Lana Ruzic

Flat-Footedness Is Not a Disadvantage for Athletic Performance in Children Aged 11 to 15 Years

OBJECTIVE. Because the controversy about the relation of foot morphology and foot function is still present, we find it surprising that there are no studies published dealing with motor skills and athletic performance in flat-footed school children. Our aim in this study was to determine if there is an association between the degree of foot flatness and several motor skills that are necessary for sport performance. METHODS. The feet of 218 children aged 11 to 15 years were scanned, and the arch index was determined. The value of the arch index was corrected for the influence of age, and then the entire sample was categorized into 4 groups according to the flatness of their feet. The children were tested for eccentric-concentric contraction and hopping on a Kistler force platform, speed-coordination polygon (Newtest system), balance (3 tests), toe flexion (textile crunching), tiptoe standing angle, and repetitive leg movements. Altogether, 17 measures of athletic performance were measured. RESULTS. No significant correlations between the arch height and 17 motor skills were found. Categorizing the sample into 4 groups did not reveal any differences between the groups in athletic performance. Also, several multivariate analysis of variance sets of multiple independent variables referring to a particular motor ability were not found to be significant. The differences were not found even after comparing only the 2 extreme groups, meaning children with very low and children with very high arches. CONCLUSIONS. No disadvantages in sport performance originating from flat-footedness were confirmed. Children with flat and children with “normal” feet were equally successful at accomplishing all motor tests; thus, we suggest that there is no need for treatment of flexible flat feet with the sole purpose of improving athletic performance, as traditionally advised by many.

Increased occupational physical activity does not improve physical fitness

Aim: To determine the possible influence of high physical load in the workplace on the physical fitness of employees. Methods: The subjects (494 men) were tested by means of Baecke’s questionnaire for evaluation of the Work Index, measuring occupational physical load. The EUROFIT battery of tests was used for testing the functional and motor abilities of the subjects. Results: Subjects with a higher Work Index (n = 274) performed worse than the subjects with a lower Work Index (n = 220), indicating that high physical load in the workplace does not necessarily mean improvement in functional and motor abilities. The “heavy” workers were only found to have a stronger handgrip. This could be attributed to the fact that physical activity performed at the workplace did not have adequate intensity, volume, and duration to effect positive changes in other motor and functional capacities.

High volume-low intensity exercise camp and glycemic control in diabetic children.

Aim:  To evaluate the effects of the designed regime encompassing high volume‐low intensity physical activity programme on glycemic control in diabetic children, 20 subjects (age 12.81 ± 2.14) spent 2 weeks in a controlled environment of a summer camp.

THE ANAEROBIC ENDURANCE OF ELITE SOCCER PLAYERS IMPROVED AFTER A HIGH-INTENSITY TRAINING INTERVENTION IN THE 8-WEEK CONDITIONING PROGRAM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in anaerobic endurance in elite First-league soccer players throughout 2 consecutive seasons, in 2 phases, with and without high-intensity situational drills. Eighteen soccer players were tested before and after the 8-week summer conditioning and again in the next season. The measured variables included 300-yard shuttle run test, maximal heart rate, and maximal blood lactate at the end of the test. During the first phase of the study, the traditional sprint training was performed only 2 × weeks and consisted of 15 bouts of straight-line sprinting. In the second year the 4 × 4 min drills at an intensity of 90-95% of HRmax, separated by periods of 3-minute technical drills at 55-65% of HRmax were introduced. Statistical significance was set at P ≤ 0.05. The traditional conditioning program conducted during the first year of the study did not elicit an improvement in anaerobic endurance as recorded in the 300-yard shuttle run test. After the intervention, the overall test running time improved significantly (55.74 ± 1.63 s vs. 56.99 ± 1.64 s; P < 0.05) with the maximal blood lactate at the end of the test significantly greater (15.4 ± 1.23 mmol·L−1 vs. 13.5 ± 1.12 mmol·L−1. P < 0.01). As a result, this study showed some indication that situational high-intensity task training was more efficient than straight-line sprinting in improving anaerobic endurance measured by the 300-yard shuttle run test.

Postoperative blood loss management in total knee arthroplasty: a comparison of four different methods

PurposeAs the blood loss after the total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is not only a potentially serious medical problem but also an economical concern, the purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of different combinations of knee positioning and the applied wound dressings on blood saving after TKA.MethodsA randomized controlled trial including 147 TKA-operated patients was conducted. The subjects were assigned to one of the four groups; Group 1—controls, Group 2—flexion, Group 3—flexion and compression, Group 4—compression. The main outcome measures of the study were the blood loss volumes during the procedure and in the intensive care rooms and the decreases in haemoglobin, haemotocrit and red blood cells on the first and the second postoperative day.ResultsThe MANOVA results showed no differences between the groups in any of the observed parameters. The post-hoc comparisons of the each group to the control group also revealed no influence of any of the proposed blood saving techniques on the actual blood loss.ConclusionNo significant differences among the four proposed blood saving methods were determined.

Acute physiological responses to recreational in-line skating in young adults

Abstract We examined the physiological responses to in-line skating exercise at self-selected paces in recreationally trained adults. Seven men and 10 women performed in-line skating exercise during which oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O2) and heart rate (HR) were recorded continuously. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate concentration were also obtained at the end of exercise. Furthermore, subjects’ peak [Vdot]O2, peak HR, RPE and gas-exchange thresholds were determined in laboratory settings. The average exercise intensity during in-line skating was 90% of peak HR, 67% of peak [Vdot]O2, 84% of HR reserve and 64% of [Vdot]O2 reserve. When expressed as RPE and as metabolic equivalents (METs), the average exercise intensity was 13.1 RPE and 9.4 METs. Overall, these indicators of exercise intensity categorise in-line skating at self-selected paces as a vigorous physical activity. Notably, at similar [Vdot]O2 values, significantly higher HR (174±16 vs. 156±6 bpm; p<0.001) and RPE (13.1±1.4 vs. 11.7±1.4; p=0.019) were observed for in-line skating compared with treadmill running. We conclude that 1. recreational in-line skating induces physiological responses that are sufficient for improving and maintaining cardiovascular fitness in healthy adults, 2. HR- and RPE-based methods for quantifying the exercise intensity during in-line skating may overestimate the actual metabolic load and 3. the derivation of exercise prescriptions for in-line skating should be preferably based on specific (i.e. in-line skating) graded exhaustive exercise test.