants with previous experience in resistance training were recruited from university students of Sport Sciences Degree (mean ± SD age: 21.67 ± 1.21 years; body mass: 75.13 ± 7.00 kg; IMC: 26.15 ± 1.63 kg/m2; % body fat= 9.72 ± 2.41% height: 1.69 ± 9.43 m; training experience: 4.64 ± 1.39 years). Muscle activity was measured using surface EMG in six lumbar, dorsal, and shoulder muscles: posterior deltoid (PD), latissimus dorsi (LD), upper trapezius (UT), middle trapezius (MT), lumbar portion of erector spinae (LES) and thoracic portion erector spinae (TES). Results showed that the two variations based on standing postures (S/AB and S/AD) caused greater EMG responses both on shoulder and lumbar and dorsal muscles. However, importantly, participants had the highest EMG activity on target muscles (deltoid and trapezius muscles) when performing the BOR in a shoulder abduction position (B/AB and S/AB), independent of whether they were, or were not, working with the bench. Thus, considering that the mild activity showed from the lumbar and dorsal back muscles when performing the bench variations would denote lower spine loads, we can conclude that, from an ergonomic standpoint, the use of the bench should be indicated when performing the BOR exercise. However, this is only a preliminary conclusion and the subject needs future analysis.This research was funded by Consellería de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana, and European Social Fund (European Union), grant project number ACIF/2016/048

Physical activity as a complementary approach for the pharmacological treatment of Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Effects of a 6-week aquatic strength and core training program

Fibromyalgia is a chronic and multifactorial disease, characterized by the presence of generalized pain that negatively influences the health-related quality of life of the affected person. Despite the severity and disabling effects that this disease causes in most cases, the physical and psychological symptoms can be alleviated through adequate physical fitness, with water-based exercise being one of the most recommended approaches for fibromyalgia patients. The objective of this case report was to verify the suitability and feasibility of a multicomponent aquatic training program carried out in a high temperature spa pool for a woman with fibromyalgia. For this purpose, a complete physical and psychological analysis in this patient with a history of lack of compliance and tolerance of physical activity is presented as a case report. A 62 year-old woman with fibromyalgia participated in 6-week program of strength, core, aerobic, and flexibility training developed in the aquatic environment, with analyses performed before and after intervention, where physical and psychological parameters were evaluated. The percentage of improvement showed an enhancement in all physical and psychological factors, with some test results over the reference values of minimal detectable change and minimal clinically significant difference for fibromyalgia patients and women of similar age. The presented case report provides a comprehensive examination of the physical and psychological status of a woman with fibromyalgia, prior to and proceeding a non-pharmacological intervention based on a multicomponent water-based training program. Results highlighted that a 6-week programme of water-based exercise program in a spa pool was suitable for reaching an enhancement in different physical and psychological parameters in this fibromyalgia patient, with her history of poor compliance and tolerance to conventional physical activity. If future studies with more sample size confirm our results, this approach could result interesting for fibromyalgia patients with low adherence and tolerance to land based training

Influence of Abdominal Hollowing Maneuver on the Core Musculature Activation during the Prone Plank Exercise

This cross-sectional study of repeated measures investigated whether integrating the abdominal hollowing maneuver (AHM) into the prone plank performance is an effective strategy for increasing both the activation of the deep and superficial core musculature. Electromyographical (EMG) responses of rectus abdominis (RA), external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), and lumbar erector spinae (LES), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) of 20 participants (13 male, 7 female; mean ± standard deviation (SD) age: 24.25 ± 3.54 years; body mass: 66.42 ± 8.40 kg; height: 1.70 ± 9.51 m) were compared across two experimental conditions: the traditional prone plank (STANDARD); and a variation including the AHM (HOLLOWING). Regarding Total Intensity, HOLLOWING resulted in significantly greater EMG response than STANDARD (p < 0.001; Effect size (ES) = 3.01). Specifically, RA showed no significant differences between STANDARD and HOLLOWING (p = 0.056; ES = 0.285). However, for the remaining analyzed muscles, HOLLOWING significantly provided higher EMG activation compared to STANDARD (LES: p = 0.004; ES = 0.619; left EO: p < 0.001; ES = 1.031; right EO: p < 0.001; ES = 1.419; left IO: p < 0.001; ES = 2.021; right IO: p < 0.001; ES = 2.269). Regarding RPE, HOLLOWING reported values significantly greater than STANDARD (p < 0.001; ES = 2.94). In conclusion, integrating the AHM into the prone plank exercise enhances overall abdominal activity, particularly in both obliques. These findings provide updated guidelines for lumbar stabilization and core strengthening in health-related physical fitness programs.This research was funded by Consellería de Educación, Investigación, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana, and European Social Fund (European Union), grant project number ACIF/2016/048

Acute Effects of ACL Injury-Prevention Warm-Up and Soccer-Specific Fatigue Protocol on Dynamic Knee Valgus in Youth Male Soccer Players

Childhood anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries—which can pose a major risk to a child’s sporting career—have been on the rise in the last few decades. Dynamic knee valgus (DKV) has been linked to an increased risk of ACL injury. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the acute effects of an ACL injury prevention protocol (ACL-IPP) and a soccer-specific fatigue protocol (SSFP) on DKV in youth male soccer players. The research hypothesis was that DKV would be reduced by the ACL-IPP and increased by the SSFP. Eighteen youth male soccer players were divided according to baseline DKV. Those with moderate or large DKV performed a neuromuscular training protocol based on activation of the abductor and external rotator hip muscles. Those with little or no DKV performed a soccer-specific fatigue protocol. DKV was assessed using the single-leg squat pre- and post-protocols in both legs. The ACL-IPP significantly decreased DKV during single-leg squat (p < 0.01, effect size = 1.39), while the SSFP significantly increased baseline DKV in the dominant leg during single-leg squat (p = 0.012; effect size = 1.74). In conclusion, the ACL-IPP appears to acutely reduce the DKV in youth male soccer players, and the SSFP seems to acutely increase the DKV in those players who showed a light or no DKV in a non-fatigue situation. By using the SSFP, it may be possible to determine which players would benefit from injury prevention programs due to increased DKV during game scenarios, while hip abductor and external rotator neuromuscular training may be beneficial for players who have moderate and severe DKV during single-leg squat under non-fatigued scenarios