O impacto do uso da tala nocturna na qualidade de vida do indivíduo com Síndrome do Túnel Carpiano

A Síndrome do Túnel Carpiano é uma neuropatia compressiva do nervo mediano que desencadeia défices motores e sensoriais que interferem com o desempenho dos papéis ocupacionais e, concomitantemente, com a Qualidade de Vida. Este trabalho tem como objectivo principal definir quais os benefícios do uso da tala nocturna e o impacto manifesto na Qualidade de Vida do indivíduo com esta patologia. Os resultados revelaram uma melhoria na percepção do estado de Saúde Geral, bem como uma diminuição do nível da dor no grupo ao qual se aplicou a tala, sugerindo que esta intervenção promove uma melhoria da Qualidade de Vida.The Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a compression neuropathy of the median nerve that triggers sensory and motor deficits that interfere with the performance of occupational roles and concomitantly with the Quality of Life. This work aims is to define the main benefits of using the night splint and the impact on the Quality of Life of individuals with this pathology. The results show an improvement in the perception of general health as well as a decrease in the level of pain in the group, to which the splint was applied, suggesting that this intervention promotes an improvement of Quality of Life

Reliability of two methods for identifying the postural phase of gait initiation in healthy and post-stroke subjects

This study aims to compare two methods of assessing the postural phase of gait initiation as to intrasession reliability, in healthy and post-stroke subjects. As a secondary aim, this study aims to analyse anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation based on the centre of pressure (CoP) displacements in post-stroke participants. The CoP signal was acquired during gait initiation in fifteen post-stroke subjects and twenty-three healthy controls. Postural phase was identified through a baseline-based method and a maximal displacement based method. In both healthy and post-stroke participants higher intra-class correlation coefficient and lower coefficient of variation values were obtained with the baseline-based method when compared to the maximal displacement based method. Post-stroke participants presented decreased CoP displacement backward and toward the first swing limb compared to controls when the baseline-based method was used. With the maximal displacement based method, there were differences between groups only regarding backward CoP displacement. Postural phase duration in medial-lateral direction was also increased in post-stroke participants when using the maximal displacement based method. The findings obtained indicate that the baseline-based method is more reliable detecting the onset of gait initiation in both groups, while the maximal displacement based method presents greater sensitivity for post-stroke participants

Efeito de um programa de exercícios no tempo de reacção dos peroniais

Introdução: o futebol é o desporto mais popular e possui características que se traduzem numa grande incidência de lesões, sendo que a FIFA desenvolveu um programa de prevenção de lesões. Objectivos: o objectivo de estudo foi verificar se o programa promove alterações proprioceptivas, no tempo de reacção dos peroniais. Metodologia: é um estudo quase-experimental com 14 atletas, 7 em cada um dos grupos, experimental e controlo. Resultados: Os resultados mostraram um valor p=0,038 no tempo de reacção do curto peroneal. Conclusão: Verificaram-se algumas alterações significativas no tempo de reacção em resposta ao programa de exercícios.Introduction: football is the most popular sport of all and has characteristics which reflect a high incidence of injuries, for which FIFA has developed a program for injury prevention. Objectives: This study’s main goal was to verify if that program promotes proprioceptive changes in the peroneal reaction time. Methodology: This is a quasi-experimental study with 14 athletes, 7 in each one of the groups, experimental and control. Results: The results showed a p-value=0,038 in the peroneal reaction time Conclusion: There were some significant changes in the peroneal reaction time, in response to the exercise program

The influence of task design on upper limb muscles fatigue during low-load repetitive work: A systematic review

Ergonomic interventions such as increased scheduled breaks or job rotation have been proposed to reduce upper limb muscle fatigue in repetitive low-load work. This review was performed to summarize and analyze the studies investigating the effect of job rotation and work-rest schemes, as well as, work pace, cycle time and duty cycle, on upper limb muscle fatigue. The effects of these work organization factors on subjective fatigue or discomfort were also analyzed. This review was based on relevant articles published in PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. The studies included in this review were performed in humans and assessed muscle fatigue in upper limbs. 14 articles were included in the systematic review. Few studies were performed in a real work environment and the most common methods used to assess muscle fatigue were surface electromyography (EMG). No consistent results were found related to the effects of job rotation on muscle activity and subjective measurements of fatigue. Rest breaks had some positive effects, particularly in perceived discomfort. The increase in work pace reveals a higher muscular load in specific muscles. The duration of experiments and characteristics of participants appear to be the factors that most have influenced the results. Future research should be focused on the improvement of the experimental protocols and instrumentation, in order to the outcomes represent adequately the actual working conditions. Relevance to industry: Introducing more physical workload variation in low-load repetitive work is considered an effective ergonomic intervention against muscle fatigue and musculoskeletal disorders in industry. Results will be useful to identify the need of future research, which will eventually lead to the adoption of best industrial work practices according to the workers capabilities

Influence of foot alignment in anticipatory postural adjustments in children with cerebral palsy

The difficulty in the organization of anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) is often associated with lack of postural control (PC) in children/young people with motor spastic hemiplegia, resulting from cerebral palsy (CP). Biomechanical changes of the tibiotarsal and foot characteristics are commonly observed in these children/young people and influence the PC as a wholeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Altered abdominal muscle recruitment in lumbopelvic pain

Objectivo: Verificar se existem alterações no padrão de recrutamento do transverso do abdómen/oblíquo interno, recto abdominal e oblíquo externo em indivíduos com história de dor lombopélvica aguda. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo do tipo observacional, analítico e transversal, cuja amostra consistia num grupo de 15 indivíduos que nunca tiveram dor lombopélvica e por outro de 14 indivíduos do sexo feminino que tiveram pelo menos episódio de dor lombopélvica aguda nos últimos 6 meses. Foi recolhida e avaliada por electromiografia de superfície a actividade dos músculos acima referenciados e do deltóide, durante os movimentos rápidos de flexão, abdução e extensão do ombro. Analisou-se e foi comparado entre os dois grupos o padrão de recrutamento dos músculos abdominais. O teste de Mann-Whitney foi utilizado para comparar a média do tempo de activação muscular entre os dois grupos. O teste de Friedman foi efectuado para comparar o tempo de activação entre os músculos avaliados em cada direcção de movimento (com nível de significância de 5%). Resultados: Registou-se um atraso na activação do transverso do abdómen no movimento de flexão e abdução do ombro e ainda perda da activação independente entre os músculos superficiais e profundos estudados. Conclusão: O padrão de recrutamento dos músculos abdominais associado ao movimento do ombro encontra-se alterado em indivíduos com história de dor lombopélvica aguda.Objective: To verify the existence of modifications in the recruitment of transverses abdominus /obliquus internus abdominus, rectus abdominus and obliquus abdominus externus in individuals with a story of acute lumbopelvic pain. Methods: It was made an analytical, observational and transversal study whose sample was composed by a group of 15 women that never experienced acute lumbopelvic pain and by another group of 14 women, which had at least one episode of acute lumbopelvic pain in the last 6 months. The activity of the muscles above mentioned and of deltoid was collected and accessed by surface electromyography during fast flexion, abduction and extension movements of the shoulder. The abdominal muscles recruitment was comparatively analyzed. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the average of the time of muscular activation between two groups. The Friedman test was used to compare the activation time between the evaluated muscles in the three movement directions (with a significance level of 5%). Results: It was registered a delay in the activation of the transverses abdominus in the flexion and abduction movement of the shoulder and loss of the independent activation of the surface and deep muscles studied. These results are in concordance with previous studies conducted with subjects with chronic low back pain. Conclusion: The recruitment of the abdominal muscles associated with shoulder movement is modified in subjects with a story of acute lumbo-pelvic pain

EMG of the transverse abdominus and multifidus during pilates exercises

The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the intensity of muscle activation of Transverse Abdominus /Oblique Internal (TrA/OI) and Multifidus (Mu) during the performance of four Pilates exercises (and variations), compared, in order to understand the importance of these exercises in the lumbopelvic stability in healthy subjects. The sample consisted of 8 individuals. Using the surface electromyography (EMG), it was found that there are differences in the intensity of muscle activation in the analyzed exercises and, therefore, “Shoulder bridge” and “ShoulderBridge_extension (right and left legs)“ are the more appropriate exercises for co-activation between TrA/OI and Mu muscles for the reeducation of lumbopelvic stability

Ankle anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in healthy and post-stroke subjects

Anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation have an important role in postural stability but also in gait performance. However, these first phase mechanisms of gait initiation have received little attention, particularly in subcortical post-stroke subjects, where bilateral postural control pathways can be impaired. This study aims to evaluate ankle anticipatory postural adjustments during gait initiation in chronic post-stroke subjects with lesion in the territory of middle cerebral artery. Methods: Eleven subjects with post-stroke hemiparesis with the ability to walk independently and twelve healthy controls participated in this study. Bilateral electromyographic activity of tibialis anterior, soleus and medial gastrocnemius was collected during gait initiation to assess the muscle onset timing, period of activation/deactivation and magnitude of muscle activity during postural phase of gait initiation. This phase was identified through centre of pressure signal. Post-stroke group presented only half of the tibialis anterior relative magnitude observed in healthy subjects in contralesional limb (t=2.38, p=0.027) and decreased soleus deactivation period (contralesional limb, t=2.25, p=0.04; ipsilesional limb, t=3.67, p=0.003) as well its onset timing (contralesional limb, t=3.2. p=0.005; ipsilesional limb, t=2.88, p=0.033) in both limbs. A decreased centre of pressure displacement backward (t=3.45, p=0.002) and toward the first swing limb (t=3.29, p=0.004) was observed in post-stroke subjects. These findings indicate that chronic post-stroke subjects with lesion at middle cerebral artery territory present dysfunction in ankle anticipatory postural adjustments in both limbs during gait initiation

A case study of product usability of a pelvic device used by children with neuromotor impairments

On assistive technology targeted for people with activity limitations and participation, usability issues becomes an essential tool to ensure that the product has the appropriate ergonomics characteristics, in other words, ensure that it fits the specific user´s needs. The aim of this study was to analyze the usability of an adaptive seating device for children with neuromotor impairments, by using kinematic indicators of the reaching movement. The study sample consisted of 13 children with associated neurologic conditions. The tests were developed by using a wooden bench height adjustable, integrated with the adaptive seating device under study, and a system to capture three-dimensional image, called Qualisys Track Manager. The following reaching kinematics variables were measured: maximum reaching velocity, movement duration, index of curvature, and unit movements. It was found that the use of the adaptive seating device had a positive impact on upper limb function in children with neuromotor impairments. It was also noticed an improvement in the reaching movement kinematics, which was statistical significant for the index of curvature and unit movements. As main conclusions, it is possible to point out some positive effects that the product under study seems to have on users' movements, such as the improved movement quality of the upper limb, which could mean a better postural adjustments and higher trunk postural control. By identifying new measures of usability in terms of effectiveness and efficiency for the analyzeddevice, the results obtained may serve also as performance indicators, providing new data that may help to improve the product and eventually modifying it, in order to turn it more compatible with the needs of the considered target population

Ankle intrinsic stiffness in subcortical poststroke subjects

The authors' purpose was to evaluate bilateral ankle intrinsic stiffness in subcortical poststroke subjects. Ten subcortical poststroke subjects and 10 healthy controls participated in this study. The ankle passive stiffness at 3 different speeds and the electromyographic activity of the soleus, the gastrocnemius, and the tibialis anterior muscles of poststroke contralesional (CONTRA) and ipsilesional (IPSI) limbs and of one limb of healthy subjects were assessed. Ankle electromyographic activity was collected to ensure that reflexive or voluntary muscle activity was not being elicited during the passive movements. A significant interaction was observed between the effects of the limb (IPSI vs. CONTRA vs. control) and ankle position, F(4, 28) = 3.285, p = .025, and between the effects of the limb and the velocity of stretch, F(2, 14) = 4.209, p = .037. While increased intrinsic stiffness was observed in the CONTRA limb of poststroke subjects at ankle neutral position when the passive stretch was applied with a velocity of 1°/s (p = .021), the IPSI limb of poststroke subjects presented increased stiffness at 20º of plantar flexion when the stretch was applied with a velocity of 5°/s (p = .009) when compared to healthy group. Subcortical poststroke subjects present increased intrinsic stiffness in both the CONTRA and IPSI limbs in specific ankle amplitudes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio