Mauro César Gurgel de Alencar Carvalho

Acute Effects of a Warm-up Including Active, Passive, and Dynamic Stretching on Vertical Jump Performance

Abstract Carvalho, FLP, Carvalho, MCGA, Simão, R, Gomes, TM, Costa, PB, Neto, LB, Carvalho, RLP, and Dantas, EHM. Acute effects of a warm-up including active, passive, and dynamic stretching on vertical jump performance. J Strength Cond Res 26(9): 2447–2452, 2012—The purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of 3 different stretching methods combined with a warm-up protocol on vertical jump performance. Sixteen young tennis players (14.5 ± 2.8 years; 175 ± 5.6 cm; 64.0 ± 11.1 kg) were randomly assigned to 4 different experimental conditions on 4 successive days. Each session consisted of a general and specific warm-up, with 5 minutes of running followed by 10 jumps, accompanied by one of the subsequent conditions: (a) Control Condition (CC)—5 minutes of passive rest; (b) Passive Stretching Condition (PSC)—5 minutes of passive static stretching; (c) Active Stretching Condition (ASC)—5 minutes of active static stretching; and (d) Dynamic Stretching Condition (DC)—5 minutes of dynamic stretching. After each intervention, the subjects performed 3 squat jumps (SJs) and 3 countermovement jumps (CMJs), which were measured electronically. For the SJ, 1-way repeated measures analysis of variance (CC × PSC × ASC × DC) revealed significant decreases for ASC (28.7 ± 4.7 cm; p = 0.01) and PSC (28.7 ± 4.3 cm; p = 0.02) conditions when compared with CC (29.9 ± 5.0 cm). For CMJs, there were no significant decreases (p > 0.05) when all stretching conditions were compared with the CC. Significant increases in SJ performance were observed when comparing the DC (29.6 ± 4.9 cm; p = 0.02) with PSC (28.7 ± 4.3 cm). Significant increases in CMJ performance were observed when comparing the conditions ASC (34.0 ± 6.0 cm; p = 0.04) and DC (33.7 ± 5.5 cm; p = 0.03) with PSC (32.6 ± 5.5 cm). A dynamic stretching intervention appears to be more suitable for use as part of a warm-up in young athletes.

Bone density, balance and quality of life of postmenopausal women taking alendronate participating in different physical activity programs

Background: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different physical activity (PA) programs on bone density, balance and quality of life of postmenopausal women taking concomitant alendronate. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 35 volunteers divided into four groups: practitioners of resistance training (RTG, n = 9, 49.8±4.2 years), judo (JUG, n = 11, 52.2±5.3 years), water aerobics (WAG, n = 8, 57.1±7.4 years) and the control group (CG, n = 7, 53.8±4.4 years). Methods: The following assessment tools were used: bone mineral density (BMD) measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry of the spine and proximal femur, the ‘Osteoporosis Assessment Questionnaire’ (OPAQ) and the ‘Static Balance Test with Visual Control’. The physical activities were planned for 12 months in cycles with different intensities. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for analysis between groups, and a Scheffé post-hoc test was used for multiple comparisons. Results: The multiple comparisons results showed that the RTG and JUG groups were significantly more efficient in the variables studied, including: lumbar BMD (Δ% = 6.8%, p = 0.001), balance (Δ% = 21.4%, p = 0.01), OPAQ (Δ% = 9.1%, p = 0.005) and lumbar BMD (Δ% = 6.4%, p = 0.003), balance (Δ% = 14%, p = 0.02) and OPAQ (Δ% = 16.8%, p = 0.000) compared with the CG. Furthermore, the RTG (Δ% = 4.8%, p = 0.02) was significantly better than the WAG for the neck of femur BMD, and the JUG (Δ% = 16.8, p = 0.0003) also demonstrated superiority to the WAG in the OPAQ. Conclusions: The physical activities studied appear to improve BMD, balance and quality of life of postmenopausal women taking a bisphosphonate. In this small sample, the RTG and the JUG groups were superior to the other groups.

Factors that contribute to low bone density in postmenopausal women in different Amazonian communities

Background: The aim of this study was to verify socioeconomic differences, nutrition, body balance and quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density (BMD) in two Amazonian communities. Methods: A total of 42 female volunteers participated in the study. The volunteers were separated into two groups: Villa (n = 20; 53 ± 5.5 years) and City (n = 22; 56 ± 7.9 years). The following evaluation instruments were used: dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); a socioeconomic questionnaire; a QoL questionnaire; a dietary habits questionnaire; and a balance test. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used. Results: The data showed significant differences in socioeconomic level (Δ%=+15.9%, p = 0.000), lumbar spine L2-L4 (Δ% = +0.10%, p = 0.007), balance (Δ% = +4.3%, p = 0.03) and some important aspects of nutrition, such as the consumption of milk (Δ%=+34%, p = 0.01) and alcohol (+14.8%, p = 0.0001). These significant differences also contributed to the total QoL score (Δ%=+76.2%, p = 0.000) and the majority of the QoL-related functions. Conclusion: This study verified that socioeconomic level, nutritional status, physical activity levels and QoL can influence the BMD of postmenopausal women. The study suggests new strategies for official health organizations to use in order to prevent and treat osteoporosis. In addition, this study can provide an orientation to physical activity, nutrition and medical professionals.