Ultrasound evaluation in combination with finger extension force measurements of the forearm musculus extensor digitorum communis in healthy subjects

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of an ultrasound-based method of examining extensor muscle architecture, especially the parameters important for force development. This paper presents the combination of two non-invasive methods for studying the extensor muscle architecture using ultrasound simultaneously with finger extension force measurements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>M. extensor digitorum communis (EDC) was examined in 40 healthy subjects, 20 women and 20 men, aged 35–73 years. Ultrasound measurements were made in a relaxed position of the hand as well as in full contraction. Muscle cross-sectional area (CSA), pennation angle and contraction patterns were measured with ultrasound, and muscle volume and fascicle length were also estimated. Finger extension force was measured using a newly developed finger force measurement device.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The following muscle parameters were determined: CSA, circumference, thickness, pennation angles and changes in shape of the muscle CSA. The mean EDC volume in men was 28.3 cm³and in women 16.6 cm³. The mean CSA was 2.54 cm²for men and 1.84 cm²for women. The mean pennation angle for men was 6.5° and for women 5.5°. The mean muscle thickness for men was 1.2 cm and for women 0.76 cm. The mean fascicle length for men was 7.3 cm and for women 5.0 cm. Significant differences were found between men and women regarding EDC volume (p < 0.001), CSA (p < 0.001), pennation angle (p < 0.05), muscle thickness (p < 0.001), fascicle length (p < 0.001) and finger force (p < 0.001). Changes in the shape of muscle architecture during contraction were more pronounced in men than women (p < 0.01). The mean finger extension force for men was 96.7 N and for women 39.6 N. Muscle parameters related to the extension force differed between men and women. For men the muscle volume and muscle CSA were related to extension force, while for women muscle thickness was related to the extension force.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Ultrasound is a useful tool for studying muscle architectures in EDC. Muscle parameters of importance for force development were identified. Knowledge concerning the correlation between muscle dynamics and force is of importance for the development of new hand training programmes and rehabilitation after surgery.</p

Biomechanical studies of finger extension function. Analysis with a new force measuring device and ultrasound examination in rheumatoid arthritis and healhty muscles

Aims: The overall aim of this thesis was to further our understanding of extensor muscles and their role for hand function. The aims of the studies were: To develop and evaluate a new device for finger extensor force measurements. To evaluate ultrasound as a tool for assessment of muscle architecture. To determine the correlation between extensor muscle force and hand function. To evaluate the degree of impaired finger extensor force in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the correlation to impaired hand function. To analyse the effect of hand exercise in RA patients and healthy subjects with ultrasound and finger extension force measurements. Method: A new finger extension force measuring device was developed and an ultrasound based method was used to be able to objectively measure the finger extension force and analyze the static and dynamic extensor muscle architectures. Measurements were made of healthy volunteers (n=127) and RA patients (n=77) during uninfluenced and experimental conditions. A hand exercise program was performed and evaluated with hand force measurements, hand function test, patient relevant questionnaires (DASH and SF-36) and ultrasound measurements. Results: The new finger extension force measurement device was developed and then validated with measurements of accuracy as well as test-retest reliability. The coefficient of variation was 1.8 % of the applied load, and the test-retest reliability showed a coefficient of variation no more than 7.1% for healthy subjects. Ultrasound examination on m. extensor digitorum communis (EDC) showed significant differences between healthy men and healthy women as well as between healthy women and RA patients. The extension and flexion force improved in both groups after six weeks of hand exercise (p<0.01). Hand function improved in both groups (p<0.01). The RA group showed improvement in the results of the DASH questionnaire (p<0.05). The cross-sectional area of the EDC increased significantly in both groups. Conclusions: A new finger extension force measuring device has been developed which provides objective and reliable data on the extension force capacity of normal and dysfunctional hands and is sufficiently sensitive to evaluate the effects of hand exercise. US provide useful information about muscle architecture. A significant improvement of hand strength and hand function in RA patients was seen after six weeks of hand training, the improvement was even more pronounced after 12 weeks. Hand exercise is thus an effective intervention for RA patients, providing better strength and function

Women's experiences of mastectomy as a treatment for breast cancer : A literature review

Bakgrund: Bröstcancer är den vanligaste cancerformen bland kvinnor globalt sett. År 2016 drabbades 7 500 kvinnor av bröstcancer i Sverige och av dessa avled 1400 kvinnor på grund av sjukdomen. Vidare behandlas 90 % av kvinnorna kirurgiskt och mastektomi, som primär kirurgisk behandling, ökar bland alla åldersgrupper. Ärret som blir kvar på kroppen är en ständig påminnelse om sjukdomen. Syfte: Att beskriva bröstcancerdrabbade kvinnors upplevelser efter genomgången mastektomi. Metod: En kvalitativ litteraturöversikt med induktiv ansats gjordes där 10 kvalitativa artiklar inkluderades. Resultat: Kvinnor upplevde på flera sätt att kroppen förändrades och att deras självbild påverkades. Förändringar i det sociala livet förekom och kvinnor upplevde ett behov av stöd. Vidare uppkom existentiella funderingar hos kvinnorna, som bland annat en förändrad syn på livet. Slutsats: Resultatet kan leda till att vårdpersonal, men också människor i samhället får en ökad kunskap och förståelse för kvinnor som genomgått en mastektomi. Som sjuksköterska är det viktigt att vara öppen för alla kvinnors upplevelser och tillämpa personcentrerad omvårdnad i bemötandet.  Background: Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women around the world. In 2016, 7 500 women in Sweden received the diagnosis and of these, 1 400 passed away. Of all women, 90 % is treated surgically, and mastectomy as primary treatment increases among all ages. The scar becomes a constantly reminder of the disease. Aim: To describe the experience of mastectomy as a treatment among women with breast cancer. Method: A qualitative literature review with inductive approach where 10 qualitative articles were included. Results: Women experienced that their bodies changed in many ways. Also, their body image was affected. Changes in their social life occurred and women experienced a need of support. Furtherly, existential questions appeared, such as seeing life in a new perspective. Conclusion: The result can lead to an increased knowledge in the society and health professionals which can lead to a better understanding for the women who had undergone a mastectomy. As a nurse it is important to respect every unique experience and apply person centered care in the treatment. 

Fotbollstränares personlighet : En jämförelse mellan kön, utbildningsnivå och tränaruppdrag utifrån femfaktorteorin

Syfte Syftet med arbetet är att, utifrån femfaktorteorin, undersöka personligheten hos fotbollstränare i Stockholm. Vidare ska vi undersöka om det finns skillnader i personlighet mellan kvinnliga och manliga fotbollstränare. Ytterligare syfte är att undersöka samband mellan personlighet och utbildningsnivå samt tränaruppdrag. Femfaktorteorin är en personlighetsteori som beskriver en personlighet via de fem egenskaperna; utåtriktning, öppenhet, samvetsgrannhet, vänlighet och neuroticism.   Metod För att besvara frågeställningarna har en digital deduktiv kvantitativ metod använts. Enkäten skickades ut vid två tillfällen och riktade sig till tränare för lag som spelade i den högsta serien i deras åldersgrupp under säsong 2022/2023. Femtio fotbollstränare deltog i studien. Enkäten bestod av bakgrundsfrågor för att kunna bemöta frågeställningarna, samt en svensk version av Big Five Inventory. Enkäten skapades via verktyget Sunet Survey och insamlade data analyserades via Jamovi med Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis och Post-Hoc analys.   Resultat Fotbollstränare i Stockholm hade höga värden inom samvetsgrannhet, vänlighet och utåtriktning, samt låga nivåer av neuroticism. De statistiska analyserna resulterade i att kvinnor visade en högre nivå av neuroticism än män (p=0,01) samt att det finns ett samband mellan neuroticism och utbildningsnivå (p=0,012). Resultatet visade att det inte finns några signifikanta samband mellan personlighet och tränare med olika tränaruppdrag. Tränaruppdrag som var kategoriserade utefter ålder och nivå visade däremot ett signifikant samband med samvetsgrannhet (p=0,05), där elitförberedande miljöer visade högre medelvärde av samvetsgrannhet.   Slutsats Resultatet visar på skillnader mellan män och kvinnor utifrån femfaktorteorin, där kvinnliga tränare anger högre värden inom neuroticism. Höga värden inom utåtriktning hos båda könen visar även på att likheter finns. Studien konstaterar även att neuroticism korrelerar med utbildningsnivå och att det finns en indikation på att samvetsgrannhet är en viktig egenskap för att bli en framgångsrik tränare.Aim The purpose of the study was to examine personality traits of football coaches in Stockholm. The selected personality theory was Big Five Inventory (BFI). The study also compares the gender differences between men and women, if it exists any relationship between education level and personality or if it exists any relationship between coaching assignments and personality. The Big Five Factor model is a personality theory that describes a personality with five traits; extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness and neuroticism.    Method A deductive quantitative survey was used as method. The survey consisted of background questions about the participants as a coach and a Swedish translation of the Big Five Inventory. The survey was sent out at two times and was directed to teams that played in the highest division of their age in season 2022/2023. 50 persons participated in the test. The survey was organized in Sunet Survey and the data was analyzed in Jamovi with Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Post Hoc.    Results Football coaches in Stockholm had high scores in conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion, but low scores in neuroticism. The statistical analyses resulted in higher values of neuroticism for women, in comparison with men (p=0,01), and that neuroticism correlates with education level (p=0,012). Soccer coaches with different coaching assignments did also show a result where no significant correlations were found related to the coaches personalities. Coaching assignments categorized by age and level resulted in a significant correlation with conscientiousness (p=0,05). Teams with an elite preparatory environment scored higher in mean value on conscientiousness.   Conclusion The result shows that there exist differences between men and women based on BFI, where female coaches scored higher in neuroticism. Both men and women had high scores in extraversion, which also indicates some similarities between gender. The study also concludes that neuroticism correlates with educational level and that conscientiousness probably is an important trait for a successful soccer coach.

Injuries related to kitesurfing

Participation in sporting activities can lead to injury. Sport injuries have been widely studied in many sports including the more extreme categories of aquatic board sports. Kitesurfing is a relatively new water surface action sport, and has not yet been widely studied in terms of injuries and stress on the body. The aim of this study was to get information about which injuries that are most common among kitesurfing practitioners, where they occur, and their causes. Injuries were studied using an international open web questionnaire (n=206). The results showed that many respondents reported injuries, in total 251 injuries to knee (24%), ankle (17%), trunk (16%) and shoulders (10%), often sustained while doing jumps and tricks (40%). Among the reported injuries were joint injuries (n=101), muscle/tendon damages (n=47), wounds and cuts (n=36) and bone fractures (n=28). Also environmental factors and equipment can influence the risk of injury, or the extent of injury in a hazardous situation. Conclusively, the information from this retrospective study supports earlier studies in terms of prevalence and site of injuries. Suggestively, this information should be used for to build a foundation of knowledge about the sport for development of applications for physical training and product development.Brädsport & Biomekani

Comfort aspects important for the performance and safety of kitesurfing

Equipment used in sports is of great importance, especially when the equipment is in direct contact with the athlete or is important for safety. In the sport kitesurfing environmental factors and the equipment design are crucial for the comfort and safety. The participants’ choice and opinion of equipment can show which factors are considered most important for the performance and to reduce risk for injury. This study has evaluated self-reported information from the participants about what equipment they use, comfort of the equipment and if the equipment has contributed to any injuries. The methods used were questionnaires (n=206) and interviews (n=17), which in combination allows to assess the problem both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results showed that supported leading edge kites are most frequently used, with a waist harness and foot straps to attach the feet. The choice of kite type was mainly based on the discipline of riding for the respondent. Some issues concerning comfort of riding and injury risk the respondents did relate to the design of harness and foot straps. The information from this study can be used for development strategies for industry manufacturers and for further studies in the area of equipment design and biomechanics. © 2012 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved