Federico París-García

Evaluation of the stiffnesses of the Achilles tendon and soleus from the apparent stiffness of the triceps surae

The triceps surae plays an important role in the performance of many sports. Although the apparent average mechanical properties of the triceps surae may be a satisfactory parameter for estimating the training level of an athlete, a knowledge of the mechanical properties of the individual constituents of the triceps surae (in particular the Achilles tendon and soleus) permits a more detailed and in-depth control of the effects of training from more physically based parameters. The objective of this work is therefore the estimation of the individual viscoelastic properties (stiffness and viscosity) of soleus and Achilles tendon from the apparent properties of the triceps surae obtained by free vibration techniques. Different procedures have been developed and discussed, showing a high degree of robustness in the predictions. The results obtained for a non-oriented set of subjects present a high level of variability, depending on the training conditions and anthropometric features, although the corresponding average values compare well with data previously reported in the literature, particularly those associated with the tendon stiffness.

A critical study on the experimental determination of stiffness and viscosity of the human triceps surae by free vibration methods

Muscles and tendons play an important role in human performance. Their mechanical behaviour can be described by analytical/numerical models including springs and dampers. Free vibration techniques are a widely used approach to the in vivo determination of stiffness and viscosity of muscle–tendon complexes involved in sport movements. By considering the data reported in the literature, it appears that the visco-elastic properties of the triceps surae muscle–tendon complexes are independent of the modality in which free vibration is induced as well as they do not depend on the composition of the population of subjects submitted to the experiments. This research will critically discuss this important aspect focussing in particular on two studies documented in the literature. For this purpose, two equipments will be developed to reproduce literature experiments under the assumption that the oscillating part of the body behaves as a single-degree-of-freedom system: The governing degree of freedom is associated with the vertical displacement of the lower leg or with the rotation of the foot around the ankle articulation. Unlike literature, measurements are now conducted on the same population of subjects in order to draw more general conclusions on the real equivalence of results and validity of the mechanical properties determined experimentally. Free vibration tests are accurately simulated by analytical models describing the response of each vibrating system. It is found that if the two measurement protocols are applied to the same population of individuals as it is done in this study, values of visco-elastic properties of muscle–tendon complexes extracted from experimental data are significantly different, the differences presenting a convincing consistency. This result is in contrast with the literature and confirms the need to evaluate results of free vibration techniques by taking homogeneous bases of comparison.

Adherencia a la dieta mediterránea en adultos inactivos, practicantes de ciclo indoor y ciclistas aficionados

INTRODUCTIONnThere is limited information referred to the relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD) and sports practice.nnnOBJECTIVEnTo determinate the association of cycling practice and cycling training volume with the AMD and the influence of the participation in a high-demand cyclist event on the AMD.nnnMATERIAL AND METHODSnA first evaluation of AMD in 785 (84 women) amateur cyclists (volume: ≥ 7 hours/week), 514 (224 women) indoor cycling practitioners (volume: 2-6 hours/week) and 718 (411 women) inactive adults was conducted in May coinciding with the participation of cyclists in a cycling event. A subsample of 359 cyclists and 148 inactive subjects agreed to be retested in November, far from the cycling event date. The MEDAS-14 questionnaire was used to assess the AMD and a self-designed questionnaire was used to assess the volume of training.nnnRESULTSn40% of subjects showed high AMD. In both sexes, athletes showed higher AMD than inactive subjects, with the highest indexes for groups of cyclists (p < 0.001). The relationship between AMD and training volume was weak (men: r = 0.137, women: r = 0.173; p < 0.001). The AMD of cyclists decreased from May to November (p < 0.001) with no significant changes in inactive subjects (p = 0.535).nnnCONCLUSIONSnCycling is associated to higher values of AMD with a limited influence of training volume and transient positive effects of participation in a cycling endurance event.

A study of the reproducibility and reliability of the musculo-articular stiffness of the ankle joint

The objective of this work was to evaluate the reproducibility, reliability and usefulness of the musculo-articular stiffness (MAS) of the ankle joint, measuring it by the free vibration technique. Seventeen (nine males and eight females) healthy university students were included in the study. Force (f), MAS (k) and unitary MAS (ku) (defined as the ratio between the value of stiffness k obtained in the test (absolute terms) and the value of force (f)) were obtained. A test-retest protocol was designed and performed on the same day to determine the short-term reproducibility of f, k and ku. Short-term reproducibility of k and ku on 1u202fday in absolute terms (< 7% Coefficient of Variation (CV)) and relative reproducibility (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Pearson ≥u202f0.97) for both feet were obtained. The reliability of k and ku in absolute terms (< 9% CV) and in relative terms (ICC and Pearson ≥0.93) based on repeating the protocol for 1 week was analysed for both feet. To analyse the usefulness, the Effect Size (ES) ratio = Trivial for all variables (for 1u202fday and 1 week) and the Smallest Worthwhile Change (SWC) ratio (Typical Error (TE)< SWC) = GOOD for k and ku (1u202fday and 1 week) were considered. The Minimal Difference needed to be considered real (MD) for ku ≅u202f3.5% (1u202fday); ku≅u202f8.5% (1 week) (pu202f< 0.05) was obtained. The statistical analysis carried out displayed the high reproducibility, reliability and usefulness of the MAS test, which was more consistent with ku than k. Therefore, the unitary stiffness (ku) proven to be representative of the mechanical response of the ankle joint obtained by free vibration techniques, which allows comparison between different subjects.

Effects of Adolescent Sport Practice on Health Outcomes of Adult Amateur Endurance Cyclists: Adulthood Is Not Too Late to Start

BACKGROUNDnWe investigated the effects of adolescent sport practice on the training, performance, and health outcomes of adult amateur endurance cyclists and compared health outcomes of 3 adult groups: amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence, amateur endurance cyclists who did not practice sports during adolescence, and inactive individuals.nnnMETHODSnIn 859 (751 men and 108 women) adult cyclists and 718 inactive subjects (307 men and 411 women), we examined adolescent sport practice, current training status, quality of life, quality of sleep, anxiety and depression, and cardiometabolic risk: body mass index, physical activity, physical fitness, adherence to Mediterranean diet, and alcohol and tobacco consumption.nnnRESULTSnIndependent of gender, no significant differences in training, performance, or health outcomes were observed between amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence and those who did not. Independent of gender, cyclists reported significantly better health outcomes than inactive individuals in all variables, except depression.nnnCONCLUSIONSnTraining, performance, and health outcomes did not differ between adult amateur endurance cyclists who practiced sports during adolescence and those who did not, but their health outcomes were significantly improved compared with inactive individuals, except for depression.

Estilo de vida activo como terapia coadyuvante en pacientes con trastorno mental grave: the Psychiactive Project

Active lifestyle as a coadjuvant therapy in the treatment of patients with severe mental illness: The PsychiActive project International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology INFAD Revista de Psicología, No1 Monográfico 3, 2017. ISSN: 0214-9877. pp:363-372 363 LA PSICOLOGÍA HOY: RETOS, LOGROS Y PERSPECTIVAS DE FUTURO. ATENCIÓN A LA DIVERSIDAD ESTILO DE VIDA ACTIVO COMO TERAPIA COADYUVANTE EN PACIENTES CON TRASTORNO MENTAL GRAVE: THE PSYCHIACTIVE PROJECT Javier Bueno-Antequera Miguel Ángel Oviedo-Caro Federico París-García Diego Munguía-Izquierdo Departmento de Deporte e Informática, Área de Educación Física y Deportiva, Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, ES-41013 Sevilla, España. E-mail: dmunizq@upo.es. Fecha de Recepción: 28 Marzo 2017 Fecha de Admisión: 1 Abril 2017 https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2017.n1.v4.1064 The aim was to investigate differences in related to quality of life and health outcomes exist between patients with severe mental illness who meet and not meet physical activity recommendations for health. Ninety-five outpatients with schizophrenia (aged 40.8±9.1 years, 82% men, illness duration 17.1±8.8 years) were classified as physically active and inactive according to the Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool. Body mass index, antipsychotic medication, severity of psychiatric symptoms (Brief Symptoms Inventory-18), cardiorespiratory function (6-minute walking test) and quality of life (Short Form 36-Item Health Survey questionnaire version 2) were also assessed. Differences between groups were established using Chi-square, Student-t, and Mann–Whitney U tests and relationships between physical activity, quality of life, and health outcomes according to Spearman correlation coefficient. Active patients had significantly lower severity of psychiatric symptoms (P <0.05) and all scores of quality of life were clinically better in comparison with inactive patients. Frequency of vigorous, moderate and combination of both were, respectively, related to age, mental component score and cardiorespiratory function (all P < 0.05), in addition to other outcomes. The results suggest that physical activity should be an important coadjuvant therapy in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. Los pacientes con esquizofrenia tienen una esperanza de vida 20 años inferior a la población general debido fundamentalmente a enfermedades cardiovasculares y físicas propiciadas por estilos de vida no saludables como la falta de suficiente actividad física, mala alimentación y tabaquismo (McCreadie, 2003). Consecuentemente, promover estilos de vida más saludables representa un objetivo fundamental para la promoción de salud y prevención de enfermedades y muerte prematura en pacientes con esquizofrenia. Una de las terapias sencillas y económicas para pacientes con esquizofrenia, dado el deteriorado estado de salud es mantener un estilo de vida activo (Vera-Garcia, Mayoral-Cleries, Vancampfort, Stubbs, y Cuesta-Vargas, 2015). A este respecto, la Asociación Europea de Psiquiatría recomienda que los pacientes con esquizofrenia, sea cual sea su condición, deberían acumular al menos 150 minutos a la semana de actividad física moderada a vigorosa, por ejemplo caminar. Desgraciadamente, los pacientes con esquizofrenia incumplen habitualmente estas recomendaciones (Stubbs et al., 2016). Es preciso hacer una evaluación adecuada de los niveles de actividad física en cada grupo de población, de manera que puedan plantearse intervenciones eficaces. En pacientes con esquizofrenia el nivel de actividad física ha sido valorado mediante métodos subjetivos (normalmente cuestionarios autoreportados) y objetivos (normalmente acelerómetros) (Soundy, Roskell, Stubbs, y Vancampfort, 2014). Pese a la mayor precisión que ofrecen los métodos objetivos, el tiempo necesario para el registro, el elevado precio y la necesidad de personal especializado para analizar los resultados, dificultan su uso. De manera alternativa, los cuestionarios autoreporados son una forma sencilla de registrar la actividad física en poco tiempo. Con el fin de incorporarlos a la práctica clínica diaria es necesario comprobar la utilidad de cuestionarios breves. El Brief Physical Activity Assessment Tool (BPAAT) es un instrumento de dos ítems diseñado para identificar pacientes físicamente inactivos y activos adaptado al español (Puig Ribera et al., 2012). Según nuestro conocimiento no existen datos disponibles hasta la fecha en lo que se refiere a su uso en pacientes con esquizofrenia. El objetivo principal del presente estudio fue investigar si existen diferencias en calidad de vida y parámetros de salud entre pacientes con esquizofrenia que cumplen e incumplen las recomendaciones de actividad física para la salud según el BPAAT. El segundo objetivo fue explorar las posiInternational Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology 364 INFAD Revista de Psicología, No1 Monográfico 3, 2017. ISSN: 0214-9877. pp:363-372 ESTILO DE VIDA ACTIVO COMO TERAPIA COADYUVANTE EN PACIENTES CON TRASTORNO MENTAL GRAVE: THE PSYCHIACTIVE PROJECT