Emmanuel Souza da Rocha

Obese children experience higher plantar pressure and lower foot sensitivity than non-obese.

BACKGROUND Children obesity is a risk factor for several dysfunctions and diseases, with negative effects on the morphology of the locomotor system, plantar pressure and body stability. A relationship between postural control and sensorimotor information has been assumed. However, there is few data on the effects of children obesity on the availability of sensorial information from the foot during standing. METHODS Twenty obese and twenty non-obese children were evaluated for foot sensitivity and plantar pressure during unipedal and bipedal stance. Data were compared between obese and non-obese participants, between foot regions and between legs. FINDINGS Obese children experiences higher plantar pressure and have lower foot sensitivity than non-obese. Additionally, obese children had similar sensitivity for different foot regions, as compared to the non-obese. INTERPRETATION Children obesity negatively influences foot sensitivity. Bipedal stance seemed more sensitive to differentiate between obese and non-obese. Higher plantar pressure and lower foot sensitivity in obese children may affect performance of weight bearing activities, contribute to higher risk of foot injuries and have potential implication for children footwear design and clinical physical examination.

Does physical exercise improve obstacle negotiation in the elderly? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND Physical exercise improves walking in the elderly but much less is known about its effect on more challenged gait, such as obstacle negotiation. We conducted a systematic review to discuss the effects of regular physical exercise on kinematics and kinetics of obstacle negotiation in the elderly. METHODS A comprehensive literature search revealed 859 citations for review, whereof 206 studies entered the full-text analysis. After application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 13 studies were included in this systematic review. FINDINGS Most of them presented a reasonable quality (average 0.68) but none of them reached the level of a randomized control trial. Interventions were heterogeneous, with training periods lasting from 5 days to 10 months. Studies assessed obstacle negotiation basically considering 3 types of testing paradigm, namely a walkway with either a single obstacle crossing, or with multiple obstacles, or else a treadmill with an obstacle avoidance task under time pressure. INTERPRETATION In general, longer training programs had better results and very short ones were not effective. A weekly frequency of 2-3 times was the most common among the studies showing positive effects. Regardless of exercises types performed, most of them were effective and so far, there is no consensus about the best exercise for improving obstacle negotiation. A lack of studies on this topic still is evident. Including a record of fall score can further help in deciding which programs are to be preferred.

Efeitos da manipulação da sensibilidade plantar sobre o controle da postura ereta em adultos jovens e idosos

INTRODUCTION Subjects with sensorial losses present balance deficits. Although such condition is often observed among elderly, there is discussion concerning the dependence on sensorial information for body sway control in the elderly without sensorial losses. PURPOSE We investigated the effects of foot sensitivity manipulation on postural control during upright standing in young adults and independent elderly (n=19/group). METHODS Plantar sensitivity was evaluated by esthesiometry, and speed of center of pressure shift data during upright posture were evaluated for each foot using a baropodometer while the subjects were standing with eyes open or closed. The young adult group was evaluated for pressure center in normal conditions and after plantar sensitivity disturbance, by immersing their feet in water and ice. RESULTS Young adults did not show alterations in their center of pressure after sensorial perturbation and presented, even under sensorial perturbation, better postural control than elderly subjects. The elderly showed lower foot sensitivity and greater center of pressure oscillation than young adults. CONCLUSION Elderly subjects seem to rely more on foot sensitivity for control of body sway than young adults. In the elderly, a clinical intervention to improve foot sensitivity may help in upright posture maintenance.

Effects of plantar foot sensitivity manipulation on postural control of young adult and elderly

INTRODUCTION Subjects with sensorial losses present balance deficits. Although such condition is often observed among elderly, there is discussion concerning the dependence on sensorial information for body sway control in the elderly without sensorial losses. PURPOSE We investigated the effects of foot sensitivity manipulation on postural control during upright standing in young adults and independent elderly (n=19/group). METHODS Plantar sensitivity was evaluated by esthesiometry, and speed of center of pressure shift data during upright posture were evaluated for each foot using a baropodometer while the subjects were standing with eyes open or closed. The young adult group was evaluated for center of pressure in normal conditions and after plantar sensitivity disturbance, by immersing their feet in water and ice. RESULTS Young adults did not show alterations in their center of pressure after sensorial perturbation and presented, even under sensorial perturbation, better postural control than elderly subjects. The elderly showed lower foot sensitivity and greater center of pressure oscillation than young adults. CONCLUSION Elderly subjects seem to rely more on foot sensitivity for control of body sway than young adults. In the elderly, a clinical intervention to improve foot sensitivity may help in upright posture maintenance.

Acute Effects of Walking Exercise on Stair Negotiation in Sedentary and Physically Active Older Adults

BACKGROUND In negotiating stairs, low foot clearance increases the risk of tripping and a fall. Foot clearance may be related to physical fitness, which differs between active and sedentary participants, and be acutely affected by exercise. Impaired stair negotiation could be an acute response to exercise. Here we determined acute changes in foot clearances during stair walking in sedentary (n = 15) and physically active older adults (n = 15) after prolonged exercise. METHODS Kinematic data were acquired during negotiation with a 3-steps staircase while participants walked at preferred speed, before and after 30 min walking at preferred speed and using a treadmill. Foot clearances were compared before and after exercise and between the groups. RESULTS Sedentary older adults presented larger (0.5 cm for lead and 2 cm for trail leg) toe clearances in ascent, smaller (0.7 cm) heel clearance in the leading foot in descent, and larger (1 cm) heel clearance in the trailing foot in descent than physically active. CONCLUSION Sedentary older adults negotiate stairs in a slightly different way than active older adults, and 30 min walking at preferred speed does not affect clearance in stair negotiation.

Using the Olympic spirit to improve teaching and learning process: the biomechanics Olympic Games

the olympic games started in Athens, on April 6, 1896, inspired by the ancient games held in Olympia ([5][1]). After many years, the Olympic Games remain as one of the biggest events in the world. The “Olympic spirit” regards unity among people and nations, mutual respect, and the determinant

Análise da variabilidade e repetibilidade da pressão plantar durante a marcha de idosos

INTRODUCTION Repeatability and variability of the plantar pressure during walking are important components in the clinical assessment of the elderly. However, there is a lack of information on the uniformity of plantar pressure patterns in the elderly. OBJECTIVE To analyze the repeatability and variability in plantar pressure considering mean, peak and asymmetries during aged gait. METHODS Plantar pressure was monitored in four different days for ten elderly subjects (5 female), with mean±standard-deviation age of 73±6 years, walking barefoot at preferred speed. Data were compared between steps for each day and between different days. RESULTS Mean and peak plantar pressure values were similar between the different days of evaluation. Asymmetry indexes were similar between the different days evaluated. CONCLUSION Plantar pressure presented a consistent pattern in the elderly. However, the asymmetry indexes observed suggest that the elderly are exposed to repetitive asymmetric loading during locomotion. Such result requires further investigation, especially concerning the role of these asymmetries for development of articular injuries.bility and variability of the plantar pressure during walking are imporeywords: Introduction: Repeata ait inetics tant components in the clinical assessment of the elderly. However, there is a lack of information on the uniformity of plantar pressure patterns in the elderly. ∗ Autor para correspondência. E-mail: carpes@unipampa.edu.br (F.P. Carpes). ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rbr.2015.03.006 482-5004/© 2015 Elsevier Editora Ltda. Todos os direitos reservados. 428 r e v b r a s r e u m a t o l . 2 0 1 5;5 5(5):427–433 Aging Biomechanics Foot Objective: To analyze the repeatability and variability in plantar pressure considering mean, peak and asymmetries during aged gait. Methods: Plantar pressure was monitored in four different days for ten elderly subjects (5 female), with mean ± standard-deviation age of 73 ± 6 years, walking barefoot at preferred speed. Data were compared between steps for each day and between different days. Results: Mean and peak plantar pressure values were similar between the different days of evaluation. Asymmetry indexes were similar between the different days evaluated. Conclusion: Plantar pressure presented a consistent pattern in the elderly. However, the asymmetry indexes observed suggest that the elderly are exposed to repetitive asymmetric loading during locomotion. Such result requires further investigation, especially concerning the role of these asymmetries for development of articular injuries.

Effects of cold water immersion on lower extremity joint biomechanics during running.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of cryotherapy on lower extremity running biomechanics. Twenty-six healthy male volunteers were randomised into two intervention groups: cold water (cold water at ~11°C) or tepid water (tepid water at ~26°C). They were required to run at 4.0 ± 0.2 m · s−1 before and after they underwent water immersion for 20 min. Differences between pre- and post-intervention were used to compare the influence of water intervention during running. Peak joint angles, peak joint moments, peak ground reaction forces (GRF) and contact time (CT) were calculated using three-dimensional gait analysis. Independent t-tests were applied with a significant alpha level set at 0.05. Decreased peak propulsive and vertical GRF, decreased plantarflexion moments, increased hip flexion angle and longer CT were observed following cold water immersion. Although cold water immersion (cryotherapy) affected the running movement, none of the alterations have been related to running biomechanical patterns associated with injuries. Therefore, our results indicated that cold water immersion appears safe prior to running activities.

30 min of treadmill walking at self-selected speed does not increase gait variability in independent elderly

ABSTRACT Walking is one of the preferred exercises among elderly, but could a prolonged walking increase gait variability, a risk factor for a fall in the elderly? Here we determine whether 30 min of treadmill walking increases coefficient of variation of gait in elderly. Because gait responses to exercise depend on fitness level, we included 15 sedentary and 15 active elderly. Sedentary participants preferred a lower gait speed and made smaller steps than the actives. Step length coefficient of variation decreased ~16.9% by the end of the exercise in both the groups. Stride length coefficient of variation decreased ~9% after 10 minutes of walking, and sedentary elderly showed a slightly larger step width coefficient of variation (~2%) at 10 min than active elderly. Active elderly showed higher walk ratio (step length/cadence) than sedentary in all times of walking, but the times did not differ in both the groups. In conclusion, treadmill gait kinematics differ between sedentary and active elderly, but changes over time are similar in sedentary and active elderly. As a practical implication, 30 min of walking might be a good strategy of exercise for elderly, independently of the fitness level, because it did not increase variability in step and stride kinematics, which is considered a risk of fall in this population.

Avaliação eletromiográfica dos músculos das costas no ciclismo: um estudo de caso

Here we quantified the electric neuromuscular activity of selected back muscles of a trained mountain bike cyclist without history of low back pain. For data collection, cyclist’ own bicycle was attached to a cycle simulator. The cyclist cycled at workload set between 70% and 80% of peak power output until exhaustion. Electromyography data was analyzed considering the root mean square values computed to represent the overall magnitude of activation. There was a general increase in the muscle activation for all the muscles analyzed. This behavior was remarked for trapezius descendens (2.4%) and iliocostalis (31.77%) in the non-preferred body side, whereas the longissimus increased activation (11.33%) in the preferred side. The increase in muscle activation without report of low back pain suggests that effects of fatigue were observed. The protocol was useful to elicit fatigue in back muscles and can serve to investigate muscular imbalances usually associated with low back pain and hip weakness. Descriptors : Back Pain; Cycling; Fatigue; Exercise; Spine; Muscle Activation.