Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) Reliability and Proposal of Its Use in Sports

Introduction: The Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) is a functional movement assessment method to observe movement restrictions in individuals with known musculoskeletal disorders, although it has also been used to evaluate healthy athletes of different sports. Aim: The present paper aimed to evaluate the applicability of SFMA in a clinical setting and to verify whether a student can correctly perform it. Methods: An introductory and explanatory email was sent to the subjects, containing the instructions needed to produce a video with SFMA evaluation movements. SFMA methodology was then used to analyze the received videos. The results between interobserver and intraobserver agreement were compared to the literature, considered the gold standard methods. Results: Twenty-eight subjects (17.71 ± 1.96 years aged) were rated. The functional non-painful scenario (FN) has been assigned more frequently by all raters. The student's intra-rater reliability proved to be moderate (Kappa coefficient 0.49). Results for inter-rater reliability showed that the reliability degree between the senior physiotherapist and student before and after their educational path is good (Kappa coefficient 0.60 and 0.62, respectively). Conclusions: The results of this study showed SFMA intra-rater reliability to be moderate, while inter-rater reliability can be considered good. These characteristics make it a valuable tool for sport's needs, even when used by students

Delphi consensus recommendations on how to provide cardiovascular rehabilitation in the COVID-19 era

Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author(s) 2020. For permissions, please email: [email protected] Delphi consensus by 28 experts from the European Association of Preventive Cardiology (EAPC) provides initial recommendations on how cardiovascular rehabilitation (CR) facilities should modulate their activities in view of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total number of 150 statements were selected and graded by Likert scale [from -5 (strongly disagree) to +5 (strongly agree)], starting from six open-ended questions on (i) referral criteria, (ii) optimal timing and setting, (iii) core components, (iv) structure-based metrics, (v) process-based metrics, and (vi) quality indicators. Consensus was reached on 58 (39%) statements, 48 'for' and 10 'against' respectively, mainly in the field of referral, core components, and structure of CR activities, in a comprehensive way suitable for managing cardiac COVID-19 patients. Panelists oriented consensus towards maintaining usual activities on traditional patient groups referred to CR, without significant downgrading of intervention in case of COVID-19 as a comorbidity. Moreover, it has been suggested to consider COVID-19 patients as a referral group to CR per se when the viral disease is complicated by acute cardiovascular (CV) events; in these patients, the potential development of COVID-related CV sequelae, as well as of pulmonary arterial hypertension, needs to be focused. This framework might be used to orient organization and operational of CR programmes during the COVID-19 crisis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Myocardial Crypt in an Asymptomatic Young Athlete: How to Interpret?

Myocardial crypts are extensions of blood signal penetrating the compact myocardium and are considered in literature as either a distinctive cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging marker for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or as benign congenital malformations. What if CMR reveals a myocardial crypt in the presence of an altered ECG in an asymptomatic, enlarged young athlete's heart? The illustrated case demonstrates that new insights in CMR can also require further diagnostic interventions, which might have deleterious consequences for the individual athlete due to the uncertain interpretation of some findings in the demanding new world of a rapidly developing diagnostic imaging technique

Correspondence regarding "Ventilatory efficiency in athletes, asthma and obesity": different ventilatory phenotypes during exercise in obesity?

Patients with obesity may have different ventilatory phenotypes during exercise related to an interaction of expiratory flow limitation, mechanical constraints and adaptations of chemoreception and metabolic setpoints. https://bit.ly/3JBs86

Is Structured Exercise Performed with Supplemental Oxygen a Promising Method of Personalized Medicine in the Therapy of Chronic Diseases?

Aim: This systematic review aimed to explore the literature to identify in which types of chronic diseases exercise with supplemental oxygen has previously been utilized and whether this type of personalized therapy leads to superior effects in physical fitness and well-being. Methods: Databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINHAL, EMBASE, Web of knowledge and Cochrane Library) were searched in accordance with PRISMA. Eligibility criteria included adult patients diagnosed with any type of chronic diseases engaging in supervised exercise training with supplemental oxygen compared to normoxia. A random-effects model was used to pool effect sizes by standardized mean differences (SMD). Results: Out of the identified 4038 studies, 12 articles were eligible. Eleven studies were conducted in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), while one study included coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. No statistical differences were observed for markers of physical fitness and patient-reported outcomes on well-being between the two training conditions (SMD −0.10; 95% CI −0.27, 0.08; p = 0.26). Conclusions: We found that chronic exercise with supplemental oxygen has mainly been utilized for COPD patients. Moreover, no superior long-term adaptations on physical fitness, functional capacity or patient-reported well-being were found, questioning the role of this method as a personalized medicine approach.peerReviewe

Repeated sprint ability is not enhanced by caffeine, arginine, and branched-chain amino acids in moderately trained soccer players

none7The aim was to investigate the effect of a dietary supplementation on the repeated sprint ability (RSA) performance in recreationally trained team sports athletes. Twelve young men underwent a RSA exercise protocol in five trials, in which participants ingested carbohydrates (CHO) plus caffeine (Caf), CHO plus arginine (Arg), CHO plus branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), CHO plus Caf, Arg, and BCAA (ALL), and CHO only. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, hematic lactate, ratings of perceived exertion, average sprint time, total time, best sprint time, peak power, and average power were taken. Data revealed no significant effects neither on physiological nor performance parameters with any of the supplements.nonenoneErmolao, Andrea; Zanotto, Tobia; Carraro, Nicolò; Fornasier, Tommaso; Zaccaria, Marco; Neunhaeuserer, Daniel; Bergamin, MarcoErmolao, Andrea; Zanotto, Tobia; Carraro, Nicolo'; Fornasier, Tommaso; Zaccaria, Marco; Neunhaeuserer, Daniel; Bergamin, Marc