Extensibilidad de la musculatura isquiosural en gimnasia estetica de grupo

La exibilidad es uno de los elementos fundamentales de la con- dición física en determinadas modalidades deportivas, especialmente en las diferentes modalidades de la gimnasia. En estas disciplinas se requiere un rango de movimiento (ROM) articular máximo en la mayoría de las articu- laciones para la ejecución de los gestos técnicos extremos con mayor valor en el reglamento. La musculatura isquiosural constituye un grupo muscular biarticular que, debido a su origen e inserción, tiene efectos sobre la rodilla, la cadera y la estática y dinámica de la pelvis. Para conocer el efecto que la práctica continuada de gimnasia de puede tener sobre la extensibilidad de la musculatura isquiotibial, se realizaron valoraciones con los test distancia dedos-planta, test del ángulo lumbo-horizontal en exión y el test del ángu- lo vertical en 94 mujeres gimnastas de la especialidad de Gimnasia Estética de Grupo (GEG) con edades comprendidas entre 9 y 18 años de nivel nacio- nal e internacional. Los resultados de las tres valoraciones indican que todas las gimnastas presentan una extensibilidad isquiosural superior a la media de población general y superior a la de otras modalidades. Además se ha registrado un aumento signicativo de la exibilidad a medida que aumenta la edad de las gimnastas. Estos resultados evidencian los altos requerimien- tos de exibilidad y ROM de esta modalidad deportiva, exibilidad que van adquiriendo progresivamente las gimnastas a medida que ascienden de categoría de edad.

Validity and reliability of a computer-assisted system method to measure axial vertebral rotation

BACKGROUND: Axial vertebral rotation and Cobb’s angle are essential parameters for analysing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. This study’s scope evaluates the validity and absolute reliability of application software based on a new mathematical equation to determine the axial vertebral rotation in digital X-rays according to Raimondi’s method in evaluators with different degrees of experience. METHODS: Twelve independent evaluators with different experience levels measured 33 scoliotic curves in 21 X-rays with the software on three separate occasions, separated one month. Using the same methodology, the observers re-measured the same radiographic studies three months later but on X-ray films and in a conventional way. RESULTS: Both methods show good validity and reliability, and the intraclass correlation coefficients are almost perfect. According to our results, the software increases 1.7 times the validity and 1.9 times the absolute reliability of axial vertebral rotation on digital X-rays according to Raimondi’s method, compared to the conventional manual measurement. CONCLUSIONS: The intra-group and inter-group agreement of the measurements with the software shows equal or minor variations than with the manual method, among the different measurement sessions and in the three experience groups. There is almost perfect agreement between the two measurement methods, so the equation and the software may be helpful to increase the accuracy in the axial vertebral rotation assessment

Portfolio as a tool to evaluate clinical competences of traumatology in medical students

Fernando Santonja-Medina,1,2 M Paz García-Sanz,3 Francisco Martínez-Martínez,1,2 David Bó,1,2,4 Joaquín García-Estañ,5 1Faculty of Medicine, Department of Traumatology, 2Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Virgen de la Arrixaca, 3Faculty of Medicine, Department of Education, 4Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Morales Meseguer, 5Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain Abstract: This article investigates whether a reflexive portfolio is instrumental in determining the level of acquisition of clinical competences in traumatology, a subject in the 5th year of the degree of medicine. A total of 131 students used the portfolio during their clinical rotation of traumatology. The students’ portfolios were blind evaluated by four professors who annotated the existence (yes/no) of 23 learning outcomes. The reliability of the portfolio was moderate, according to the kappa index (0.48), but the evaluation scores between evaluators were very similar. Considering the mean percentage, 59.8% of the students obtained all the competences established and only 13 of the 23 learning outcomes (56.5%) were fulfilled by >50% of the students. Our study suggests that the portfolio may be an important tool to quantitatively analyze the acquisition of traumatology competences of medical students, thus allowing the implementation of methods to improve its teaching. Keywords: competence-based education, evaluation, assessment, teaching methodologie