209 research outputs found
An Evaluation of Postural Balance in Single-leg and Double-leg Conditions in Patients with Reconstruction of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Healthy Controls
No full textPurpose: Following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) and rehabilitation, individuals undergo a series of evaluations to ensure a safe return to sports participation. The high re-injury rates that have persisted following ACL-R indicate that the current assessments may not be able to accurately identify persistent deficits. This investigation was designed to evaluate the balance control of ACL-R individuals and healthy controls in different task conditions (single and double legs). Methods: The study involved twenty-seven participants: 13 ACL-R (age: 24.46 +/- 2.73 years; height: 1.78 +/- .09 m; body mass: 77.00 +/- 10.35 kg; BMI: 24.10 +/- 2.19 kg/m2) and 14 healthy controls (age: 25.36 +/- 3.37 years; height: 1.77 +/- .06 m; body mass: 77.93 +/- 14.65 kg and BMI: 24.84 +/- 4.07 kg/m2). The postural balance was assessed by measuring the center of pressure (CoP) displacement in the medio-lateral and anterior-posterior directions under various conditions, including static and dynamic, open and closed eyes, and single-leg and double-leg support. To quantify the activity of the lower limb muscles (vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and lateral gastrocnemius), the sEMG activity was recorded synchronously with the CoP in the various tasks. Results: There were no differences observed between the limbs of either group (P > .05). In comparison to the control group, the ACL-R exhibited a significantly higher CoP displacement (medio-lateral) in the double-leg dynamic condition (P < .05). In contrast, the two groups did not show any significant differences in CoP in the single-leg condition (P > .05). sEMG analysis revealed significantly higher tibialis anterior activity in the ACL-R group than the control group during dynamic double-leg balance (P < .05). Conclusions: In contrast to healthy controls, individuals who underwent ACL-R appeared to exhibit a persistent postural balance deficit, particularly in dynamic double-leg conditions. The tibialis anterior of both legs exhibited abnormal neuromuscular activation patterns, which characterized these alterations. Therefore, the comparison of operated and non-operated limbs in the assessment of postural balance may not be a reliable criterion for determining the alterations and, ultimately, the safe return to sports play of individuals with ACL-R
Ierone e gli altri tiranni della Sicilia greca
No full textIl saggio analizza la figura di Ierone e degli altri tiranni della Sicilia greca nel pensiero politico e nell'opera letteraria di Machiavell
Biomechanical analysis following a single session of individualised whole-body vibration in young adults with autism spectrum disorders-ASD
No full textPurpose: In the present study were investigated the acute effects of individualised whole-body vibration (WBV) on locomotion and balance synchronised with surface electromyographic activity (sEMG) in young adults with ASD.
Method: Six young adults with ASD (sex:males; age:22.7±3.4 years; stature:175.7±3.7 cm; body mass:78.0±10.1 kg; body mass index:25.3±4.1 kg/m2) and five healthy adults (sex:males; age:26.4±1.1 years; stature:175.8±8.2 cm; body mass:68.9±10.0 kg; body mass index:22.8±2.1 kg/m2) took part in the present investigation. Gait analysis was executed using a 3D motion capture system, when the participants walked on a motorised treadmill at 3-km/h. Angle-angle diagrams were determined by plotting the angles at adjacent joints against each other (hip-knee angle/knee-ankle angle). The body sway (medio-lateral/forward-backward) was measured on the force platform during different bipodalic standing positions (bipodalic static/bipodalic dynamic); open eyes/closed eyes. sEMG activity synchronised with gait and body sway was also recorded on the muscles (VL, BF, TA and LG) of the dominant leg.
Results: Baseline measurements showed that hip/knee and knee/ankle areas were wider in healthy than the ASD participants (P=0.043; P=0.021). No significant differences were found in the other variables (balance and sEMG activity) between the two groups (P>0.05). Individualised WBV tended to increase the knee-angle perimeter (P=0.064) modifying the muscle activation of VL (P=0.034), BF (P=0.016), TA (P=0.003) and LG (P=0.077). WBV did not affect the body sway in the different conditions except for TA muscle activation (P=0.031) synchronised with the body sway recorded during bipodalic-static position and closed eyes.
Conclusions: The results of this investigation show that the angle-angle diagram is a sensitive parameter to underline gait alteration in young adults with ASD. Also, the individualised whole-body vibration stimulus modifies acutely the leg muscles activation during walking gait.
References
Di Giminiani R, Di Lorenzo D, La Greca S, Russo L, Masedu F, Totaro R, Padua E. (2022). Angle‐Angle Diagrams in the Assessment of Locomotion in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis: A Preliminary Study. Appl. Sci 12, 7223
Di Giminiani R, Masedu F, Tihanyi J, Scrimaglio R, and Valenti M. (2013). The interaction between body position and vibration frequency on acute response to whole body vibration. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 23(1):245-5
La favola antica. Esopo e la sapienza degli schiavi. Con una bibliografia degli scritti dell’autore (1995-2021)
No full textNata in Mesopotamia, la favola antica fiorì nel mondo greco-romano, ai margini della cultura alta delle classi superiori, come particolare
genere letterario dove si depositò la visione del mondo e della vita maturata dagli schiavi attraverso i secoli. Con i suoi messaggi asciutti, la favola esopica ci dice che sono le questioni cruciali dell’esistenza – vincere o perdere, pensare o agire al momento giusto, saper giocare di forza o d’astuzia – quelle che occupano la mente di quanti sono costretti a lavorare, ovvero dei ceti subalterni, che nelle società antiche erano prevalentemente gli schiavi. La morale che viene fuori dalla favolistica greca e latina, quella che La Penna chiama
«la sapienza degli schiavi», è dominata da un’amara rassegnazione: nel mondo degli uomini non vi è alcun intervento della divinità,
e il potere è nelle mani dei più forti, dei più violenti, dei più astuti, non dei più giusti. L’astuzia, l’abilità, l’energia servono solo per sopravvivere in un mondo siffatto, ed è illusoria ogni speranza di mutarne le leggi fondamentali. La favola esopica, sebbene priva di qualunque connotato rivoluzionario, fu un passo decisivo nel distacco dalla cultura religiosa e nell’elaborazione di una cultura laica popolare. La raccolta degli scritti di La Penna sulla tradizione esopica in Grecia e a Roma, ad opera di Giovanni Niccoli e Stefano Grazzini, conferma ancora una volta il valore dei classici come strumento per affrontare le sfide e i cambiamenti del nostro tempo
La lettera greca di Angelo Poliziano a Raffaele Maffei e la traduzione latina di Jacques Toussain
No full textEdizione critica della lettera greca di Angelo Poliziano a Raffaele Maffei e della traduzione latina di Jacques Toussai
Kinetic and kinematic analysis of the freestyle flip turn in a national level swimmer: a case report
No full textThe acute effect of verbal instructions on performance and landing when dropping from different heights: the ground reaction force-time profile of drop vertical jumps in female volleyball athletes
No full textIntroductionThe drop vertical jump (DVJ) is extensively utilized for conditioning and evaluating physical performance, as well as reducing the likelihood of injury by enhancing joint stability through the coactivation of muscles acting on the joint. The execution of DVJ can be controlled by verbal instructions and evaluated by the vertical ground reaction force (vGRF)-time profile.MethodsOur hypothesis was that varying verbal instructions could have an impact on the DVJ's parameter, thereby optimizing vertical performance and minimizing the impact during landing in young female volleyball players. Sixteen female volleyball players volunteered to participate in this study (age: 21.3 ± 2.6 years; stature: 1.66 ± 0.1 m; body mass: 62.0 ± 8.1 kg and BMI: 22.2 ± 1.8). They executed DVJs following verbal instructions ranging from “jump as high as possible” (1A), “jump as quickly as possible” (2A), “jump as high as possible and during the landing attempt to dampen the impact at ground contact” (1B), and “jump as high as quickly as possible and during the landing attempt to damp the impact at ground contact” (2B). The reactive strength index (RSI), vGRF (1st and 2nd peaks), and flight time (FT) were evaluated.ResultsThe verbal instructions 1A improved the FT and the first peak of the vGRF (P < 0.05), whereas 2A the RSI (P < 0.05). On the contrary, “the damping” required in the 1B, and 2B verbal instruction reduced the 2nd peak of vGRF (P < 0.05), without altering the task required during the jump (P < 0.05).DiscussionThe instructions provided for the final landing (the second peak of vGRF) have the potential to enhance safety by reducing the peak of vGRF without affecting the performance required during the jump. When designing DVJ training, coaches or kinesiologists must consider the use of verbal instructions to induce specific adaptation over time.Clinical relevanceThe present study supports the use of specific verbal instructions to reduce impact forces in landing and injury risk
Effect of Individualized Whole-Body Vibration Exercise on Locomotion and Postural Control in a Person with Multiple Sclerosis: A 5-Year Case Report
No full textThe present study aims to investigate the multi-year effects (5 years) of individualized whole-body vibration (WBV) on locomotion, postural control, and handgrip strength in a 68-year-old man with relapse remitting multiple sclerosis (PwRRMS). The dose–response relationship induced by a single session was quantified by determining the surface electromyographic activity (sEMG) of the participant. The participant wore an orthosis to limit the lack of foot dorsiflexion in the weakest limb during walking in daily life. The gait alteration during walking was assessed at 1, 2 and 3 km/h (without the orthosis) through angle–angle diagrams by quantifying the area, perimeter and shape of the loops, and the sEMG of leg muscles was recorded in both limbs. The evaluation of postural control was conducted during upright standing by quantifying the displacement of the center of pressure (CoP). The handgrip strength was assessed by measuring the force–time profile synchronized with the sEMG activity of upper arm muscles. The participant improved his ability to walk at higher speeds (2–3 km/h) without the orthosis. There were greater improvements in the area and perimeter of angle–angle diagrams for the weakest limb (Δ = 36–51%). The sEMG activity of the shank muscles increased at all speeds, particularly in the tibialis anterior of weakest limbs (Δ = 10–68%). The CoP displacement during upright standing decreased (Δ = 40–60%), whereas the handgrip strength increased (Δ = 32% average). Over the 5-year period of intervention, the individualized WBV improved locomotion, postural control and handgrip strength without side effects. Future studies should consider the possibility of implementing an individualized WBV in PwRRMS
THE GROUND REACTION FORCE–TIME PROFILE OF DROP VERTICAL JUMPS: THE ACUTE EFFECT OF VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS DROPPING FROM DIFFERENT HEIGHTS
No full textEffect of individualised whole-body vibration on the pistol shooter's performance: a case study
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